CFOs See Silver Linings to Coronavirus Crisis

The coronavirus pandemic has spurred sudden enhancements at U.S. organizations and pushed CFOs to reprioritize technological innovation investment decision, in accordance to a Grant Thornton survey.

The accounting agency noted that far more than sixty% of CFOs cited enhanced versatile and distant get the job done environments as an upside of the pandemic, with 40% also noting enhanced collaboration, enhanced business processes, and an means to superior concentration on system.

Amid the shift to distant get the job done, sixty one% of finance chiefs indicated that they assume to increase investment decision in cybersecurity in the next yr. When requested to name the three most important issues facing their organizations, forty six% indicated cybersecurity risks, forty six% selected technological innovation upgrades, and 30% explained distant workforce difficulties.

Fifty-three p.c of respondents are prioritizing extended-time period foundational technological innovation infrastructure investment decision over technological innovation that addresses quick business demands (forty seven%).

“A yr ago, CFOs had been scrambling just to survive, but sometimes a disaster can accelerate positive alter,” Chris Schenkenberg, regional tax business traces national handling spouse at Grant Thornton, explained in a news launch.

The survey also exposed that several CFOs program to reduce travel and genuine estate bills in the coming yr and outside of and far more than fifty percent program to increase investment decision in their companies’ DE&I (range, fairness, and inclusion) and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) practices.

CFOs skewed destructive on taxes, with 39% declaring the Biden administration’s tax plans will negatively impact their businesses. Among organizations with far more than $1 billion in profits, 55% assume tax changes to have a destructive impact, even though only 29% of organizations with revenues among $101 and $500 million felt the exact.

Indicating the unique purpose acquisition corporation growth of 2020 will carry on, 84% of non-public corporation respondents explained SPACs have enhanced their curiosity in likely community. When requested no matter whether a SPAC or a common IPO would be their preference, respondents had been pretty much equally break up, with 49% deciding upon a SPAC and fifty one% deciding upon an IPO.

Much more than two-thirds of CFOs, having said that, assume enhanced SPAC regulation from the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021 even though 55% believe SPACs go away new community organizations overvalued.

coronavirus, ESG, Grant Thornton, distant get the job done, SPACs, survey, Technologies