{"id":8550,"date":"2022-09-06T17:54:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-06T21:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/?p=8550"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:01:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:01:17","slug":"the-redefined-cfo-why-canadian-finance-leaders-are-seeking-roles-offering-purpose-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-ca\/blog\/the-redefined-cfo-why-canadian-finance-leaders-are-seeking-roles-offering-purpose-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"The Redefined CFO: Why Canadian Finance Leaders are Seeking Roles Offering Purpose & Meaning"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMoney Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Redefined CFO: Why Canadian Finance Leaders are Seeking Roles Offering Purpose & Meaning\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\tNeal Cranna<\/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

A new breed of Canadian CFO is focussing on purpose and meaning in their work, says Pamela Steer, President & CEO of CPA Canada<\/a>, as she looks to the future of financial stewardship and the evolving roles of Chief Financial Officers at Canadian businesses and organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steer\u2019s recent webcast discussion<\/a> with Sage Canada Country Manager Daniel Oh focused on analyzing the multiple demands placed on financial stewardship professionals in a rapidly evolving world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to joining CPA Canada<\/a> in early 2022, Steer was was a Chief Financial and Corporate Strategy Officer at Payments Canada and, before that, served as CFO and Head of Finance and Employer Services for the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her new role with CPA, Steer is applying her acumen and experience to the demands placed on CFOs in Canada in the post-pandemic space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New roles for CFOs<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A lot has changed over the past three years and the purview of the chief financial officer has morphed\u2014and continues to do so\u2014in many ways. The CFOs of the future<\/a>, Steer is noticing, look to provide positive impacts in their workplaces and employees as well as on the Canadian economy in general.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The increasingly diverse responsibilities CFOs are expected to shoulder in guiding the success of their organizations are, in a practical sense, redefining the CFO role within many Canadian organizations. More importantly, this evolution of roles is crucial for organizations to remain relevant and viable\u2014and competitive\u2014in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for value and meaning<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Because CFOs have, historically, been given wide-ranging oversight in regard to the tactical and strategic work in organizations, Steers notes that \u201cthere is a lot of appreciation among CEOs for the vast amount of work that CFOs do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that success helps explain why the CFO roles are expanding in very specific ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat’s why we always get the tough jobs and why we’re seeing, as you’ve demonstrated in your [Sage] report, that our roles keep enlarging. Because we’re really competent, we’re really dedicated, and we work our butts off. That’s not enough anymore for some people, and they want something that responds more to their values and their personal goals, at the same time as fulfilling their career aspirations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Watch the webcast recording]<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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War for talent<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Steer goes on to say, \u201cWe\u2019ve got what we still call \u2018the great resignation.\u2019 There is both a war for talent as well as people are re-evaluating what they really want out of their roles, out of their careers. In my opinion people are looking for more values-based, mission-based work that has purpose and meaning to them personally, as well as on a corporate level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steer\u2019s instincts are corroborated a recent survey of 1900 finance leaders (500 from Canada) conducted by Sage in early 2022. These finance leaders work in organizations across a variety of sectors including retail, financial services, healthcare, hospitality, technology, non-profit, and professional services that have annual revenue of at least $5 million and employ less than 1000 people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This survey informed The Redefined CFO Report<\/em><\/a> and it identified three breeds of CFO that are emerging to lead businesses and organizations into a technology-powered future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read related article: The Redefined CFO\u00ad\u20143 key trends to watch out for<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three new breeds of CFO<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The research indicates that CFOs are being called upon to shape the success of their organizations in ways that require them to draw upon non-traditional skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report identities three new personas of the CFO role, which can be identified with the following titles and characteristics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n