‘Many CFO roles now extend beyond financial stewardship into enterprise strategy, data, people, risk and trust.’
The central message from Beyond Accounting: The Role of the CFO was clear, as the CFO’s remit expands, technical competence must be matched by strategic judgment, people leadership, and the courage to protect the integrity of decision-making.
Article authored by Steve Brifu Sarkodie
Chartered Accountants Worldwide Network USA, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), and Fordham University brought finance leaders together in New York to explore how the CFO role is changing in practice. The discussion was moderated by Jon Reid CAANZ member, Director IESBA, and Carla Vijian, CAANZ member, Principal IESBA, and featured David Wray, ICAEW member, IESBA Board Advisor; Nikita Klassen, CPA Canada member, CFO The Westaim Corporation; Bambo Bamgbose, US CPA, fractional CFO and Head of Executive Services at British-American Consulting Advocacy; and Matthew Williams, ICAEW member, Divisional CFO at Everest Insurance.
The Panelists, with broad experience across different organization models and sectors, returned to the same tenet, CFOs are expected to move faster and influence more areas of the enterprise, yet they remain accountable for the reliability, transparency, and ethical quality of the decisions that follow. The panel also observed that, the source and extent of a CFO’s accountability vary by jurisdiction, organizational role and professional status. The IESBA Code applies directly to CFOs who are professional accountants; other CFOs may be accountable under law, governance arrangements or organizational codes.
From financial steward to enterprise strategist
The traditional responsibilities of capital management, reporting and control remain essential, but they now form the foundation of a much broader leadership role. CFOs increasingly help shape strategy, challenge assumptions, and connect decisions across the finance function.
Matthew described CFOs as “arbiters of decision quality.” That phrase captures the shift well. The CFO’s value lies not only in producing accurate information, but in asking whether the information is complete, whether the assumptions are sound, and whether the organization should proceed at all. In insurance, for example, strategy, capital, risk, and controls were likened to a traffic-light system: growth should move forward only when all signals are green.
The context changes across organizations. In small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s), limited resources often require CFOs to wear several hats. In government contracting and other regulated sectors, strategic leadership depends on understanding complex rules and balancing immediate requirements with long-term resilience. In every setting, the CFO must translate data into judgment.
Panelists share their experience below
Technical depth is no longer enough
The expanding remit brings CFOs into areas that may sit outside traditional accountancy training: cybersecurity, data privacy, artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability, human resources, and multigenerational workforce leadership. The challenge is not to become an expert in everything. It is to understand where the risks connect, recognize the limits of one’s own competence, and know when specialist support is required. That demands humility as much as confidence.
David shares his experience in this context
Panelists emphasized intentional hiring, constructive dissent, and the disciplined use of internal and external experts. Asking for help is not a weakness; it is a control. The CFO remains responsible for decisions within the CFO’s authority and for assessing whether reliance on an expert’s work is reasonable.
AI creates leverage and a duty to think
Panelists described finance teams using AI to retrieve data, develop models, write code, and accelerate research. Used well, it can shorten routine work and create more space for analysis. But speed does not remove the need for verification. Poor data, incomplete context, or an apparently confident output can push a weak narrative ahead of the evidence.
The panel highlighted risks including cybersecurity exposure, overreliance, weak traceability, and the erosion of early-career learning. If senior professionals use AI to bypass work delegated to junior team members, the profession may lose important opportunities to build discernment and practical experience. Leaders, therefore, need to share the efficiency gains by bringing teams into the process, showing how outputs are challenged, and teaching people to form expectations before accepting a result.
The practical conclusion was balanced: AI should be integrated, not ignored, but it must remain a tool. It is not a substitute for human judgment, professional skepticism, or accountability.
All Panelists share their experience below
Ethics remains the CFO’s anchor even under pressure
New responsibilities do not change the essence of the CFO role. If anything, they make its ethical foundation more visible. CFOs may face pressure from investors, executives, regulators, customers, and employees whose priorities do not always align. For CFOs who are Professional Accountants, the duty to act in the public interest calls for them to pause momentum, surface uncomfortable facts and support faithful, transparent reporting. .
Panelists described this as an “obligation to dissent,” actively seeking opposing views, resisting groupthink, and being prepared to say no when a proposed course conflicts with professional or organizational values. A simple headline test, how would this decision look if it appeared publicly, can help make an abstract ethical concern immediately. Bambo shares his experience as a fractional CFO in this context below
Also, the panelists looked at the pressures that come with the role, along with the ethical dilemmas, and how they deal with them.
Trust is the CFO’s most valuable currency
The discussion ultimately returned to trust. Finance leaders earn it through competence, candor, and consistency, admitting what they do not know, validating what they rely on, and creating an environment where others can challenge them. Trust can take years to build and only a few poor decisions to erode.
All panelists share their thoughts about the kind of support needed when it comes to the role below:
Panelists expected the CFO to be more strategic, technologically fluent, and connected across the enterprise. Yet the leaders who make the greatest contribution will preserve the qualities that have always given the finance function its authority: integrity, evidence-based judgment, and for CFO’s who are Professional Accountants, stewardship in the public interest.
Watch the full session: Beyond Accounting: The Role of the CFO