Waypoints: Ideas and Insights to Navigate Enterprise Complexity

If you ask a dozen executives if their goals for their companies include long-term growth, you would probably get a unanimous “Yes” from the group. If you then asked them to define what long-term growth looks like at their companies, you might get a dozen different answers. In order to prepare a business for long-term growth, the first step is to understand what exactly needs to grow.

(Spoiler alert: Your favorite accounting and advisory firm is not about to write a blog post to announce that we’ll be replaced by technology.)

As a baby boomer, my accounting career has coincided with an exponential growth in the application of technology to the work that CPAs do. As a young staff auditor in the early 1980s, I recall lugging around “portable” computers that looked more like sewing machines than today’s ultralight laptops and tablets.

I started with HORNE fresh out of college a little over 10 years ago. I’m part of the Millennial generation, usually described as those born between the early 1980s and 2000. Many of the qualities that make a workplace attractive to my generation started to evolve as generations ahead of us struggled to integrate new and faster computers into jobs that previously had little or no automated assistance. The key difference for Millennials is that some form of information technology or automation has been a part of our lives throughout our formative years, and that creates certain expectations about how technologically savvy our employers will be.  

Since last year's election campaign began, a consistent chorus from politicians has been the need for tax reform. While Republicans and Democrats will disagree on the details, the overall notion is popular. Now, with control of both houses of Congress and the White House, it would seem that Republicans could move a plan of their choosing with little problem.

To close out our series, Top Middle Market CFO Challenges for 2017, we see a key concern for CFOs this year is managing financial strategies in light of the potential changes in tax laws. There will certainly be new changes to tax regulations in the coming years. This is welcome news to the business leaders surveyed by CNBC. Of this group, 73.9 percent of U.S.-based CFOs agree that Trump's principal focus should be corporate tax reform. In response, the new Congress and President have made tax reform a key element of their policy agenda. How these changes impact your business and how you capitalize on them will help drive your success in coming years.

As we continue in our series, Top Middle Market CFO Challenges for 2017, the growing threat of cybercrime is becoming top of mind for today’s CFOs. Cyberattacks are on the rise. In 2016, the number of US data breaches increased 40%—an all-time record high according to the Identity Theft Resource Center.

It may be easy to assume that the responsibility for addressing cyber risks rests with your IT department, because after all, these appear to be mostly IT-related risks. However, what may be less obvious are the very significant financial risks involved with a cyber breach. This should be keeping most CFOs up at night. 

As we continue to explore the top middle market CFO challenges for 2017, it is clear that the CFO’s role is changing to focus more on providing strategic guidance to support the organization’s growth and decision making. Last week’s blog addressed how CFOs need to optimize working capital and to effectively accomplish this requires executing real time data analysis and predictive analytics to make the best decisions from the information that is available.

Companies with strong working capital have a competitive advantage in the marketplace and are poised to take advantage of growth opportunities—whether that means expanding a product line or acquiring a company. In addition, having significant working and strong liquidity gives CEOs and boards of directors a distinct advantage when it comes to weighing financing options. And, as we pointed out in last week’s blog, CFOs have a more strategic role than ever so optimizing working capital is a key priority.

The CFO role is changing and those that embrace that change will successfully grow their companies. Last week, we identified five challenges we see for CFOs in 2017.  As the first blog in this series, we will help you anticipate and navigate the risks and opportunities the year brings.

I can safely say that, so far, 2017 has been anything but dull. With a new administration in place, our clients and you as well, are likely watching the political and business drama unfold and wondering what effect it will have on your business and how to plan for growth in the future. 

Watch the news—cybersecurity is the hot topic in the business world today. With all this attention, it’s no surprise that more service providers are adding cybersecurity to their service menu. Offense-oriented services, like penetration testing, can be a cost-effective way to identify vulnerabilities. Executives, senior management, and boards of directors are keen to find their own weaknesses, as they are the ones that will be held accountable in a breach.

Vendor risk is one of the key problem areas of enterprise risk management. Among other things, outsourcing critical processes and systems containing confidential information makes the challenge of managing vendor risk and compliance even more difficult. According to Director of Cyber IT Risk Services Bryan Allison, businesses should focus on four key areas in order to protect themselves, their employees, the customers that are the core to their existence, and even the vendor. Read more about efficiently and effectively managing risks in vendor relationships in Bryan’s HORNE Cyber blog below.  

As we start 2017, I'm sure you've at least thought about making personal New Year's resolutions. Whether it's health or life balance or career advancement, the start of a new year is a perfect time to assess where we are as individuals. I'd like to suggest that it's also a perfect time to assess where we are as companies.