CFO Changing Role

I guess the role of CFO has changed, not just for university but in general. Primarily also because of the changes in the marketplace. Traditionally, many CFOs are very much keeping the books, the financial books. But now, given what goes on in the marketplace the need to compete, the need to survive, the need to respond to negative market changes the CFO has to step up and help the business heads stay ahead of the curve. You have to stay ahead of the curve, to look out for what are the bad things that may come. So the CFO is one of the key people to do that because he has his hand on the financial pulse of the institution. You know, you don't want the institution to die from bleeding financially or to die from a heart attack because it can't take a market shock. So the CFO is very key. So now the CFO, apart from balancing the books, he's also a key risk manager for the institution, managing the business risk to make sure that we don't undertake businesses that have high financial commitment and high financial risks. And also to make sure that, financially, the institution is kept on a sustainable path that we don't over commit beyond our ability to sustain. So all these are incumbent upon the CFO's role nowadays. That you can no longer just sit back and account for the numbers. Now those numbers represents information to you. You should be interpreting those numbers and say what are those numbers telling you about the institution, about the financial health of the institution and therefore, how do we keep it going. That's the role of the CFO. And also, on top of that, with all I mean needs are always changing and growing how do I plan to meet those needs, sometimes with resources that you don't have? So you got to plan ahead. How am I going to find financing and funding to meet those needs as well? So, you are, in a sense, a key player in bringing in a key financial resource to keep the institution going. So it's a very vital role now.