In response to an ever-changing business landscape, the International Federation of Accountants has launched a new education series aimed at educating chief financial officers and finance functions on “achieving long-term value creation and success” and to “help prepare future-fit accountants in business.”

The series consists of three parts: “A Vision for the CFO Finance Function”; “Future-Fit Accountants: Roles for the Next Decade”; and an evaluation tool to help organizations in finance function transformation.

“The finance function cannot survive as a support or back-office function and must do more than account for the balance sheet,” said IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey, in a statement. “As business models evolve and uncertainty increases, CFOs and their finance teams are uniquely situated to provide the information that powers decision-making for long-term value creation.”

IFAC highlights the following areas as critical for preparing CFOs and finance functions for the future:

• Actionable insights to support strategic and operational planning and decisions;
• Performance analysis to steer the organization toward achieving objectives, targets, and long-term profitability, as well as to ensure alignment between strategy, planning and delivery;
• Enterprise risk management to manage uncertainty, opportunities, and risks in the context of business objectives and the external environment;
• Effective communication and storytelling on all aspects of an organization’s business model and value creation;
• Trust and confidence in the governance of the organization, and in the quality of data, processes, systems and reporting through adequate control and security; and,
• Integrity and professionalism to encourage ethical behavior and decision making throughout an organization to ensure sustainable value creation.