Gartner’s 2025 CFO trends and priorities report points out, “The role of CFO is rapidly evolving, with over 70% of CFOs now shouldering responsibilities beyond finance.
The report elaborates:
“More than 75% of CFOs tell us they are now responsible for enterprisewide data and analytics.”
The story is clear. The finance function is evolving, and it’s critical that VPs, directors, and controllers on the team figure out how to relieve pressure.
Here are 3 low-hanging ways that finance leaders can take to free up bandwidth and keep making forward progress, no matter how much work piles up.
1. If you can, start the variance analysis process before the books are closed
The Secret CFO explains that starting your variance analysis before the books are closed introduces a number of efficiency gains:
- Improving collaboration between accounting and finance teams
- Cleaning up P&L coding issues
- Improving accounting’s understanding of the core business
- Accelerates the early part of the close
- Makes it possible to get quality reporting and analysis to the business faster, at the end of the month
“Budgeting, forecasting, analysis, strategic insight. None of it matters one bit if the sand is shifting beneath your feet,” points out The Secret CFO.
With advance preparation—by automating your reconciliations, for instance—, your finance team will have more time to think about the role of automation in data preparation, analysis, and reporting.
2. Introduce at least one predictive KPI to your toolkit
Ben Jones at CFO Connect explains: Finance teams need to be able to answer two key questions: “where have we been?” and “where are we now?”
To level-up in performance, finance leaders need to begin answering the question: “where are we going?”
“CFOs with this forward-thinking mindset provide actionable insights that help steer the company towards future opportunities and mitigate potential risks,” explains Jones.
Pick one metric, to start. Here are a few examples:
- Forecasted cash flow
- Customer lifetime value
- Churn projections
Begin to operate as a guide rather than a number-cruncher, to help set the tone for the organization. You can even collaborate across teams (i.e. with customer success) to start.
3. Simplify your asks—break down complex processes into fewer steps
If you’re repeating the same message to get your point across—or you feel like people aren’t listening to what you’re saying—the issue may not be your team. It could be you.
If you want to lead your organization towards the path from automation, the process from getting from A to Z needs to be clear. Consider simplifying your task from A to B—and then from B to C…and maybe D.
“Many finance leaders assume that everyone understands their plans and objectives without taking the time to explain them properly,” explains a recent article in GrowCFO. “This can lead to a lack of clarity and cause confusion amongst the team or stakeholders, resulting in miscommunication.”
Consider the month-end close process as an example. One of the most important steps you can take is to list out every single task in the process (i.e. review/approve of expense reports, review vendors balance aging).
With this perspective, you can introduce an automation strategy for each line item—focusing on a few tasks each month. Ledge’s Month-end Close Checklist can help you get started.
Getting started
Focus on one objective each quarter — just one.
Remember that the thought of a holistic automation strategy may be (uncomfortably) big-picture for someone who’s in the weeds of Excel every day. Focus on a few process changes at a time. Advance your automation goals incrementally. The benefits will compound.
