External forces such as trade tensions and cybersecurity threats can put pressure on an organization’s financial results, and CFOs are painfully aware of that, according to a recent survey from spend management software developer Coupa.
The survey of 500 finance leaders in the US and Europe, conducted in January and February (before the stuff really hit the fan), found that 69% of CFOs were worried about meeting year-end financial targets. They listed geopolitical instability, supply chain disruptions, and inflation as their organizations’ three biggest external risks.
“Today’s finance leaders are facing an alarming set of external pressures and are navigating an ever changing set of risks which challenges their decision making,” Coupa CFO Michael Agresta said in a statement. “Despite these dynamic forces, they are driving cost discipline in order to fuel growth, building more resilient supply chains, and scaling their use of AI to fuel more efficient organizations.”
As CFO Brew recently reported, a lot of these risks are intertwined and require organizations to think differently about managing them.
Response needed. Even ahead of Trump’s early April announcement of sweeping tariffs and subsequent trade actions, organizations were making operational changes, the survey found. Approximately one-fifth of respondents said their companies were increasing inventory levels, automating certain processes, employing hedging strategies, raising prices, and/or shifting supply chains in response to tariff concerns.
CFOs relayed other major non-macroeconomic concerns in the Coupa survey. They listed cybersecurity threats, sustainability and ESG requirements, and regulatory and compliance complexity as their top three near-term (six to 12 months) obstacles.
This report was originally published by CFO Brew.