Leader or follower?

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We are glad to have the opportunity to present you with a PricewaterhouseCoopers survey on how CFOs can help their companies achieve significant and sustainable cost reductions.

In a very short period, the agenda of CFOs has gone from control at all costs to absolute cost control. The celebrations which followed achieving statutory and regulatory compliance, the SOx sign off, and Basel II compliance seem a distant memory, as companies now face up to the harsh reality of simply trying to survive.

Many see the role of CFOs as being helping businesses understand the financial implications of the operational decisions they take. There is no doubt that this is true; however, there is now a new viewpoint emerging: that CFOs can also play a role in helping businesses understand the operational decisions that need to be taken in order to improve their financial position.

The survey considers how CFOs should navigate through the downturn and how both the CFO as functional leader and the finance function of a company as a whole can facilitate a profitable and successful future for their company.