Today Altrata, the leading provider of executive intelligence, releases 2024 Spotlight: CFOs in the US, a new report exploring the evolving responsibilities and current challenges faced by CFOs across the business landscape.
The report is built using the robust datasets and executive profiles from Boardroom Insiders and BoardEx, both part of Altrata’s suite of people intelligence solutions. It explores the backgrounds, characteristics and priorities of CFOs in the US.
While CFOs predominantly hail from financial and professional services backgrounds, their role demands multifaceted skill sets and comes with a broad array of strategic responsibilities.
Among the numerous findings, 2024 Spotlight: CFOs in the US reveals:
- CFOs are focusing on ways to better position their company for the future with 32% having acquisitions as a leading priority and 28% looking at improving productivity
- 83% of Fortune 500 CFOs are male, their average age is 55 and the age of appointment has been falling in recent years
- Despite the CFO role becoming more strategically diverse, senior experience in functional areas outside finance is relatively rare among this group, though 7% have previously been a CEO
- PwC, GE and EY are amongst the companies producing the highest number of Fortune 500 CFOs
- Harvard, UPenn and the University of Chicago graduates account for more than a fifth of Fortune 500 CFOs
The top priorities of CFOs touch on forward looking challenges and traditional financial governance topics. Ongoing economic uncertainty continues to have an impact on customer spending behavior. As a result, almost half – 45% – of Fortune 500 CFOs have a focus on cost management. With the imperative to introduce and manage new technologies in financial reporting and data-driven analytics to support digital transformation, this is a key concern for todays CFOs.
Innovation is their second most common priority, with 43% of CFOs focusing on this imperative. The traditional role of the CFO in corporate innovation has been as the gatekeeper, but in recent years it is more about finding the right investment that will support the progress of the digital transformation of the company.
“The in-depth executive profiles built by our research team enhance our customers’ understanding of their target buyers and decision makers. This new report outlines the top strategic priorities of CFOs offering in-depth insight into their priorities and the challenges keeping them up at night,” says Brian Alster, CEO of Altrata.
In an era marked by unprecedented volatility and ongoing digital transformation, 2024 Spotlight: CFOs in the US offers unparalleled insights into the evolving role of Chief Financial Officers and the strategies they employ to push their organizations forward.
