Welcome to yet another edition, chief!

In today’s edition — Today’s CFOs are constantly stepping into new roles and donning new hats — much like Optimus Prime, the Transformer who changes shapes to save the day. The finance chiefs are no longer only numbers guys. They manage risks, fix crises, and reinvent themselves as new assets to ensure businesses are steady, growing, and well-prepared for whatever comes next.

Evolution From Ledger to Leadership

Vishwas Ved

There was a time when being a CFO only started and ended with one thing: keep the books straight and the auditors happy. Simple, predictable, maybe even a little boring. That world doesn’t exist anymore.

Today’s CFO in India is part of almost every big decision, whether it’s planning an IPO, figuring out how to expand, or keeping the business steady when a sudden regulatory change upsets everything.

In other words, finance leaders now put on a different hat depending on the situation. And like a Transformer, they reshape and expand themselves to become far more valuable and useful to their organisations than their original role demanded.

An article on Forbes earlier this week says there are nine types of CFOs around the world, which is essentially an interesting mix of strategist, crisis king, tech ninja, and probably everything in between.

Let's get them one by one, and as we do that, feel free to choose which category you belong to.

More Than a Numbers Guy

Past studies by organisations like IMA and Russell Reynolds have established that CFOs in India as well are stepping up beyond their traditional number-crunching role and becoming strategy partners of their CEOs.

According to Amit Chand, CFO, REA India, the owner of Housing.com and PropTiger.com, these responsibility changes of CFOs aren’t just fancy ideas. The finance chiefs are actively getting involved in areas such as digital upgradation and AI-led forecasting, he says.

For the modern CFO, it’s now as much about numbers as it is about knowing when to take risks, when to tighten the purse strings, and when to say no to a business plan.

And then there are CFOs who focus on keeping the business steady, while some others push for rapid growth — two very different approaches reshaping modern finance leadership.

Which brings us to the next two types.

Steady Hands & Growth Chasers

CFOs in India are showing up in very different ways, depending on the company and its needs. 

Some are the steady hands — calm, methodical, making sure regulatory filings are correct, audits pass without issues, and the cash keeps on coming.

It’s not flashy work, but it forms the backbone that allows bolder strategies to take off. Forbes calls this the “financial guardian” archetype. That also means that unachievable, head-in-the-cloud ideas don't get past the first discussion itself.

Then there are the “growth chasers”. 

You’ll often find them in high-energy startups or VC-backed firms, making moves big enough to scale from ₹100 crore to ₹1,000 crore. They also work closely with sales and product teams to push the business forward. 

The steady hands keep the engines running, while the growth chasers drive the wagon forward. The real magic comes when a CFO can do a bit of both.

Leading Change, Staying Calm

Some finance chiefs are referred to by Forbes as “the Transformation CFOs” because they play a crucial role when the company is required to reinvent itself. 

In our country, the role of such finance leaders in a company becomes important all the more because many family-run businesses are in the process of updating old systems, rolling out new software, and introducing tech-enabled dashboards to improve decision-making.

These changes sound like the most logical thing to adopt, but they aren't easy, primarily because people are more open to replacing machines and technology than reinventing themselves. The CFO ensures the transition happens smoothly, even if it annoys the old guard reluctant to adopt new ways of working.

And when something unexpected happens — like COVID-19 disruptions or sudden regulatory changes — such CFOs are the ones sitting alongside CEOs, helping the company navigate the crisis.

Tech-Savvy Finance Leader

This particular type of CFO, according to Forbes, is growing the most as organisations realise the power of technology in finance. 

These finance chiefs are automating routine tasks, building real-time dashboards, and using AI to know the problem even before it occurs. The simple goal is to be able to make better decisions, but a bit faster.

They ask questions like, “How will this free up our team to focus on strategy?” or “How can better data help us act sooner?”

These tech-savvy CFOs are quickly becoming the go-to leaders for problems even beyond finance. And it's going quite well for them as we observed in our edition just last Friday.

Final Words

The CFO cabin isn’t what it used to be. Now, it’s more like a cockpit and a command centre. This is where the money moves as well as big strategic decisions are discussed.

The best finance leaders change shapes and strategies like Transformers, stepping into whatever role the business needs. They learn quickly, take manageable risks, and keep the company moving even when the road gets bumpy.

Yes, it's true their designation hasn’t changed, but the responsibilities certainly have..

$10 million

Walt Disney will pay $10 million to settle US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) allegations that the company unlawfully allowed personal data to be collected from children who viewed kid-directed videos on YouTube without notifying parents or obtaining their consent. The FTC had alleged that Disney did not designate some YouTube videos as being made for children when they were added to the platform. The complaint said the mislabeling allowed Disney, through YouTube, to collect personal data from viewers of child-directed videos who were under age 13 and use that data for targeted advertising to children.

—Trump family lands $5bn windfall from new crypto venture. The Trump family has gained a $5bn (£3.7bn) fortune from its crypto business, making its wealth from virtual currencies more valuable than its property empire. On Tuesday, a crypto token launched by World Liberty Financial started trading on different exchanges, giving owners the chance to buy and sell the cryptocurrency for the first time. The token, known as WLFI, started trading at 30 cents per token before slipping to 24 cents. At this price, the Trump family has made a paper fortune of $5.4bn (£4bn). They own 22.5 billion WLFI tokens, almost a quarter of the total supply.

—Trump appeals to US Supreme Court to rule in favour of tariffs. President Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision that found many of his sweeping tariffs were illegal. The administration asked the justices to quickly intervene to rule that the president has the power to impose such import taxes on foreign nations. A divided US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last week ruled 7-4 that the tariffs Trump brought in through an emergency economic powers act did not fall within the president's mandate and that setting levies was “a core Congressional power”. The case could upend Trump's economic and foreign policy agenda and force the US to refund billions in tariffs.

—France fines Google, Shein for flouting cookie laws. France's data protection authority this week issued record fines against search giant Google and fast-fashion platform Shein for failing to respect the law on internet cookies. The two groups, each with tens of millions of users in France, received two of the heaviest penalties ever imposed by the CNIL watchdog: 150 million euros ($175 million) for Shein and 325 million euros for Google. Both firms failed to secure users' free and informed consent before setting ad cookies on their browsers. The companies can still appeal.

—Instagram is on iPad, 15 years later. After years of requests from users, Instagram now finally has a dedicated app for iPad. From September 3, users are able to download the new app built specifically for Apple’s tablet. But it will be slightly different than the mobile app users are accustomed to. Most significantly, the iPad app will open directly to a feed of Reels, the company’s TikTok competitor — perhaps a sign of the short-form-video times. Back in April, reporting indicated that Meta was working on an iPad app for Instagram after years of dragging its feet, in part prompted by the legally and politically iffy spot TikTok found itself in.

ICYMI | Aye, AI, Captain — It’s Time

Missed last week's update? Artificial Intelligence is steadily reshaping how finance works, and CFOs can feel the clock ticking. This change isn’t about replacing people, but about automating routine tasks so teams can focus on strategy, growth, and managing risks. At the same time, they need to ensure that their teams have the right mix of tech and accounting skills.

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