COVID-19 impacted businesses across many industries and companies of all sizes. Through it all, CFOs and finance leaders were at the helm, helping their businesses navigate the impacts and chart a course forward. As the economy recovers from a challenging year, U.S. Bank sought to better understand what is top of mind with CFOs and finance leaders in 2021 and how they are helping their businesses thrive beyond COVID-19.
A new survey from U.S. Bank found that finance leaders across the U.S. are looking to the future while still managing the short-term needs of their businesses. Leaders also believe the finance function itself is ripe for digital transformation, but they face internal obstacles such as resistance to change and lack of awareness of the benefits of new technology.
The new data is from a proprietary survey of 300 U.S.-based senior finance professionals with decision-making roles across a range of industries.
"Despite all of the challenges of the past year, finance leaders are hopeful and are looking to the future," said Hassan Salem, head of Commercial Banking for U.S. Bank. "They are prioritizing long-term and growth-oriented initiatives, evaluating new business models and investing in technology. There are many tools that make it easier for businesses to send and receive invoices, strengthen their cash flow and enhance efficiency, and finance leaders are in the unique position to unleash business transformation and help their organizations not just survive, but thrive."
Despite all of the challenges of the past year, finance leaders are hopeful and are looking to the future.
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Hassan Salem of U.S. Bank
To help their businesses grow and transform, finance must first transform itself. When asked which areas within finance would benefit most from digital transformation, leaders said:
- 39%: risk and compliance
- 32%: planning and budgeting
- 29%: cash management and treasury
- 32%: improving cash flow
- 30%: supporting/furthering ESG objectives
- 26%: evaluating M&A, divestiture and partnership opportunities
- More flexible budgeting and capital planning (43%)
- More agile business practices (43%)
- Increased budget for technology (42%)
Survey methodology
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U.S. Bancorp published this content on 20 May 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 11 June 2021 08:21:02 UTC.