Communicating as a Chief Financial Officer: issues and opportunities

Financial Communication, what is the role of the CFO?

The Chief Financial Officer is a key function in a firm as they are often at the origin of projects and provide key financial information. CFO’s have to master their communication to reassure, motivate but also defend the interests of the company.

Financial communication: key issues

Lack of communication between departments within the same company;

• Financial communication is non-existent
• Inadequate communication
• A lack of enthusiasm or time within financial teams
• Difficulties to train other departments on finance projects
• Communicating with partners may be difficult

Good CFO communication creates:

• Confidence between partners and employees,
• A healthy company that encourages long-term investments and projects.
• Involvement from other departments to make the company more efficient.

Positive impacts of good financial communication:

• Teams that participate in projects feel valued and reflect a positive image of the company
• Increases the company’s brand value
• Attract and retain new talent.