The New CFO – How can today’s CFO help their organizations become Flourishing Enterprises.

1. Integrating Flourishing Metrics:
   • Implement integrated measurement, reporting, and disclosure strategies that go beyond traditional financial metrics.
   • Develop a “Flourishing Scorecard” that captures value creation across all capital types – financial, manufactured, human, social, and natural.
   • Introduce new science-based approaches to measure environmental and social impacts.
2. Redefining Value:
   • Adopt a new model of value that moves beyond financial value alone to include multi-stakeholder mutual value and expansive social integrative value.
   • Recognize and account for both explicit and implicit value across all tangible and intangible assets.
3. Long-Term Financial Planning:
   • Shift focus from short-term earnings to long-term value creation.
   • Develop financial models and strategies that balance short-term performance with long-term sustainability goals.
4. Risk Management:
   • Enhance risk assessment to include environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
   • Develop strategies to mitigate risks associated with climate change, resource scarcity, and other sustainability megaforces.
5. Capital Allocation:
   • Prioritize investments in initiatives that create value across multiple stakeholders and capital types.
   • Allocate resources to innovation and transformation projects that align with flourishing enterprise goals.
6. Stakeholder Engagement:
   • Engage with investors to communicate the long-term value creation potential of a flourishing approach.
   • Collaborate with other departments to understand and quantify the financial impacts of social and environmental initiatives.
7. Performance Incentives:
   • Redesign executive compensation and employee incentive structures to reward long-term, sustainable value creation.
8. Sustainable Finance:
   • Explore and implement sustainable finance mechanisms like green bonds or sustainability-linked loans.
   • Engage with investors interested in ESG performance to potentially lower the cost of capital.
9. Transparency and Disclosure:
   • Lead efforts to improve transparency in reporting on both financial and non-financial performance.
   • Prepare for increased disclosure requirements related to sustainability and ESG factors.
10. Business Model Innovation:
    • Support the development of new business models that create financial value while addressing societal and environmental challenges.
    • Evaluate potential acquisitions or partnerships through a flourishing enterprise lens.
11. Efficiency and Cost Reduction:
    • Identify and implement sustainability initiatives that also drive cost efficiencies, such as energy reduction or waste elimination programs.
12. Capacity Building:
    • Invest in training and development for finance team members to understand and implement flourishing enterprise principles.
    • Collaborate with other C-suite executives to build organizational capacity for integrated thinking and decision-making.

By taking these actions, CFOs can play a crucial role in transforming their organizations into flourishing enterprises, driving both financial performance and positive societal impact. This approach requires a shift in mindset from traditional financial management to a more holistic, integrated view of value creation and risk management.