For most organizations, 2020 was a difficult year, and 2021 is also considered a game-changer. Few businesses were prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and its widespread impact on nearly every industry. Many businesses held their breath, hoping for relief within a few weeks.

To weather the storm, company executives had to change course and perhaps pivot dramatically for their organizations to survive. Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and the company's employees stepped up in ways they'd never had to before. As finance teams worked harder and smarter to survive the epidemic, goals were continually changed and cash flow was assessed regularly. Furthermore, as firms prepare for a post-pandemic recovery, the role of chief financial officer in business is responsible for more than just the statistics. Employees must also function as useful business partners who can see the big picture, understand our organizations' ins and outs, and choose the most effective paths to success.

Here are 5 ways how a CFO can help the company succeed: -

1. Maintain a Versatile Organizational Structure –
Currently, for firms to expand, strong collaborations are required to unify the company, as well as a desire to convert their products by giving value-added capabilities to their services. As a result, the CFO must ensure that the business strategy is adaptable and can alter to offer value to the organization.

2. Cash flow Must be Monitored and Managed –
Cash is king in most businesses; it is the lifeblood of the firm. As a result, CFOs must pay close attention to cash flow. After more than a year of financial turmoil, many organizations' capacity to guarantee cash flow resumes will be critical to their survival. However, finance professionals must do more than just analyse cash flow; they must also regulate it strategically.

3. Technology Investment –
CFOs must comprehend the Return on Investment (ROI) that may be generated by utilizing digital technologies such as social media, cloud services, or data science, and they must maintain a strategy that promotes digital solutions and benefit the firm.

4. Evaluate Your Financial Situation –
The CFO must examine the economic worth of every business move made in the long term. To manage changing trends, organizational metrics should be considered from the beginning, and the corporation's economic future should be analysed.

5. Develop Improved Financial Component –
A CFO's financial abilities are crucial. They must accept a wide range of duties, which might include everything from being able to speak effectively towards being more aware of specialized process management expertise or certain financial areas.

6. Budgeting Strategies –
CFOs must focus on growing cash flow while lowering expenses and risk in order to effectively navigate the new normal. To genuinely drive organisational performance, the most effective CFOs must focus on restructuring and radically reconsidering budgeting.

Most business executives have already begun to shift away from budget planning and toward more flexible changeable budgeting. The customizable technique, which is usually finished in stages, offers for greater flexibility and faster modifications. CFOs that implement this technique will discover that their organizations are better equipped to shift gears and react on the fly in response to the new industry trends.

CFOs will be involved in all facets of business expansion, from customer acquisition to mergers and acquisitions and everything in between. In a post-pandemic world, more innovation is required than ever before, and CFOs are now working cross-functionally to guarantee that their firms remain competitive and successful. To construct the best way forward, forward-thinking financial executives will be on the front lines of development and change, and they must embrace their positions as innovators.