New trends emerge all the time in global finance across several different verticals, and they can have a significant influence on the direction taken by multinational employers in the marketplace. Huge advances in technology development along with similar strides in business models has resulted in a fast moving and dynamic business landscape, where traditional roles are now being evaluated in an entirely new context.
A new breed
The role of the CFO may in the past have been considered to be a somewhat traditional role with a strong focus on financial management where caution and prudence were favored over risk and ambition. But today, things are a lot different and we can now see examples of different kinds of CFOs operating across a broad range of industries. CFOs have become influential people who participate in key decision-making and business strategies because the expectations around the impact they can have on a business have changed. The role of the CFO has largely moved on from financial planning and budgeting, although skills in these areas are still central to the role. A new breed of CFOs has emerged with broader skill sets and more variety in their backgrounds than their predecessors may have had.
In this article, we'll take a look at this new breed of CFOs that are emerging and disrupting the market today. We will identify some of the reasons why the traditional role of the CFO has changed and how a new type of CFO is re-defining this crucial leadership position.
The SaaS CFO
Software as a service is no longer a new concept in the market but the term being associated with a CFO is a new trend that has developed in recent years. There are a number of forward thinking companies who embrace change to such a degree, that they're comfortable defining their chief financial officer as a person who is a SaaS CFO - in doing so, they are making a bold statement to the market that software as a service is part of their company DNA and it runs through everything they do from the top down.
In a way, they are pinning their colours to the mast of SaaS technology in an unapologetic way- a way that sends a clear message that the old way of doing things no longer applies, and that their CFO much like their CEO, is to be a disruptor and game changer in their specific industry. This can bring some additional media scrutiny to their activities at these companies are expected to back up any bold claims with measurable results - but who isn't these days?
Technology driven perspective
The SaaS CFO actively embraces technology and innovative tools, and also seeks out ways to introduce these tools to improve traditional finance models. The financial element hasn't gone away, but the CFO is focused on applying innovative technology to the financial department in a similar way that technology has been applied to other business critical units in an organization. This is a CFO operating from a technology driven perspective and keen to secure the same level of investment for the finance team as a CTO has managed to secure for the information technology team. It is a decision to underpin the financial strategy of the company with technology and innovation in a way that departs from how things were done before.
What is behind this?
You may wonder what is behind the emergence of the person behind the intriguing job title? Like a lot of things that are new, the emergence of the SaaS CFO has been driven by a mixture of innovation and necessity. This CFO needs to deliver like all CFOs, but the board is looking at this person as somebody who will leverage, harness and get the very best out of the available technology around them to deliver on strategic objectives, acquire new customers and create forward momentum .
They are expecting this person to come into the role with comprehensive technology expertise and ideas around technology investment that will drive business growth, increase market share and secure important new revenue streams. These revenue streams may come from existing markets or be entirely new initiatives that drive growth, stabilize finances, increase brand presence and disrupt the status quo in a way that helps secure long-term benefits.
The SaaS CFO needs to use technology to both manage costs an advance the business, this is no easy task but multinationals who employ a SaaS CFO in a finance team are looking for something different and are prepared to place their trust in a person who is going to take them on a different type of journey.
SaaS CFO Priorities
The SaaS CFO will go about putting in place the infrastructure, processes, and technology that can best position the company to achieve its strategic objectives. After this, the CFO will focus on a number of key priorities that they believe will give the organization a competitive edge.
Automation
A SaaS CFO would be a strong advocate for automation and a huge believer in the ability of automated software to transform legacy or dated processes within a company. They will look to apply this belief around automation across a number of key areas such as billing, reporting payments, international payroll and customer acquisition costs. Machine learning automation and optimized workflows can create significant operational efficiencies here that save a lot of time and money.
Scaling
A SaaS CFO will look to maximize any available technology that can help the business scale into new territories or regions -if this technology does not exist, they will look to implement a digital transformation project that can better position the company to move quickly and seize opportunities in the market. New technology will be used to support growth, increase head count, replace ineffective legacy systems, introduce innovative tools and generally create a concept of a company smartly building to scale. This is about upgrading the financial process currently in place so that they are better equipped to support revenue growth while ensuring that any in-house sales teams have the tools they need to reach new customers in new markets.
Insight and Metrics
A Saas CFO, like all finance leaders will know and understand the value of numbers, key metrics and intelligent data- this data will be used to evaluate progress and the ability of the business to stretch further. Using modern technology to extract reporting for key business insights, SaaS metrics and actionable intelligence, the SaaS CFO will help the business to identify any upsell and cross sell opportunities. The SaaS CFO will be focused on working with the kind of innovative technology that can quickly extract these useful metrics, ideally at the touch of a button. The CFO needs to deliver key metrics and business data to leadership teams and the board to help assess the strategic and financial health of the business as well as its ability to deliver on long term objectives. A dependable and reliable technology stack will need to be in place to deliver these accurate numbers on a regular or ad hoc basis.
Payslip and SaaS
Payslip is a SaaS platform and innovative technology solution designed to transform and drive major improvements in the way global payroll is delivered. This software as a service is driven by a commitment to respond to a range of growing needs that has developed inside global payroll functions at multinational companies around the world. There is a strong need for standardization and automation together with global consolidated reporting- a cloud-based SaaS platform is required to effectively introduce these into any existing process in a global payroll team.
Payslip is not a rip and replace technology overhaul, instead our platform is a middleware technology that sits between global payroll and the HCM. It aligns with current processes and existing technology to speed up, improve and reduce risk with global payroll. The platform allows employers to keep existing relationships with preferred payroll providers or partners, but it also has the capability to switch providers and quickly onboard a new provider if it is deemed necessary by the employer. The platform automates repeats tasks, standardizes data and processes and paves the way for effective consolidated reporting.
This is what SasS does, it responds to needs, proves agile and flexible when necessary and also future proofs a business-critical department like global payroll. If you want a SaaS technology that houses and standardize the process, management, reporting and data to give your global payroll team full independent control over their payroll, contact our team today.