The value created by a modern CFO cannot be found in a ledger alone. Increasingly, finance leaders are focused on how value is felt, in employee wellbeing, in transparent reporting, and in the trust that binds teams together through change.
As part of BDO’s From CFO to Chief Value Officer campaign, we spoke with CFOs from across sectors who consistently highlighted the same trend: human factors are becoming central to business resilience and long-term success.
Making the Numbers Speak
For many CFOs, transparency is not a reporting exercise, it’s a leadership approach. Several interviewees shared how performance data is made visible to employees through live dashboards or real-time scorecards, giving individuals clarity on how their efforts translate into results. This openness builds accountability and engagement. By making financial metrics meaningful, finance teams are helping non-financial stakeholders understand the business drivers that matter — and connect to them more directly.
Balancing Short-Term Results with Long-Term Health
In businesses with tight margins or workforce shortages, people strategy is becoming inseparable from financial strategy. CFOs are working closely with HR to develop compensation schemes, hiring plans, and workload monitoring systems that reduce overtime and support workforce wellbeing. Where resistance arises, for example, with time tracking or productivity KPIs — CFOs are guiding teams through the adjustment by showing the personal value of new measures. Once employees see improvements to work-life balance or bonus clarity, initial hesitations often give way to buy-in.
Technology and Trust
Digital transformation is a priority for every CFO we spoke with, but implementation success hinges on adoption, and adoption hinges on trust. Replacing manual processes with digital tools can raise concerns, especially in long-established teams. CFOs are taking an active role in communicating the purpose of these changes. Whether introducing ERP systems, automating performance tracking, or integrating ESG data, finance leaders are investing time in helping teams understand the “why” behind the upgrade. Change management is no longer just an HR function, it’s part of the CFO’s remit.
Leadership by Empathy and Example
Today’s finance leaders are building trust not only through data and systems, but through presence and behaviour. Interviewees described prioritising open-door policies, encouraging cross-functional collaboration, and rotating team members across departments to foster wider understanding and professional growth. There’s also a strong emphasis on clarity: being honest about trade-offs, transparent about financial decisions, and open to ideas from every level. In doing so, CFOs are helping shape more agile, resilient, and motivated organisations.
The Culture of Value
The modern CFO is increasingly defined not by oversight, but by impact. Yes, they bring rigour to reporting and structure to strategy. But they also build cultures where transparency thrives, where trust is nurtured, and where people feel empowered to grow, personally and professionally. This is what it means to lead with a value mindset.
This article is part of BDO’s From CFO to Chief Value Officer campaign, based on a global series of interviews exploring how finance leaders are redefining their contribution to business success. For more insights, visit Chief Value Officer - Introducing key insights from our CFO interviews - BDO
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