As someone who entered the business world through finance, I’ve always been especially at home talking to Spaulding Ridge’s clients within the office of the CFO—both the CFOs and other leaders on their teams. Over the past decade, finance leaders have expressed how dramatically their roles have evolved and expanded, finding themselves taking a larger, more strategic role in their organizations.
The role of the CFO has always been broad, but changes in the marketplace are making it even more expansive. Data from the most recent Gartner study reveals that over three-quarters of CFOs are tasked with handling enterprise data and analytics within their organizations, and nearly half own or co-own the enterprise AI function for their organizations. CFOs are now explicitly becoming data brokers and driving AI strategy for their organizations.
This transition makes sense: As companies have piloted their data and AI projects in silos, they’ve seen limited results. The actual value of data and AI in an organization can only be unlocked if the various departments are aligned and their data is tightly integrated. All business functions are inherently connected to other business functions, and their solutions should be too. Because the CFO is already collecting and coordinating data across every business function, they’re the ideal leader to run their company’s AI and data strategy.
Because of our relationships with finance leaders, Spaulding Ridge understands this challenge, and we’ve built our consulting approach accordingly. We’ve established the capabilities to provide our clients with a comprehensive approach to data and AI transformation, focusing on building data infrastructure that connects teams.
As this shift accelerates, what comes next? For one thing, we expect the CFO’s role to keep expanding. If CFOs run their enterprise’s data function, they’ll access and generate more data, giving them a broader perspective on their organization’s performance. As a result, CFOs will increasingly shape their companies’ technology roadmaps, and the cycle will continue.
We appreciate Gartner validating our data and AI strategy. As this trend continues, we’re looking forward to the impact we can make in partnership with our finance clients. CFOs and their teams have an opportunity to lead through this change, especially if they can build up their enterprise data capabilities and AI fluency. For any finance leader curious about how to accomplish this, we can help. As strategic partners to the office of the CFO, Spaulding Ridge can deliver data and AI strategies that support better, faster decisions. Reach out—we’re here to help.
