{"id":7480,"date":"2021-03-31T11:49:54","date_gmt":"2021-03-31T15:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/?p=7480"},"modified":"2026-01-16T04:50:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T09:50:04","slug":"5-ways-cfos-can-keep-their-organizations-on-track-in-the-covid-era","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/5-ways-cfos-can-keep-their-organizations-on-track-in-the-covid-era\/","title":{"rendered":"5 ways CFOs can keep their organizations on track in the COVID era"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t5 ways CFOs can keep their organizations on track in the COVID era\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2021-03-31T11:49:54-04:00\">March 31, 2021<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"5 ways CFOs can keep their organizations on track in the COVID era\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/5-ways-cfos-can-keep-their-organizations-on-track-in-the-covid-era\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/author\/nancytichbon\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/10\/Headshot-photo_Nancy-Tichbon_Managing-Director_Sage-Canada_-square-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Headshot photo Nancy Tichbon Managing Director Sage Canada square\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/10\/Headshot-photo_Nancy-Tichbon_Managing-Director_Sage-Canada_-square-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/10\/Headshot-photo_Nancy-Tichbon_Managing-Director_Sage-Canada_-square-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/10\/Headshot-photo_Nancy-Tichbon_Managing-Director_Sage-Canada_-square-810x810.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/10\/Headshot-photo_Nancy-Tichbon_Managing-Director_Sage-Canada_-square-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2020\/10\/Headshot-photo_Nancy-Tichbon_Managing-Director_Sage-Canada_-square-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Nancy Tichbon<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent years, those of us with our fingers on the pulse of the finance function in medium sized organizations have been inspired by the evolution of the CFO role and the finance function in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once regarded as the gatekeepers of risk and governance, the CFO has changed and advanced. Finance leaders have gone from historians of past performance, to real-time analysts monitoring an organization\u2019s financial heartbeat, to data-driven decision-makers who leverage emerging technologies to digitally transform the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ongoing situation with COVID-19 has meant that many organizations have had to pause or pivot their digital transformation plans. Their focus has shifted to survival mode. There is no doubt that once the storm has been weathered, the CFO will remain firmly in the driver\u2019s seat of their organization\u2019s reignited digital transformation efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At Sage, we\u2019ve seen the power of the evolving role. Here are five ways CFOs can help their organizations stay on track in the COVID era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-1-reconnect-with-your-customers\"><strong>1. Reconnect with your customers<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You may have had a strong relationship with your customers before COVID-19. It\u2019s worth checking in with them now to see if their business needs have changed during these trying times. This is especially important in the fintech space. Consumer behaviours may have changed or accelerated your customers\u2019 needs for different or evolved versions of your services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s also worth keeping an eye on the innovation that your competitors are driving. It can inform where and how you should be developing new products and services. All to help your business stay on the front foot during this coronavirus period. This might include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pivoting to omnichannel financial experiences to meet customer demand remotely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Delivering automated support and resource libraries to empower your customer to use your services, which can, in turn, power future sales and engagement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Analyzing customer data trends to offer new tailored services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Educating more traditional customers on how cloud-based services could better assist their business in times when remote working is ubiquitous.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-don-t-pause-innovation\"><strong>2. Don\u2019t pause innovation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The disruption caused by COVID-19 is not ideal. But for some organizations, it can provide breathing room to develop new products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During these challenging times, reducing costs is obviously a priority, but to avoid taking two steps back on your business roadmap, it\u2019s a good idea to search for areas where you can provide enhancements to your product suite. That\u2019s better than trying to identify an eliminator from your offering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Free Whitepaper: The Tech Savvy CFO<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download your free guide and see the strategies that will help today\u2019s CFO step up to the next level.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-f59bf699-4bc5-4871-9942-3496a19e7ac9\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download the free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-508065515_super-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Audience watching speaker lead presentation\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-508065515_super-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-invest-in-a-core-financials-solution-to-improve-efficiency\"><strong>3. Invest in a core financials solution to improve efficiency<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To invest in and improve customer experience, you may need to increase your operational efficiency to free up capital. This could be used to fund additional headcount and facilitate the management bandwidth required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Does your business still rely on financial processes packed with low transactional processes and wasted costs? If so, it\u2019s time to invest in a core financials solution that can reduce the administrative burden in your business, and allow you to devote more time to critical areas of your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Manually compiling spreadsheets and waiting days for different teams to get reports together has no place in 2021. &nbsp;Embrace access to real-time data and interactive dashboards, which will give you insight into your business like never before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-leverage-remote-working-to-your-advantage\"><strong>4. Leverage remote working to your advantage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The impact of COVID-19 has forced many companies to suddenly embrace remote working, some for the first time. More than likely, when things go back to normal employees will expect &nbsp;a greater flexibility when it comes to remote vs. in-office working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Having committed and engaged employees can lead directly to better performance and higher profits. So it\u2019s worthwhile to design a long-term remote working policy that takes into account the needs of both the company and the employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This may require a pivot of strategy, and investments in new technology to ensure that employees can work efficiently without disruption to customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-search-for-the-right-talent-to-empower-your-organization\"><strong>5. Search for the right talent to empower your organization<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s an unfortunate reality that during COVID-19 the go-to strategy to cut costs for some businesses is to reduce headcount. The upside is that the market is flooded with incredible candidates suited to support the finance function. These candidates have digital, finance and programming skills to help drive your business forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When considering candidates, search for exceptional skills that include vital customer service, flexibility, and good collaboration capabilities, in addition to the technical skills needed for specific jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How are CFOs and C-level decision-makers primed to oversee the technology needed to support and grow organizations, drive digital transformation, and commit their companies to change? To learn more, download Sage\u2019s free whitepaper, <em>The Tech Savvy CFO<\/em>: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/free-whitepaper-the-tech-savvy-cfo\/\">https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/free-whitepaper-the-tech-savvy-cfo\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To learn what Sage Intacct can do for your business, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/sage-business-cloud\/intacct\/\">https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/sage-business-cloud\/intacct\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nancy Tichbon is Managing Director, Sage Canada, a leader in integrated accounting and payment systems<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Free Whitepaper: The Tech Savvy CFO<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download your free guide and see the strategies that will help today\u2019s CFO step up to the next level.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-f59bf699-4bc5-4871-9942-3496a19e7ac9\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download the free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-508065515_super-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Audience watching speaker lead presentation\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2019\/01\/GettyImages-508065515_super-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recent years, those of us with our fingers on the pulse of the finance function in medium sized organizations have been inspired by the evolution of the CFO role and the finance function in general. Once regarded as the gatekeepers of risk and governance, the CFO has changed and advanced. Finance leaders have gone [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1115,"featured_media":8151,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_schema_page_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_schema_article_type":"","_sage_video":false,"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","sage_membership_post_content_type":"article","sage_membership_post_featured_video_id":"","sage_membership_post_video_type":"trailer","sage_membership_post_featured_video_duration":"","post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"business_type":[99],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[],"coauthors":[355],"class_list":["post-7480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","business_type-medium-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-ca","author_name":"Nancy Tichbon","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1307905824.jpg","imagine_tags":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Canada English","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1115"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=7480"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=7480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}