E5: The changing face of the public sector CFO: From
provider to strategist
Paul Wood, Chief Finance Officer, Department of Foreign Affairs
Amanda McIntyre, Chief Financial Officer, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
Scott Hartley, (Facilitator) National Managing Partner, Operational Advisory and National Head
of Public Sector Industry, Grant Thornton (Melbourne)
Friday 21 November 2014
2:15PM - 3:05PM
#CPACONGRESS
Transforming the Public Sector: The role of
the CFO in driving change
Scott Hartley, Partner & National Head of Public Sector
Agenda
•
•
•
•
Introduction
The changing face of the Public Sector CFO
– Survey context
– Results overview
• Executive Representation
• Capability and Capacity
– Meeting Current and Future Challenges – Key findings
• Workforce Capability
• Re-engineering
– Recommendations for the CFO
Panel discussion
Q&A ?
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
Survey respondents
Agency type
2%
Federal
22%
34%
State
Local
Other (please specify)
42%
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
Representation on the Executive
58% of CFO's are
on the Executive team
58% of
CFOs are voting
members of the Finance
Committee
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
82% of CFO's are on
the Finance Committee
Capability and capacity - shift
53%
49%
27%
14%
Functional areas that sit under the CFO in addition to finance
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
Other includes:

Administration

Asset & Fleet
Management

Human Resources

Project
Management

Property facilities
Key CFO focus areas
35%
28%
21%
11%
5%
Innovator
Strategic
Business Partner
Custodian
Provider
Other
Survey question: What percentage of your time would apportion against each role
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
Finance team: professional designation
2%
4%
1. Very Unimportant
6%
2. Somewhat Unimportant
43%
3. Neither Important nor
Unimportant
45%
4. Somewhat Important
5. Very Important
Survey question: How important do you believe it will be for your finance staff to have
a professional designation over the next 3 to 5 years?
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
Meeting challenges: "Re-engineering"
50%
45% 45%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
24%
20%
16%
15%
16%
12%
12%
10%
10%
6%
5%
0%
6%
4%
2%
Shared services
2%
Re-engineering of Organisational
business processes
restructure
Investment in
technology
Current Year
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
2%
Reduction in Full Alternate workforce
Time Equivalent
models
(FTE)
Next 3 -5 years
Other (please
specify)
Recommendations for the Agency Heads
1.
Assess the effectiveness of the CFO
CFO EFFECTIVENESS CHECKLIST
• Does the CFO provide input into key strategic and operational decisions?
Is there sufficient opportunity for them to do so?
• Does the CFO demonstrate the capability to provide strategic advice?
• Does the CFO have the capacity to provide strategic advice and analysis?
• Do the functional areas under their responsibility of the CFO align with their
skill set?
• How well does the CFO understand and engage with the operational areas
of the agency?
2. Transform from the top; support the reengineering of business process through demonstrated
acceptance of change
3. Adopt a client or citizen perspective when designing services to foster greater collaboration across
agencies.
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
CPA Australia – Grant Thornton Report
TRANSFORMING THE PUBLIC SECTOR
The role of the CFO in driving change
OCTOBER 2014
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.
Contact Details
Grant Thornton
Scott Hartley
Partner & National Head of Public Sector
E scott.hartley@au.gt.com
T +61 3 8663 6143
© 2014 Grant Thornton Australia Ltd. All rights reserved.