To make a real impact, finance professionals require business acumen.

In recent times, business acumen has emerged as a vehicle for improving financial performance and a source of leadership (Wikipedia).

Business acumen comes from problem-solving, deliberate practice, and experience. Business skills develop over time by talking to stakeholders, reading and learning more about the company such as the strategic business plan/annual report, and visiting the manufacturing plant.

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Elliot Felix, the founder of brightspot strategy and global innovator in higher education recently joined us for a CFO Talk.

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This article kicks off a four part series from Gustavo.

Including effective sustainability concepts into the financial strategy of companies is a major challenge CFOs face today.

The implementation of sustainable business models presents several aspects to consider. Among them, new skills that must be acquired to meet the requirements, complying with reporting obligations, complications arising from using non-financial indicators and compliance with the different global and local regulations stand out. In this article we will address the skills that CFOs must develop to get the most out of these initiatives.

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Leadership seems to be one of those traits defined by “You know it, when you see it.” I have met a CFO who was the brightest lightbulb in the room but could not lead their business to the light switch. I have also met a CFO who didn’t seem to work that hard and wasn’t a rocket scientist but was able to move mountains in their job. Why could one get things done while the other struggled? Leadership.

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Almost anything worth doing is inherently risky. But many businesses and individuals try to avoid risks and play safe. But this safety often leads to mediocrity, complacency, and ultimate downfall as seen in the case of Blockbuster, Kodak, Xerox, Yahoo, Borders Bookstore, and many more. In today’s VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) world, apart from forecasting the low-probability, high-impact “Black Swan” events with predictive analytics, business leaders can protect their business with good risk management practices and further hedge their business. In addition, in business, there is no innovation and growth without risks. Innovation and growth are intrinsically tied to risk; if you want bigger returns and rewards, you have to take on more risks. So how can business enterprises effectively manage risks? Below are the 5 key enterprise risk management (ERM) steps.

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