This document discusses the changing role of Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) in social services organizations. It finds that CFOs are taking on more strategic roles beyond finance and are focusing on identifying new sources of value, digital transformation, data analytics, and developing new skills in their employees. The future of finance is seen as more insights-driven, using real-time data to guide strategic decisions and investments. While social services CFOs see opportunities in these areas, the document also finds they still lag private sector counterparts in automation, ROI from digital investments, and some analytical capabilities.

2. Finance is expanding
from back office, to
strategy and beyond.
2
Social services CFOs must think proactively.
From leveraging organisational assets, building
infrastructure, to partnerships with private
enterprises, the future of finance is here.

3. 3
Value is a key driver for
social services CFOs
More than organisational value, it is vital that
social services CFOs keep public value and
outcomes delivered top of mind.

4. Identifying and targeting new
sources of value will prepare
CFOs and their organisations
FORTHEFUTURE
Social services CFOs are leading by example as they begin to
take more strategic roles in their organisations and shape key
enterprise decisions and investments.
4

5. We spoke with finance leaders
Worldwide
Brazil
US
UK
France
Germany
Italy
City
National/Central
and Municipal
Working asThroughout
Government Budget Director
Secretary of Finance
Head of Finance
Finance Director
Director of Treasury
Controller
and Finance controller
18%
17%
17%
16%
16%
16%
49%
30%
21%
44%
16%
10%
9%
7%
4%
2%
5

6. The results show that a
digitally enabled future
for social services CFOs
is achievable, and just
AROUNDTHE
CORNER.
6

7. Finance in
the new
Pivot to
Smart Digital
Data & Talent
How will this happen?
• 100% automated
back office
• Real-time monitoring
• Guide on strategic
enterprise decisions
& investments
• Measure and manage
value across business
• Evaluating and
prioritising
• Sophisticated reporting
and business insights
• Governance of
enterprise data and
platforms
• Plan, budget and
forecast
• Smart digital solutions
• Planning, control
and reporting
• Advanced digital,
statistics, operational
and collaborative talent
• Agile and fluid
• Finance silos crumble
• Exceptions, perpetual
close and self-service
reporting
7

8. FINANCE
INTHE
NEW
8

9. CFOs are focusing on a wide
range of strategic initiatives
in order to create new value across the organisation
83%
Identifying and targeting areas of new
value across the organisation
Proportion of CFOs who say these ambitions
are a major focus:
Identifying and targeting areas of new
value across the wider business ecosystem
Providing real-time or near-real-time insight of
organisational performance to highlight risks
and opportunities
81%
80%
80%
67%
57%
Social Services Private
9

10. The impact of digital
on finance will primarily
be to improve efficiency
and productivity, rather
than to transform the
function dramatically
83%
OFCFOs
AGREE
10

11. SocialServicesCFOsaspiretoplaya
strongerroleindigitaltransformation
Finance should be involved at
the very beginning in any
investments decision about
new enterprise technologies
and their suppliers
Without a strong finance
function, our organisation will
not be able to achieve its
goals in the digital world
The finance function is best placed
to apply advanced analytics to
multi-dimensional data, to deliver
sophisticated reporting and
organisational insights
Finance is best placed, of all
functions in the organisation, to
help the organisation understand
the economic model underpinning
new technology investments
87%
80%
Extent CFOs agree with these statements
80%
70%
11

12. The CFO is best placed
to lead any initiative
that uses digital
enablers to improve
organisation-wide
performance
73%
OFCFOs
AGREE
12

13. To drive strategic change
CFOs must facilitate greater collaboration
and cross-functional working
Proportion of social services CFOs that say their function is moving
faster than the rest of the business is ready for
56%
Providing proactive analysis of future
operational scenarios
Assurance of control, compliance
and financial integrity
Exploring how disruptive new technologies
could benefit the entire organisation
Driving organisation-wide operational
transformation
Real-time monitoring of organisational performance
53%
43%
38%
31%
Social services
13

14. Believe their
organisation is moving
at the optimum pace to
identify and target areas
of new value across the
organisation
29%
OFCFOs
14

15. The most critical skill of CFOs
is their ability to formulate long-term
strategy and move with agility
Top skills required to be a successful CFO today
Long-term strategic thinking
Agile and responsive ways of
working, such as enabled by new
technology platforms
Ability to identify, hire, develop
and place the best talent
Lateral and innovative thinking
43%
36%
37%
29%
33%
30%
30%
21%
Social Services Private
15

16. THEPIVOTTO
SMARTDIGITAL
16

17. Planning, budgeting,
and forecasting
Social services CFOs are
ahead of the private sector
When it comes to adopting a future-focused mind-set
47% vs 33%
Investment planning
47% vs 33%
Setting organisational
goals and objectives
47% vs 27%
17

18. Social services are adopting
automation more slowly
And employee acceptance of working with robots
and standardised data will be crucial
Barriers to achieving results through automation
Employee resistance to working
with non-human “colleagues”
60%
Difficulty in standardising enterprise data or
agreeing upon a single “version of truth”
Concern about information security
60%
40%
Social services
18

19. Of finance tasks are
being performed by
technology today
22%
In 3 years’ time, automated tasks will grow to 36%
19

20. While social services CFOs have
difficulty defining ROI, they are not
far behind the public sector
ROI from digital technology investments to date
13%Investments exceeding initial ROI expectations
Attractive business cases emerging
Difficulty defining the ROI for digital investments
No tangible ROI to date
21%
20%
25%
23%
18%
10%
10%
Social Services Private
20

21. DATA&
TALENT
221

22. Social services CFOs
may need to enable greater cross-departmental
connectivity to secure advanced analytical skills
How the finance function can ensure access to new and essential capabilities
Engagement with the tech
ecosystem
80%
37%
70%
45%
45%
67%
57%
36%
Empowerment/enablement of existing
workforce to develop new skills
Create a collaborative and agile environment
to ensure connectivity and cross-
departmental sharing of ideas/insight
Remove traditional finance silos, pool
resources across functional departments
Social Services Private 22

23. Social services CFOs are rethinking
who is carrying out tasks and recruiting different skills
Essential skills when recruiting junior finance staff in three years’ time
Analytical skills
Ability to innovate
Financial modeling
General management
Advanced data visualisation
50%
47%
40%
40%
40%
Social services
23

24. Social media data
“e.g. sentiment
analysis”
The pivot of finance to
an insights centre
will support strategic decision-making,
risk assessment and value creation.
67%
Finance functions are seeing growing demand for insight
and analytics across the following areas
Risk and compliance data
‘regulated data sets”
63%
Operational data
“information on workforce,
resources, creditors,
suppliers, environment”
40%
24

25. As pressure to provide more
strategic insight grows
social services CFOs must enhance analytical capabilities
CFOs that rate their function as “strong” across key areas of analytics
Adopting new analytics technologies 70%
Understanding, measuring, and managing value
across business partners, customers and suppliers
Identifying which data sets contain
the most potential value
Moving data analysis from traditional “reporting”
to a “predictive” mindset
Combining financial data with non-finance
data and analysing effectively
72%
60%
74%
60%
72%
60%
70%
60%
72%
Social Services Private 25

26. The volume, velocity
and variety of data
means the finance
function will need to
enhance its adaptive
capacity to reach
decisions quickly
77%
OF SOCIAL
SERVICES
CFOsAGREE
26

27. As the CFO’s role expands, the
innovation gap between social
services and the private sector
will continue to shrink.
Finance is set to become a catalyst for a pivotal change, capitalising on
smart digital, driving insight through data & cultivating the right talent.
27

28. Copyright © 2019 Accenture. All rights reserved.
For more information:
GAURAV GUJRAL
Global Managing Director and Consulting Lead, Accenture Social Services
BERNARD LE MASSON
Managing Director of Health & Public Services, Accenture Strategy
@gauravgujral1 in/gaurav-gujral-02b
@bernardlemasson in/bernardlemasson
g.gujral@accenture.com
bernard.le.masson@accenture.com
28