CFO Dive marks first year of publication

Today marks the one-year anniversary of CFO Dive and for both the publication and the profession it covers, it has been a year to remember.

When we launched, the CFOs of public and private businesses, nonprofits and government agencies were helping their organizations navigate an economy that had been growing without pause for more than 10 years. Their focus was on attracting and retaining talent , digitally transforming their finance and accounting functions, and identifying the key performance indicators that would help their organizations perform better.

They were implementing new standards in how they accounted for operating leases , expected future credit losses, and revenue recognition , experimenting with forecasting methods , and trying new ways to raise debt and equity.

They were debating whether CFOs with MBAs would be the wave of the future or whether CFOs with the traditional CPA background would always have the edge. There was even talk of CFOs taking over the role of the chief operating officer, in part because of the increased responsibility they wielded as technology freed up their finance teams to do more analytical and operational work and less number crunching.

Meanwhile, there was a steady pipeline of tech startups launching IPOs, each one stretching the bounds of innovation.

Then came the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act, which had a big impact on the finance strategies of companies, particularly those with overseas operations .

And then came the pandemic, which tested CFOs like nothing else. Suddenly, CFOs were pivoting away from growth to focus almost exclusively on liquidity. For companies in the hard-hit retail and restaurant sectors , the toll will be felt for years. For many tech companies, though, the pandemic has helped validate their on-cloud, software as a service business models.

Today, CFOs are navigating the lifelines available to them from the CARES Act , the most expensive piece of legislation the federal government has ever enacted. More help could be coming soon.

As we move into CFO Dive's second year, our goal is to keep the focus on coverage that can help you as a finance leader do the best job you can do, whatever type of organization you're in and in the face of whatever is thrown at you.

In recognition of our publications first year, we've compiled a selection of stories we think remain helpful today.

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