Banks today face a mixed bag of challenges, but they are using these circumstances to up their digital game, finding new opportunities for customers to interact with them.

A bank’s CFO is instrumental to this heightened emphasis on digital. Our report, ‘Breakout speed: How banking CFOs are building the new future’, finds CFOs playing a lead role in driving transformation.

Accenture’s global ‘CFO Now’ study finds best-in-class CFOs across all industries—including banking—are equipped to provide real top- and bottom-line growth. Our banking report shows banking CFOs are also working to expand the bank’s reach, taking a closer look at environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability reporting, digitalizing within the function, and shifting to remote and more agile forms of working.

As banks work to help investors manage risks associated with sustainability, they are increasingly focused on ESG concerns. A standardized, global approach to ESG reporting would support efforts to navigate the various concerns. It falls to the CFO to help capture, validate and report large amounts of unstructured and variegated data, and lead the charge toward standardization.

A standardized ESG approach could boost business model profitability. CFOs are naturally positioned to drive a business’s ESG agenda focused around risk, regulation and returns, and already are taking steps in this direction: 72% of banking CFOs say the finance function is ultimately responsible for ESG in their enterprise.

To help their banks achieve greater efficiency and enhance their customer service, CFOs are pushing forward with digitalization for the enterprise. The question is, are they doing all they can to maximize digital technology’s potential?

Our study suggests they could do more, particularly in some critical areas:

• With cloud comes enhanced scalability. But 38 percent of CFOs say they tap cloud mainly for cost efficiencies, while only 26 percent prioritize growth and 20 percent new insights from their use of cloud.
• Advanced analytics presents another underused opportunity for banking CFOs. Only 34 percent of banking CFOs are tapping advanced analytics to achieve new growth. They are less likely than their cross-sector counterparts to consider predictive modeling.
• Banking CFOs have made clear progress around automation. One in three say improved operational efficiency, thanks to intelligent automation, is a key outcome of their current work. Our report suggests analytics and machine learning will be increasingly essential.
• Cryptocurrencies get a lot of publicity. Banking CFOs may wish to consider, and prepare for, their potential to drive disruption. Today, 72 percent—higher than the cross-industry average of 63 percent—say their business systems are unprepared for a shift to cryptocurrencies.

One of the more dramatic effects of the pandemic has been the sudden change in working environments. Here, too, banking CFOs are well-positioned to make a difference.

Accenture’s global research finds CFOs building on three key business roles. They continue to hold their traditional role of economic guardian, but this is increasingly combined with their new roles as architects of business value and catalysts of a firm’s digital strategy.

Our banking research emphasizes three steps banking CFOs should prioritize:

1. Take a predictive stance toward ESG: How can banking CFOs prepare their enterprises for the sustainability challenges on the horizon?
2. Automate to enhance compliance: Can CFOs ensure technology is driving better, more efficient compliance?
3. Embed new skills for breakthrough speed: Are banking CFOs enabling data-driven decision making, strengthening collaboration and building new skill sets—all essential to delivering breakthrough speed?

If they can reply with a ‘yes’ to these questions, banking CFOs are likely already helping their enterprises transform the business model and identify new sources of value. In this way, they can help their bank outmaneuver tomorrow’s uncertainty today.