All change at the top as CFOs look to assert their authority

As a new regime settles in at Number 10, Ian Dyson, former finance and operations director at M&S, is getting his feet under the CEO table at Punch Taverns, the UK’s largest pub group. Dyson quit at the UK’s favourite knickers shop after failing to secure the top job at the retail giant.

M&S’s loss is Punch Tavern’s gain. And the news is hardly surprising. Dyson, 46, was clearly ready for a new challenge. His CEO-in-waiting role at M&S had, in his view at least, more than adequately prepared him for the challenges of a broader role.

CFOs and their finance organisations have for some time been taking a much more prominent role in corporate decision making. But as the Dyson example shows, although countless CEOs have come up via the CEO route, it’s certainly no guaranteed ticket to the top.

That said, the recession has served aspirational CFOs well; propelling them into the limelight during a time when the P&L has never been under more scrutiny, and at the same time offering opportunities to showcase their broader non-financial skills.

The UK may be in a state of uncertainty as Mssrs Cameron and Clegg bed down for what promises to be a fascinating experiment in power sharing, but for CFOs the task in hand has never been clearer, particularly those in mid market businesses at the heart of our economy.

After the distraction that was the election, the key business challenges - lowering costs, improving speed of decision making and increasing financial transparency – are once again firmly under the spotlight. It’s time to capitalise on the signs of recovery. And any CFO worth his or her salt will be planning their assault with military precision.

There’s no doubting the key role that UK plc’s financial chiefs have to play. Yes, it’s about the numbers but it’s also increasingly about driving company strategy. But what is also clear is the immense challenges – both personal and corporate – that they face in turning the theory into practice as they move from being the custodian of the figures to using the data to their business advantage.

An interesting study published by IBM last week based on interviews with more than 1,900 Chief Financial Officers and senior finance executives from 81 countries and across 35 industries, found that most expect economic, industry and regulatory pressures to increase over the next three years. As a result, more than half of respondents believe they will have to make major changes to respond.

Perhaps we will see a mass exodus of CFOs all clambering for the top positions as the reality of the next few years sinks in. As growth beckons, it’s time for finance chiefs to reap some of the rewards and the glory.