3 New Approaches for the Data Driven Chief Financial Officer
Introduction
Intuitively, many of us recognize that the decision window for executives has been shrinking
with each passing year. Information dissemination has become real-time and OnDemand;
however, the challenge for many finance functions
is to try and keep pace with all the
modern sources of insight and
analysis that internal and external
stakeholders are receiving.
We can layer on an incremental
challenge in many industries where
the business environment changes
more often and more dramatically
than ever before as well. Take for
instance commodity prices, which
have seen increasing levels of
volatility in recent years.
Imagine you are a company
impacted by the price of natural gas
(Figure 1) and consider the
implications these price swings can
have on your business model. That is but one example of a changing strategic driver. Consumer
tastes and demands can shift virtually overnight. Every day, new technologies and new business
models replace old technologies and old business models. The luxury of time is something few
executives have any more when it comes to making decisions.
