CFOs spend more time on long-term planning in an age of uncertainty, McKinsey finds

McKinsey finds CFOs are looking beyond short-term concerns in a way they haven’t in previous years.

Good morning. Finance chiefs are starting to look beyond short-term concerns in a way they haven’t in previous years, according to new McKinsey research. Emerging risks to their companies’ growth and a focus on strategy require their attention and management.

“I think CFOs continue to deal with a lot on their plate,” Ankur Agrawal, a partner in McKinsey’s New York office, and co-author of the report, told me. “So in many ways, this survey is consistent with the expanding challenge of the CFO role.”

Supply chain disruptions, weak demand, geopolitics, and also technology disruption are among the challenges finance chiefs say need to be addressed. Fifty-five percent of CFOs surveyed pointed to long-term planning and resource allocation as a top priority for finance, up from 30% in Q1 2023. And 60% now say strategic planning is a top priority, compared to 38% who said the same last year, according to the report.

It’s not that managing the short term has become easier for CFOs. There’s still uncertainty in the macro environment. But there’s a bit “more confidence on visibility in the near term,” Agrawal said. “The variables are more understood than not.”

McKinsey research also points to challenges with implementing technology. Nearly all respondents (98%) say their finance functions have invested in digitization and automation, and believe that gen AI has the potential to create value. However, the majority of CFOs surveyed say just one-quarter or less of their processes were digitized or automated in the past 12 months. And less than half of respondents say they currently have their finance processes automated.

What is causing the slow pace? “I think the biggest challenge and roadblock is, honestly, talent,” Agrawal said.

More than limitations due to infrastructure, tools, and data, CFOs say the main hurdle is finding finance professionals who can really leverage and deploy these advanced technologies, he said.

Another finding is that CFOs are twice as likely than in Q1 2023 to predict their companies’ investment levels will remain unchanged—a departure from the past two surveys, when CFOs predicted an increase in investment. Why does Agrawal think there’s a hesitation in investments? With elections in the U.S. and in other parts of the world and economic volatility still a concern, “you can call it cautious steering,” he said.

Sheryl Estrada

sheryl.estrada@fortune.com

Leaderboard

Aaron Rosenberg was named CFO at BeiGene, Ltd. (Nasdaq: BGNE), a global oncology company, effective July 22. Rosenberg will succeed Julia Wang, who is departing to pursue external opportunities and will stay with the company through August. Rosenberg has more than 20 years of experience at Merck & Co., Inc., most recently serving as SVP and corporate treasurer. He also held roles such as SVP of corporate strategy and planning and VP and finance lead of Merck Animal Health.

Logan Powell, global president and CFO at Puttshack, a provider of tech-infused mini-golf venues, was promoted to CEO, effective immediately. Powell succeeds Joe Vrankin, who oversaw the company’s growth in the U.K. as CEO and subsequently brought the concept to the U.S. in 2021. Powell and Vrankin have collaborated on this transition, as Vrankin will be moving on from the company. Powell has served as CFO since 2019. Before joining Puttshack, he was a partner at Copper Beech Capital, LLC.

Big Deal

Don’t drown in data debt; champion your Data First culture is a new report released by HFS Research, a global research and analysis firm, in partnership with Syniti, a data management provider. More than 80% of enterprise leaders say that effective data management significantly drives the top line, bottom line, and shareholder value. However, over 40% of their organizational data is unusable and is not trusted, according to the report.

“Many business leaders still take a backseat when setting key data objectives, causing data to remain siloed across departments, and resulting in misaligned expectations across IT and business professionals,” Phil Fersht, CEO and chief analyst, HFS Research, said in a statement. The findings are based on interviews of more than 300 Global 2000 business leaders (49% from the U.S.) across industries to find out how organizations are navigating a complex landscape of data management.

Going deeper

“Here’s how Wall Street and business leaders are reacting to Biden’s exit from the presidential race” is a new report by Fortune’s Jason Ma, in light of President Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he won’t seek reelection. For example, Gina Bolvin, president of Bolvin Wealth Management Group, said in a statement: “Biden stepping down is a whole new level of political uncertainty.”

Overheard

“One mistake has had catastrophic results. This is a great example of how closely tied to IT our modern society is—from coffee shops to hospitals to airports, a mistake like this has massive ramifications.”

—Nick Hyatt, director of threat intelligence at security firm Blackpoint Cyber, told CNBC in an interview regarding the botched software update from the cybersecurity company CrowdStrike on Friday that caused a global IT outage.

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