We have all been watching the “theatre” of the Royal Commission and most senior finance executives have read APRA’s final report on governance, culture and accountability within the CBA group.
Without a doubt, Boards are about to make the life of the Australian CFO much more complicated as they strive to ensure they have the ‘‘right’’ information in order to evaluate areas where the company is most at risk for compliance and misconduct issues and the steps that have been taken to address those risks.
This change in focus may divert some CFOs from their primary purpose of being a strategic business partner to the CEO and Executive Leadership Team. This is regrettable, but forward-thinking CFOs can get ahead of the game by anticipating their Board’s new focus on Compliance and Risk and communicating the actions currently being undertaken or planned to address this issue.
The key task now facing CFOs is to move beyond compliance and create value.
In a recent article from KPMG USA, “The Future of Compliance: Top 5 Investments to Prepare for the Future Today”, they articulate a very clear strategy for CFOs to adopt and proactively communicate to key stakeholders regarding what is now, clearly, a major area for concern. They outline 5 areas where compliance leaders need to focus to meet the challenges this year and in the future:
- Culture
- Operational Integration
- Automation of compliance activities
- Risk Assessments
- Continuous Improvement
They suggest investment in these areas will allow organisations to identify and respond early to shifts and trends, enabling business, risk, legal, technology, and internal audit leaders to move beyond compliance to create value.
How do you see the role of the Australian CFO changing in the near future? How can they move beyond compliance and create value?
Talk to our CFO Practice Leader, Greg McKenzie to discuss how the CFO recruitment market is evolving.
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