Why You Need (To Be) a Purpose-Driven CFO
Andy Burrows
Finance improvement, transformation and change specialist, aiming to help CFOs on the journey to making Finance more effective and better value for money | CFO readiness coach and trainer | Writer | LinkedIn Top Voice
I know it seems like I’m just trying to use a catchy phrase when I talk about a “purpose-driven” CFO. But I actually think it encapsulates a great concept, and one that makes a BIG difference to our work in the Finance function.
In fact, I don’t just mean that it gives you a few helpful ideas.
Being purpose-driven is like a paradigm shift. It’s like realising you’ve been looking through the wrong end of the telescope!
Purpose-driven thinking can fundamentally change the way you look at even the most mundane things. It can change the way you think about them. And as your thinking changes, the way you do things changes.
Purpose-driven thinking has the power to change you, ...
... not just change your mind on one or two things.
So, I love it!
I love how I can do a bit of thinking, and from that thinking come up with ideas that challenge the way that people normally go about things in Finance.
You see, one of my observations from 25+ years in Finance is that Finance has a very long to-do list...
... and we treat it like a to-do list!
We have a month-end checklist (which these days might even use workflow automation to prompt people to do things).
And in Finance we tend to have this thing where we’re either doing things “before month-end” or “after month-end”. Month-end is that 1-2 weeks period where nothing else is allowed to distract us!
So, we add to our to-do list things that are before or after month-end. There are always deadlines.
You know the drill, right?
But I’ve noticed that we hardly ever think about why we’re doing each of those tasks on the to-do list.
We just need to get through them so that we can start the next thing. Always deadlines. Always the risk of missing deadlines and leaving our reputation in tatters...
... because if there’s one thing a Finance department is supposed to be it’s punctual. Always delivering things on time. Everything running like clockwork... reassuringly boring.
STOP!
Let’s stop acting like robots, and think!
What does it mean to be purpose-driven in Finance?
Why do you need a purpose-driven CFO? There’s an article on the Supercharged Finance website on just that subject:
Let me know your thoughts and feelings about this – in all the normal social media ways!
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One of the things Finance does for the business is to drive business performance. We do this a bit like a coach drives the performance of a football team! Here’s a short guide that lays out a business performance management framework that we can use to excel in doing that:
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It would be remiss of me not to mention that I’ll be one of the 24 world-class speakers involved in The Finance Innovation & Excellence Summit (AmeriEuro), organised by CFO.University, on 27 March 2025.
It’s FREE and online, and runs from 9am to 3:30pm (New York), which is 1pm to 7:30pm (London).
Session titles are:
1. Artificial Intelligence: AI and the CFO's Role in Driving Organizational Success
2. Risk, Reporting and Compliance: Guardians of the Bottom Line: Risk Strategies for CFOs
3. Data Innovation: The Innovation Imperative: Transforming Data into Value
4. Human Capital: From Talent to Triumph – Driving Success Through People
5. Agile Finance: Finance on the Fly: Agility as a Competitive Edge
6. The Future of Finance: The CFO’s Vision: Shaping the Financial Landscape of Tomorrow
About the Author – Andy Burrows
I’m Andy Burrows, Finance fixer, pursuer of Finance excellence, leader of Finance teams and transformation and improvement initiatives. I’m also a CFO readiness coach and trainer... and a LinkedIn Top Voice!
If you’re liking my content, please feel free to go to My Profile and click on the follow button (and even the little bell that gets you notified whenever I post!)
Founder and CEO: Analytics-Based Performance Management LLC; Expert in ABC, EPM/CPM, Profit Analysis, Budget, Analytics
4 天前Thank you Andy Burrows for your LinkedIn post above. Very informative.
Helping Finance Managers of SMEs show the value they can add | Turnaround busy loss-makers | Improve profits of the already profitable | Proven step-by-step process | 90-day projects | Training & Coaching throughout |
4 天前Excellent article, Andy. We would ALL do well to take note of the Stephen R Covey quote you mention... “... If the ladder is not leaning against the right wall, every step we take just gets us to the wrong place faster. We may be very busy, we may be very?efficient, but we will also be truly?effective?ONLY when we begin with the end in mind.” (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,?Stephen R Covey, p98)