On the other hand, CFOs may help to find the point at which promotion of innovation and safe financial decisions are well-balanced, according to an article on the cfo.com website.
It is rather like financial diversification: there are some investments items you must have; then there are some which are more flexible, plus those which are highly risky. CFOs are experts in understanding these nuances, a fact which helps them create a diversified portfolio tailored to their company's needs. This is a valuable skill.
Accept the grey zone
If you are a CFO, you probably love order and precision. However, this shouldn’t hinder your ability to acknowledge the fact that sometimes not everything is black or white: there are also many shades of grey. In the end, the very nature of innovation makes it a vague concept. The final goal can shift several times even while you are working on it.
What a CFO can do is to place some boundaries on projects. This will help ensure everything is clearly articulated and kept within measurable financial parameters. Such a mindset will enable a CFO still to protect the company financially, while at the same time helping to promote ideas that could take the company to a new and potentially very profitable place.
How to strike the balance?
In order to achieve this, CFOs need to go beyond their usual comfort zone. They have to accept greater flexibility but still remain sceptical and conservative because that is what makes them good in their role. But greater flexibility is essential: without it a CFO cannot really understand and appreciate the value of a particular innovation.
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