Digital technologies are fueling the disruption of business models, enabling startups to upend traditionally strong and established businesses. The value of the enterprise is moving more from tangible assets to intangible assets Consultants Ocean Tomo reported that about 85 percent of value held by S&P 500 companies today are intangible assets. The exact opposite was true in the mid-1970s: Most assets were hard assets. Tech disruption is also impacting the lifespan of businesses. In the 1960s, the average lifespan of an S&P 500 company was 33 years. By 2016, this had dropped to 24 years, and by the year 2027, it is forecast to be only 12 years.

There is a real and present need for today's CFOs to transform the finance function to become true partners to the business. Up to this point, CFOs have always delivered on governance, compliance, and controls. Now they need to also focus on delivering business guidance. They need to become the architects of value by adapting to our new, turbulent environment. This requires adopting new technologies and leveraging data.

This has not been easy for most finance functions. Much of this struggle arises from the need for CFOs to develop new skills themselves and within their teams. Only 10% of 700 recently surveyed senior finance leaders said their finance teams have the skills they need to support the organization's digital ambitions.

This makes sense considering the traditional finance skillset, which supports a backward-looking view and focuses on verification and control. These governance tasks are still important in modern business models, but they are only a part of what CFOs have to deliver now.