The survey included 650 CFOs, VPs of finance, corporate controllers, and other key financial executives to see what their top priorities were for the year.

CFO Concerns

So what’s keeping all of them up at night? Well, let’s break down the top five:

1. Margin and Earnings Performance

Not surprisingly, these critical financial measures are top of mind for the financially focused in our organizations.

2. Cyber Security Risks

While not a predominately financial concern, this is probably indicative of a growing issue facing most organizations today. Similar surveys of other key departments may reveal that cyber security concerns them as well. Overall, everyone in the company is keeping an eye on their electronic properties.

3. Strategic Planning

With even a modest economic recovery, financial executives are looking to maximize current resources to strengthen their team and prepare it for the long haul through these uncertain seas.

4. Periodic Forecasting

With that continued economic uncertainty, it’s no surprise that CFOs are paying attention to where we’re going. Thankfully, for many organizations, the outlook is starting to become optimistic.

5. Budgeting

It’s clear we’re not out of the woods yet. Even with a little uptick, financial pros are keeping an eye on spending.

If you’d like more information on the survey, Vincent Ryan, over at CFO.com, has an excellent summary of the results that’s worth checking out. Click here to hop over there and learn more.

Just looking at this top five list, it’s clear that cash flow is a major priority for CFOs and other key players on the team.

“Cash forecasting represents one of the highest-ranked priorities in our study, which may be indicative of tepid economic recovery in many industries,”

With so much concern over cash flow and a narrowed eye on the budget, we have to look for ways to control and even expand the resources we have.

Nothing sucks up money, overwhelms human resources teams, and gives a CFO headaches like rising health care costs. That’s why, at DSI, we’ve built our business, and staked our reputation, on saving our clients money. By simply partnering with us, they make room in their tight budgets.