While a CFM’s primary role is to keep track of a company’s finances as well as accounting for all expenses and revenue, the digitalization of the finance function is fundamentally changing this role. Gone are the days when it was enough to serve as company bookkeeper; today’s CFMs have greater visibility across their businesses and are taking a more strategic approach to finance as a result.

Traditionally, the job was all about reporting on what happened yesterday (or last week or the previous month). CFMs, in the traditional state of CFM 1.0, relied mostly on manual processes, Excel spreadsheets, and monthly financial reports. Sure, financial history is important, but a CFM’s role was limited in this capacity. While they could show previous performance through the latest reports, they didn’t have a clear picture of the present state of the business.