{"id":6785,"date":"2020-01-30T08:00:25","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T13:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=6785"},"modified":"2026-02-12T05:10:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T10:10:30","slug":"cfo-digital-transformation-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/cfo-digital-transformation-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to CFO 3.0 and digital transformation beyond financial management"},"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-us\/blog\/category\/strategy-legal-operations\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Strategy, Legal &amp; Operations<\/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\tA guide to CFO 3.0 and digital transformation beyond financial management\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<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-01-30T08:00:25-05:00\">January 30, 2020<\/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=\"A guide to CFO 3.0 and digital transformation beyond financial management\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/cfo-digital-transformation-guide\/\"\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<\/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-us\/blog\/author\/asavinwattanajantra\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Asavin-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"Asavin\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Asavin-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Asavin-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Asavin-810x810.jpg 810w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Asavin.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Asavin Wattanajantra<\/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<p>The world of business is changing at a rapid pace. And for the finance department, that sentiment couldn\u2019t be more evident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we move to a digitized world, CFOs and finance teams are moving away from basic tasks such as manually inputting numbers and reporting on the figures. Now, when it comes to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/sage-business-cloud\/sage-x3\/\">financial management<\/a>, they are moving to interpret real-time data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the next step is to become a visionary within their businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But what does that mean for you as a CFO, and how can you make that a reality for your role and your company?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>CFO 3.0: Digital transformation beyond financial management<\/strong>&nbsp;is a new guide that looks at the evolution of the chief financial officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It will show you how technology, such as artificial intelligence and automation, can help you take your finance team and your role to the next level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CFO 3.0: Digital transformation beyond financial management covers the following topics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>CFO 1.0: Driving the digitalization of the finance function<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CFO 2.0: The evolution of finance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CFO 3.0: The Path to \u2018Visionary\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-bd2874c4-655e-43f1-95ce-d4ba1cb819e5\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-bd2874c4-655e-43f1-95ce-d4ba1cb819e5\"\n\t>Download your free guide<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-an-excerpt-from-cfo-3-0-digital-transformation-beyond-financial-management\"><strong>An excerpt from CFO 3.0: Digital transformation beyond financial management<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, most companies exist in a state of CFO 2.0, a situation where we analyze data in the present. We have some great tools to help us, such as automated finance processes, financial management technology and sophisticated data sets. Living in the present, we are staring impotently at the road ahead of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enter CFO 3.0. A new era where the amalgamation of Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) delivers us to a new nirvana.&nbsp; CFO 3.0 is a new&nbsp;breed&nbsp;of trailblazing finance leaders who&nbsp;use data and emerging technology to&nbsp;create a vision for the future.&nbsp;They embrace&nbsp;new techniques, such as predictive analytics, to drive digital transformation to new frontiers of its capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To truly understand this transition from CFO 1.0 to CFO 3.0, we commissioned a study that enabled us to comprehend the opportunity better and challenges our fellow finance professionals are experiencing. We spoke to over 500 US-based CFOs to gain their perspective on what their future job description might look like and get a feel for the real impact tech is having on their day to day tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In our report, CFO 3.0 digital transformation beyond financial management, we share your stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-you-want-to-automate-tasks-to-free-up-time\"><strong>You want to automate tasks to free up time<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of you told us that your job had changed faster in the past five years than at any time in the past. And although many have embraced automation and the latest in financial management tools, you shared that you too suffer from chronic time pressure and bureaucracy. As a CFO, you are spending too much time on day-to-day tasks due to manual processing. At the same time, you also have to grapple and master the latest in technology developments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no doubt that the mindset and mentality of Millennials and Generation Z are also driving change. They enjoy working and interacting with the latest technology. They think nothing of remote working or adapting social channels to the workplace. To attract and retain the best talent, including the newest generation, you need to adopt the same technology and attitude \u2013 it\u2019s what is required today to be a top organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-you-are-the-visionary\"><strong>You are the visionary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As the CFO, you are in a unique position to see across the business in real-time. You now have the freedom to become visionary business leaders, strategists, and the essential confidant to the CEO. And for those of you looking for a new challenge, the door is open to leading the company as CEO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the new era \u2013 enter into the world of CFO 3.0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\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\">CFO 3.0 &#8211; Digital transformation beyond financial management<\/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>CFOs are playing a key role in digital transformation. Learn how you can move from a &#8216;historian&#8217; to a &#8216;visionary&#8217; within your business.<\/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-bd2874c4-655e-43f1-95ce-d4ba1cb819e5\"\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 your free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__downloads\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t2,508 readers have downloaded this guide\t\t\t\t<\/div>\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-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/CFO-3-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/CFO-3-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\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\">Subscribe to our Sage Advice Newsletter<\/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>Get our latest business advice delivered directly to your inbox.<\/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-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b\"\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>Subscribe<\/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=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working from home with tea in hand\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The world of business is changing at a rapid pace. And for the finance department, that sentiment couldn\u2019t be more evident. As we move to a digitized world, CFOs and finance teams are moving away from basic tasks such as manually inputting numbers and reporting on the figures. Now, when it comes to&nbsp;financial management, they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":356,"featured_media":6782,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[348,44],"tags":[170,396,304],"business_type":[41],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[94,52,53],"persona":[100],"imagine_tag":[],"coauthors":[586],"class_list":["post-6785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-guides-templates","category-strategy-legal-operations","tag-business-strategy","tag-cfo-3-0","tag-digital-transformation","business_type-growing-business","industry-distribution","industry-food-beverage","industry-manufacturing"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Asavin Wattanajantra","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/01\/CFO-article6.jpg","imagine_tags":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/356"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/6782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=6785"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=6785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}