Talent, cost management are key issues for CFOs: survey

Talent, cost management are key issues for CFOs: survey
By Jo-ann Huang | Posted: 13 April 2011 2124 hrs

SINGAPORE : Finding the right person for the job is getting more challenging, according to recent polls of chief financial officers (CFOs) in Asia and across the world.

The studies showed that more than three-quarters of CFOs surveyed are concerned about hiring and retaining the right finance professionals.

One study, which was conducted by business analytics firm SAP, revealed that the top three challenges faced by Asian CFOs for 2011 and 2012 were cost, talent and risk management.

Another study, conducted by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and accounting firm KPMG, said there is a lack of talent management strategy in financial departments globally.

The studies also revealed that rising costs are a key concern among CFOs.

CFOs said quality finance professionals are hard to find and retain. They said most finance professionals lack sufficient financial and commercial expertise, as well as negotiation abilities.

Studies by the ACCA also revealed that only 20 percent of chief financial officers surveyed have a talent management strategy going forward.

Chia Chey Hui, Country CFO, Singapore, ASEAN & Pacific, Phillips, said: "This will be a challenge that a lot of companies will face in the longer term. These days, people can get jobs easily elsewhere, so there is quite high turnover rate if this is not managed properly."

To remain competitive, CFOs from global firms are also grappling with rising costs.

Some firms said passing down the higher costs to their customers is a last resort.

Marc Seiler, executive director of finance & control, Nestle (Malaysia) Berhad, said: "This year is a challenging year from a commodities perspective.

"At Nestle, we use a lot of commodities in the recipes of our products - coffee, cocoa, palm oil, sugar, etc, which have shown a very steep increase in costs over the past year or so. So ... (there are) a lot of pressures on our cost structure.

With the economic crisis bringing more scrutiny to the role of CFOs, they are under pressure to focus on profit margins.

CFOs are also looking at ways to boost productivity.

S V Padmanabhan, senior vice president (Finance & Accounts), Olam International, said: "The basic data entry part of the information we have automated - that significantly insures that our information in terms of profit margins, positions and costs are available to the business leaders on a timely basis, which will help them to take the right decision for profitable growth.

Studies by SAP also revealed that complying with ever increasing corporate governance standards is also becoming a key challenge for CFOs.

- AFP/al

- wong chee tat :)