Enabling value, driving growth

Chief Financial Officers have long been expected to know the numbers and ask the tough questions. But what about storytelling?

Two of Australia’s leading CFOs say their cohort now need to add to their skillset the ability to refine narratives and be a storyteller – particularly as the issues facing businesses become increasingly complex.

BHP’s Vandita Pant and ANZ’s Farhan Faruqui recently sat down at Wipro’s Melbourne office to discuss the changing nature of the role at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle “CFO speakers’ series” event.

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Vandita Pant and Farhan Faruqui at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle "CFO speakers’ series" event.

Define the narrative

Once seen purely as the executive role that brings a financial lens to every strategic decision – they said the CFO role is now evolving into something a lot wider.

Both agreed that CFOs today have a vital role in helping define the narrative the company is building and in telling that story more widely.

This can be to shareholders, within its own company, the wider market, or the community at large.

Vandita has been CFO of BHP for seven months, before which she was the company’s Chief Commercial Officer. She has more than 20 years of global experience in banking and almost 10 years’ experience across corporate roles at BHP.

“I think our societal expectations of the corporate world are evolving,” Vandita said. “And if that is evolving, it is the role of the CFO to keep pace with that, to define what that narrative is for all the stakeholders. And ensure you do that with credibility.”

Farhan agreed, pointing out that both long-term and short-term challenges were increasing for business, and there was a need to distill a clear message around these.

“It has intensified. We must invest in our future, but at the same time we have to deliver the quarterly result.”

“Finding that balance amid a very substantial debate that occurs not only at the executive leadership table but also with the Board is crucial.”

Farhan also brings a wealth experience to the role.

“How we bring that narrative together to take to the market, to our investors, to our owners is becoming super important,” he said.

He has been ANZ CFO for three years, before which he was the bank’s Group Executive, International, overseeing 19 markets, while based in Hong Kong. Prior to joining ANZ in 2014, Farhan built a two-decade career at Citigroup, with roles including serving as Head of Corporate and Investment Banking, Asia Pacific.

Enable value

But they believe this skill needed to be allied with the broader role for the CFO of helping to add value for shareholders.

“I define the evolving role of the CFO as being an enabler of value – not just protecting value but creating value. And increasingly, being the enabler of growth and innovation,” Vandita said.

Farhan said that while in the past CFO’s took a microscopic view over accounts, now they were expected to apply a “telegraphic lens” over how the business runs.

“I actually like to think of the CFO as being the chief future officer, because in many ways we have to be at the forefront of thinking about strategy and about how we execute that strategy, how we allocate resources to ensure the strategy gets executed.”

Skills for the future

The evolving role of the CFO – and the need to have the skills of storytelling - underscored more broadly the changing skills needed to navigate a future career in finance, Farhan said.

According to Farhan there are three types of people who would define the future of finance.

First of these would be the people manager who brings accountability and ensures regulatory compliance.

The second is the machine manager as increasingly banks have to make sure processes are automated from end-to-end with straight-through processing and no manual intervention.

He said the machine manager would ensure technology is constantly upgraded to provide world class services.

“I think the third, which has probably become the most important and perhaps has not been the traditional forte of the finance function is storyteller - not only to the external market, and investors, but also to internal stakeholders,” Farhan said.

“Being the glue that brings people along the journey. We need to make sure the narrative is consistent across the organisation and is well understood in terms of how it lives up to the vision.”

Clarity and resilience

Vandita said good CFOs had learned to become storytellers as the financial figures often don’t evoke the broader narrative.

“I think numbers are good, but they don't tell the whole story.”

According to Vandita the ability of a CFO to take people on the journey in the face of business cycles going up and down, is key to an organisation’s resilience. She said this is critical for employees to be clear about what’s important and where to focus.

“The CFO’s role is to enable the corporate strategy irrespective of which end of the business cycle you are in. That's the definition of resilience,” she said.

“Our world is changing quickly, it’s becoming more complex, and what it is today is not going to be tomorrow. The only way to keep pace with it is to have resilience.”

Farhan Faruqui is the Chief Financial Officer at ANZ.