Insightful Words

It’s no secret that the recession has helped to raise the organizational profile of the finance function. Finance executives are now routinely participating in strategy discussions that had often excluded them in the past. And yet, certain finance leaders wonder whether finance will keep its seat at the table once a recovery is under way.

“It’s been almost too easy these last two years,” explains UPS CFO Kurt Kuehn. “CFOs and finance managers took a lead during the financial chaos because they had to help their companies navigate, and there are some people who think that this is the new normal and finance is now enshrined as a critical strategic function, but I think that this can be lost as easily as it was gained if functions don’t continue to stay attuned with the business, when growth maybe becomes a higher focus as opposed to cost management, and so I think that’s the challenge facing finance over the next year. It’s remaining relevant.” ###