Turn value creators, company CFOs told

Observing that expectations of both stakeholders and shareholders from corporates are constantly and continuously changing, they emphasised that in the highly changing global scenarios, risks to businesses emanating from anywhere, CFOs must have their strategies ready to mitigate and taken on them with all immediacy.

Besides striving for both intellectual and financial integrity and performance, Britannia Industries Ltd Managing Director Vinita Bali, said CFOs should help their organisation maximise value for stakeholders and shareholders as an organisation’s survival depended on how it efficiently created and sustained its consumers/customers.

From the days of maintaining books and working for tax compliance issues, CFOs role play has moved on to brand value creation and being a conscience keeper of the company.
TCS Consultancy Service CFO & Executive Director S Mahalingam, said, it has evolved from financial control and accounting to that of corporate citizen wherein he was a multi-stakeholder participating in industry and government policy making besides governance and risk management issues.

Stressing the need for CFOs to stay current in the fast changing corporate milieu, he said, managing expectations of stakeholders and delivering growth are two things they need to juggle and mange simultaneously.

Encouraging them to be active participants in various forums to align their company’s businesses with emerging regulatory landscape, he opined such active participations will help shape common standards and practices for the industry. In sum, speakers opined, CFOs should don the responsible role of conscience keepers of their respective corporates and organisations.