Customer expectation, legislation, changes in technology can all force a CFO to have to adjust in a hurry. How to do it!

Is Your CFO Making the Adjustments?

“Pivot”: an underused verb that became, over the peak of the pandemic, a veritable buzzword. But for the post-pandemic CFO, it’s still very much a part of the lexicon—or at least, it should be. Is your CFO making the necessary adjustments to adapt and prosper in the “new normal”? Are they in the proactive stages, strategically, financially, and technologically, for the “normal” after that? Vision, flexibility, leadership and preparedness. If your current CFO doesn’t keep these in his or her toolbox, you need to “pivot” to one for whom the COVID crisis wasn’t an inconvenience but a tutorial. 

The Grayhawk Solution

Grayhawk Search is a group of Finance Executive Search specialists with an internationally recognized talent for uncovering and appropriating top-tier FP&A talent from around the world. We know exactly who you need to adapt and evolve in the recovering economy, whether you’re rising from the ashes, readying for reclamation or looking to imprint yourself on the regrowing business landscape.                                          

The Post-pandemic CFO

The COVID crisis redefined countless conventions of the working world, including the role of the CFO. As the business topography continues to be repaved, more CFOs are being pushed to the organizational fore, expected to bring predictability to an uncertain marketplace. The post-pandemic CFO, then, must have the ability to safeguard the company while templating growth. 

Major considerations include:   

• Satellite operations – Percentage of the operation, if any, that should be perpetuated as work-from-home, taking into account prospective impact on safety, cost, culture, and productivity
• Regulatory changes – Pandemic-spawned regulatory and compliance dictates, countered by the creation of corresponding risk management models
• Investment in technology – Upgrades to existing data management processes to align with new organizational focus and uncover opportunities for growth
• Customer expectation – Identifying customer pain points, assessing existing support mechanisms, and adjusting to create improved response
• Sustainable solutions – Investments in long-term health, safety and technology measures, in anticipation of succeeding threats to workforce, data, and inventory 
• Minimization of risk – Premium on fiscal reliability, including the establishment of reserves, the diversification of assets, and the pursuit of industry subsidies

The Talent is There

While candidates of this caliber may constitute a rare breed, given the engagement of a reputable recruiter, they are available. According to Deloitte, while the hunt for CFO talent came to a 25% halt over the height of the pandemic, today—thanks to a combination of equity market-inspired retirements, a spike in the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) market, and the increased acquisition of pandemic-weakened competitors—the demand for CFOs is once again in high gear, an enticing opportunity for senior-level financial executives looking to grow or diversify their careers. 

The Grayhawk CFO

By predicating its scientifically-based searches for top financial talent on key post-pandemic considerations, only Grayhawk can locate and lure the financial fit poised to help your company not only recover but lay ground for growth amid continuing instability. And all of this while exercising creativity and flexibility against the next shift in paradigm.  

The Grayhawk CFO is…

• Forward-thinking – Able to anticipate external risks, including inflation, federal debt, cyber-attacks, tariff wars, and changes to the political status quo
• Collaborative – A proverbial “enterprise builder,” able to hold his or her own among key contributors to shape and guide strategy, determine operational priorities, and drive value
• Tech-savvy – Possessor of an exceptional facility for data analysis and reporting, anchored on a talent for sound, progressive technological investment 
• Crisis manager – An expert in real-time planning against external crises, able to anticipate and enable a clear, constructive, and coordinated response  
• Communicative – A team player in the boardroom, on the floor, and in the back offices, promoting organization-wide transparency and reliability 
• Reserve-minded – Able to engineer financial stability through the audit of current company investments and the establishment of emergency reserves, from cash to cryptocurrency

Luke Clare, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Grayhawk: “The pace of change is fast, organizations are becoming more sophisticated and CFOs are finding themselves in increasingly complex situations. CFOs need to keep the playbook current, while also having full confidence in financial planning, regardless of what changes may arise.”  

The Portal

The new-age CFO, forged from the lessons imparted by the pandemic, introduces a new archetype into the dramatis personae of the business world. In other words, they don’t grow on trees. As such, reliance on a gold standard FP&A recruiter is the primary portal to proper procurement. 

At Grayhawk, our extensive hiring process includes hours of interviews, scientific assessments, background checks, reference checks, skills validation, and onboarding. As a result, we can confidently offer the longest warranty period in the financial talent search industry.  

Found our article interesting? Read more in our Insight section.