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Following up on my post about “The Evolution of the CFO: From Financial Steward to Chief Value Officer” and the recent event where I served as a panellist discussing this topic, here are the questions I addressed at the event:
The event:
The role of the CFO is evolving quickly, and finance leaders are increasingly being seen as innovators, transformers and value creators for their organisations. They no longer just support commercial decision-making but are in a position to take a lead role in creating a strategic vision and delivering value.
In this session we will be exploring how leaders in finance can make this transition from CFO to CVO, focusing specifically on how they can harness the power of data, technology and talent to help them do this.
Our panel of experts will be discussing:
· How CFOs are creating value and shaping vision
· How to build a “data mindset” and an effective data strategy across the business
· Using technology now and in the future to create a value-adding finance function
Questions answered in this article include:
- A team of data analysts, storytellers and collaborators? Building the finance team of the future
- Why do people come to you?
- Do companies need a data strategy/ why?
- How do you build a data strategy?
- Who owns Data Strategy within the organisation?
- What advice would you give to CFO who don’t have someone like you in their team?
- What goes wrong with creating a data strategy?
- How do you get your CEO interested in data, its never mentioned and not in our business strategy?
- What are the top 3 points to be included in a Data Strategy
- How will generative AI support analytics & will it remove the spreadsheet culture?
- How do I engage the business in data?
- How much do you need to invest to set a data capability off the ground?
- How can I achieve better adoption for our change activities
- What do you recommend for pulling all our different technology data activities together
- Do you trust your data?
- Q – Why do people come to you?
With my breadth of expertise, deep understanding, and extensive experience, I bring fresh ideas, opportunities, and new perspectives. Renowned as a respected leader in the data industry, I am recognised for my vast network and ability to analyse complex situations with a strategic mindset.
I have earned the respect of subordinates, peers, and superiors for my expertise in the digital and data realms. My extensive professional background spans various industries and sectors, with a global footprint covering Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
A couple of examples include:
1. Being approached after a “build it and they will come” strategy failed, seeking advice on increasing adoption.
2. Helping to define the value creation of a Data Governance initiative to secure funding for the next phase.
My observation is that organisations often come to me too late—after they have already invested significant time, money, and effort. If they sought my advice and guidance at the outset, they could save considerable resources and develop a more realistic and practical approach.
- Q – Do companies need a data strategy/ why?
You have a Business Strategy, right? Would you run your business without one? Of course not. Similarly, a Data Strategy is crucial – it is an enabler – for achieving the goals set out in your Business Strategy. Without a Data Strategy, you are:
– Effectively rudderless
– At risk of drowning in a sea of untrusted data
– Likely to miss valuable opportunities
– At risk of falling behind your competitors
Moreover, if your strategy isn’t widely communicated and understood across the organisation, it isn’t really a strategy at all—just an expensive, dusty book or a 100-page slide deck gathering dust on a shelf or stored somewhere out of sight.
- Q – How do you build a data strategy?
Firstly, you don’t need a 200-page manual. Focus on creating something clear, concise, and understandable at all levels of the organisation.
I have developed the acronym FACE as a framework for creating your strategy. Strategy is the face of the organisation. According to Oxford Languages, FACE (noun) is “the surface of a thing, especially one that is presented to view or has a particular function.”
- F – Fact finding
- A – Action
- C – Communication
- E – Execute
F – Fact finding
Explore and understand what is happening and what is not. Identify the challenges and problems, as well as the opportunities. Analyse the numbers to measure the impact or potential and determine who is impacted.
A – Action
Outline your activities based on fact-finding and necessary actions to deliver solutions to problems or opportunities. Develop a plan that includes timelines and assigns responsibility for delivery. Clearly specify who will be accountable for the successful implementation.
C – Communication
No one likes having change imposed on them; we all want our voices to be heard, to feel listened to, and to be part of the change journey while understanding the personal benefits. Without understanding the benefits, there is little motivation to change. Clear and regular communication helps get your colleagues on board and gain their support for achieving success. Utilise internal influencers to assist colleagues in embracing the change direction.
E – Execute
Now you need to execute your plan and start delivering results. Provide regular progress updates and share the success of outcomes delivered against the planned business case. Manage risks that may divert you from your course, mitigate them where appropriate, and make necessary adjustments if your planned direction needs to change due to new circumstances or a changing environment.
I often present or run a workshop on ‘Creating a Data Strategy’ The next sessions on this are both in Sept – The Richmond CDO Form & Big Data LDN
https://www.richmondevents.com/forums/details/cdo24#why
https://www.bigdataldn.com/en-gb.html
- Q – Who owns Data Strategy within the organisation?
Over the years, I’ve reported to Sales, Logistics, Marketing, IT, Finance, Engineering, and more. It really doesn’t matter who you report to. What matters is having a C-suite executive who is genuinely interested in and committed to supporting the Data agenda for the benefit of the entire organisation. With this support, you can become or remain the leading voice for data direction.
So, who owns the data strategy? It’s your most senior data leader. Simple, right? Just like the most senior leader in Sales owns the sales strategy, or the most senior leader in HR owns the HR strategy, the most senior data leader should own the data strategy.
- Q – What advice would you give to CFO who don’t have someone like you in their team?
Recognising and treating data as a valuable asset requires a top-down approach. The board plays a crucial role in contributing to and overseeing your strategy, including your data strategy. It is essential to have a Non-Executive Director (NED) on your board who possesses the appropriate data expertise. IT expertise alone is not sufficient; having data expertise ensures that the board can make informed decisions about data. This distinction is evident from the frequent mistakes I see in data team recruitment. IT focuses on cost reduction, whereas Data focuses on increasing value and revenue.
Your board should include someone with extensive experience in the data field, someone who has navigated the complexities and challenges over the years.
Next, consider your senior data leader. This role requires a focus on both value generation and risk management. The necessary skill set does not include technical skills like Python coding, which are often mistakenly listed in job descriptions for data leaders. When recruiting a finance leader, we don’t require them to match invoices and purchase orders; similarly, we should not expect a senior data leader to have technical coding skills.
I advocate for a Hub and Spoke organisational approach. Data is everyone’s responsibility, not just a single department. Relying on a sole department to handle analytics requests or ensure data accuracy, has proven ineffective in the past. Instead, democratising data across the organisation is the key to success.
- Q – What goes wrong with creating a data strategy?
That’s a great question! In my experience presenting on Data Strategy, I’ve found that very few organisations have a comprehensive data strategy—approximately 5%. What’s even more surprising is that only about 1% have a data strategy that is fully communicated and understood across the organisation.
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