Andrew Collis is Moneypenny’s Chief Financial Officer and a veteran CFO with a passion for people and technology.
The expectations placed on the business have changed dramatically. Reliability, trust, and transparency is expected, and is not an option. And with that shift, new challenges and opportunities arise for the Chief Financial Officer.
The fiscal era was limited to spreadsheets, with quarterly forecasts coming to an end. Today, CFOs need a seat at the brand table to not only register with the marketing budget, but also to ensure that financial decisions made across the business reflect and strengthen the company’s values, vision and public promises.
As leaders, we know that brands are more than marketing. It is a living reality of how a business operates, including how it allocates resources, invests in people, supports sustainability, and communicates risk. As CFOs, we see financial decisions we make as external signal markers of identity, integrity and intention.
Historically, brands have been the realm of marketing and communication, logos, voice tones, campaign messaging. But the world has changed. Today’s clients, consumers and employees are very value-driven. They scrutinise every element of how a company behaves, including how and where the money is spent.
Take sustainability as an example. It’s not enough for businesses to make ambiguous pledges or plant trees everywhere. People want to see meaningful and measurable investments. In my company, Wrexham’s headquarters was built with sustainability in mind. From solar panels to stormwater harvesting systems and EV chargers, the physical footprint of our business reflects our values. But that would not have happened without financial leadership that actively advocates for long-term value rather than short-term cost reductions.
Or consider focusing on employee well-being. It’s easy to talk about people being their first business, but when the claims are backed up by financial commitments, real credibility comes into play. We invested in world-class work environments, including onsite pubs, treehouse meeting rooms and spaces of dedicated happiness.
This is because we believe that it is not only the right thing to do, but also that happy people do a better job. That belief is now part of our employer brand, attracting and increasing retention for top people. Again, funding and listening to what our people wanted in their offices (our founders asked every member of our team what they wanted in the office and put this in the blueprint)) played a key role in transforming values into concrete reality.
Financial transparency builds trust.
Financial capabilities become the basis for brand trusts as businesses are under increasing pressure to prove they are doing the right thing environmentally, socially and ethically. Financial transparency is more than just a regulatory requirement. That’s the need for reputation.
Investors and stakeholders want to see the consistency between what the business says and what it does. If you claim to be concerned about diversity, does your recruitment and leadership support it? Ultimately, it’s about putting your money where your mission is. It starts with clear and consistent reporting.
This is particularly important when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics. Too many companies still treat ESG as a bolt-on, reporting in another document that doesn’t tie it to their core strategy at all. But ESG is financial and is right for your employees, customers and the environment.
Whether it’s the cost of carbon saving initiatives, the return on investment (ROI) for mental health programs, the organization of blood donation banks in collaboration with local hospitals, or risks related to supply chain ethics, these commitments all appear in numbers and shape brand perception.
Move from scorekeeper to strategic storyteller.
Previous CFOs have been gatekeepers and focused on managing costs, controlling risk and ensuring compliance. But today’s CFOs must be storytellers, not in the sense that they create slogans, but also in the sense that they help shape the business’s narrative through smart, strategic financial decisions.
That means working closely with marketing, operations, your people, and the business as a whole. It also means embracing a more active role in brand strategy, saying, “Does this investment reflect who we are?” or “Does this initiative strengthen the trust we have built together with our stakeholders?”
This change is happening across the industry as companies increasingly recognize that it is just as important as the way they say it. Decisions about sustainability, happiness, innovation, or community support all communicate a brand message, and CFOs play an important role in ensuring that the message is consistent, reliable and financially sound.
The CFO’s responsibility is not only to approve budgets, but to shape the financial narrative behind every major initiative. It is to ensure that capital is allocated in a way that supports long-term value creation, tailored to the expectations of both investors, communities and employees.
The brand table is expanding.
Businesses are interconnected, and business functions are becoming as well. The brand table is where real decisions are made about the future of a company, and finance must be part of that conversation.
As CFOS, we bring a unique perspective. Understand trade-offs, predict risk and drive accountability. But we are also responsible for ensuring that the financial engine of business promotes the brands people believe in. It is a trustworthy, consistent and long-term trust brand.
It’s not about changing the basis of the CFO’s role, it’s about recognizing its broad influence and using it to support a consistent and trustworthy brand.
The information provided here is not investment, tax or financial advice. Advice regarding a particular situation should be consulted with a licensed professional.
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