The beginning of the year is a clean slate, a fresh start for achieving your goals and aspirations.

With technology evolving at a rapid pace and many teams adjusting to a permanent remote or hybrid work model, this is the time to take stock of your progress and plan the next steps. There are so many amazing opportunities that CFOs can take advantage of in 2023, as well as new challenges to be prepared for.

For this week’s episode of Collectiv Conversations, I spoke to Josh Aharonoff, founder and CEO of Mighty Digits. With years of finance experience and dozens of successful startup clients under his belt, Josh had plenty of amazing insights for CFOs heading into 2023.

Here are some of the key takeaways from our conversation.

Opportunities For CFOs in 2023

As we move into the new year, there are plenty of new opportunities that CFOs can take advantage of. Work environments are rapidly changing—preparing now will set financial professionals up for productivity for years to come.

The Rise of the Fractional CFO

One of the biggest changes for CFOs over the past decade is the prevalence of fractional work opportunities. More agile organizations are now opting to hire fractional CFOs rather than full-time roles. Fractional CFOs are an incredible resource for organizations that don’t have the resources to hire a full-time CFO.

Fractional CFOs split their time between several different organizations, typically working on a contract basis. Maybe instead of a full-time role, you decide to take this path and become a fractional CFO yourself so you gain the ability to pursue a variety of different projects and a flexible schedule.

For CFOs that work on a full-time basis, it’s so important to find new ways to bring value to your organization. Josh recommends focusing on building relationships and improving your communication skills in addition to leveraging your financial expertise. CFOs who work exceptionally well with people are invaluable, especially during tough economic times.

New FP&A Technology Options

For CFOs to stay ahead of the game, you’ll need to stay open to new technologies. Many routine tasks that used to be done manually can now be done with automation.

We’ve seen huge technological strides in cash management, accounts receivable, billing, planning, and analysis…the list goes on.

Maximizing the functionality of the systems and processes you are already using will help your team work more efficiently. While implementing new technology can be daunting, it ultimately makes your operations more efficient, giving your team more time to pursue other tasks.

Power BI is a great example of a solution that helps CFOs and their teams move forward from cycles of inefficiencies so they can focus more of their time and energy on adding business value.

Continued Remote Work

The adoption of cloud-based technology has made it much easier for CFOs and their teams to work remotely. Remote work became necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic—and now, organizations around the world have continued to operate using hybrid or fully remote setups.

Moving forward, CFOs will need to adjust to a world where remote and hybrid work is the norm, rather than the exception. Working remotely allows your organization to hire top financial talent from all over the country or even outsource work globally.

Not only do many professionals prefer remote work, but this approach also offers plenty of benefits for your organization. You’ll have a bigger talent pool to choose from, and in some cases, you may even be able to offshore tasks at more affordable rates.

Being adaptable and open to new technologies will help you crush your goals in 2023 as a CFO. For even more insights from industry leaders, be sure to subscribe to Collectiv’s YouTube channel. We’ll be dropping new episodes of Collectiv Conversations every month that you won’t want to miss.

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Chris Ortega is a Fractional CFO, strategic advisor, and finance influencer with over 17 years of experience in public accounting, corporate accounting, finance, FP&A, and leadership. As the CEO of Fresh FP&A, he helps businesses transform and scale their finance organization.