Parul
Businesses today are leading through uncertainty and addressing concerns with optimism to return to normalcy in 12-18 months time frame according to the survey released by American Express India.
51 per cent companies have not been adversely impacted due to ongoing pandemic and have experienced either growth or have had no impact on business performance. Industries such as healthcare, pharma, and manufacturing witnessed growth despite of the unprecedented time.
The survey was conducted for American Express by EY, the leading professional services organisation and explores the impact of the current pandemic on finance function and business operations along with the key financial transformation areas of focus. Over 80 CFOs of large and mid-cap companies responded to the survey.
“The pandemic has led to significant changes and challenging situations for businesses across industries. Interestingly, 60 per cent of the companies which responded to the survey are prioritising transformation to ensure business continuity and resilience as one of their top focus areas. The silver lining is that many sectors reported growth during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what is really encouraging is that we have already started witnessing green shoots in the impacted sectors such as auto, travel, food and entertainment,” said Megha Chopra, Business Head, Global Commercial Services.
While technology is being increasingly looked at as an enabler for virtual operations, there is also a growing need to leverage technology for better planning, forecasting and reporting. Three out of five CFOs are also looking to us in digital strategies and transform the core accounting processes. Two in every three CFOs are willing to invest in collaboration software & digital enablers to enable virtual operations.
While the systemic risks loom large over organisations, there is a belief that further stimulus packages and regulatory support will ease the journey back to normal. 1 out of 2 CFOs agree that they need to address issues such as productivity, costs and talent management to be able to build resilience.
With supply chain management being a key issue for companies, CFOs are looking to re-strategise sourcing and focus on transparency across value chain. Additionally, there is an increased focus to address bottlenecks in receivable and payable cycle – both internal and external- to meet working capital requirements.
