When I was in accounting school about 25 years ago, I was told that the CFO was the most important C-level executive from an accounting standpoint. After all, he or she was the gatekeeper for the business's financial records.

Today, that's still true; the CFO has the last word on accounting matters. But almost everything else about the CFO's job has changed. They are no longer just book-balancers. In a very real sense, CFOs are guiding their organizations towards greatness by successfully leveraging the strategic intelligence they garner from across the company and beyond.

The data bears this out. Earlier this year, the Association for International Certified Professional Accountants and Oracle released a report looking at the key traits of finance leaders in the digital age. Organizations with digitally savvy finance teams were significantly more likely to have reported positive revenue growth over the past 12 months (Agile Finance Unleashed: The Key Traits of Digital Finance Leaders, 2019).

The research found that leading finance teams are built upon three pillars: operational excellence, digital intelligence, and business influence. To thrive, the new CFO needs to master this new set of skills. They used to be spreadsheet experts, but today they need to show they are equipped to help the company overcome challenges during a crisis, identify new investment opportunities, and help it grow and prosper in the face of intensifying competition.