Inside the minds of industry CFOs

Joanne Balous, Travelers

Earlier this year, Travelers released the findings from its 2024 CFO study, which examined the issues that leaders are facing and identified what causes them the most concern and by the same token, what creates the most optimism for the future.

Joanne Balous, vice president of sales and marketing at Travelers, provided some background into the results of the study, which took place at the beginning of 2024. “We asked what headwinds they were encountering, what their concerns were and what created optimism on their part. The survey lets us see what CFOs are thinking so we can respond accordingly to better service our clients and build stronger relationships going forward.”

According to the survey, the top 10 factors creating the greatest concern were:

·       Economic uncertainty (33%)
·       Market competition (33%)
·       Talent acquisition and retention (32%)
·       Inflation (30%)

·       Customer satisfaction and retention (27%)
·       Financial stability of their companies (26%)
·       Cybersecurity (24%)
·       Interest rates (21%)
·       Public policies and regulatory compliance (20%)
·       Employee satisfaction and engagement (19)

Like many positions in every company, the skillsets today’s CFOs need are also evolving and a major concern is hiring and retention because much of a company’s business continuity and brand reputation are tied to this individual. Balous shared that there are many facets to this position, which now goes beyond financial management and extends to the areas of cybersecurity and macro-economic concerns like inflation and job reports, and workforce challenges. “Coming out of the pandemic, we had the great resignation and people were looking at their jobs differently. How do you keep your employees became an issue that fell into the CFO’s responsibilities.”

Balous said that when they need information, CFOs go to subject matter experts like insurance agents and brokers for advice on managing losses. Internally, she says that CFOs meet with their risk manager at least once a week and sometimes, once a day. She added that 24% of the CFOs from the study indicated that they rely on their insurance carrier to help with risk management and to help them mitigate losses.

The good news is that there are areas where CFOs are optimistic, and they identified these factors affecting that optimism:

·       Financial stability of the company (41%)
·       Corporate reputation (37%)
·       Customer satisfaction/retention (32%)
·       Artificial intelligence (30%)
·       Employee satisfaction and engagement (29%)
·       M&A Activity (24%)
·       Talent acquisition and retention (23%)
·       Shareholder satisfaction (21%)
·       Their company’s intellectual property (20%)
·       Diversity and inclusion (20%)

Balous said that 66% of the companies are investing in digital capabilities and hiring consultants where needed to help them manage the process. AI is also a priority, particularly how companies will use it, the risks and exposures it creates, and the opportunities for investment. CFOs are very focused on the future and the opportunities available to their firms.