Finance chiefs eyeing horizon

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICERS of medium-sized companies have great faith in their global growth plans, a new study has shown.

BDO found 100% of the 750 CFOs interviewed are confident their three-year international expansion plans will succeed and 74%have no problem accessing funds for cross-border growth.

Greater challenges lie in finding the right personnel to expand abroad - problematic for 68% of respondents - while red tape was identified by 34% as a key barrier to investing in the UK.

The study comes shortly after research by Value Partnership showing finance professionals must stop thinking of themselves as a "support function" and become "true business partners".

A series of in-depth interviews showed mindset shift is crucial and FDs must fully participate in company challenges, showing a "genuine willingness" to be held accountable for both success and failure.

CEO Simon Court said: "For many, the job title has changed, but the functional mindset has not. But business partnering is not a role; it is a way of working based on shared ownership of an organisation's challenges."