Are you a Trailblazer or Conformist?
The difference could have a huge impact on the bottom line for CFOs
History books are full of trailblazers, those who are passionate, committed and paved the way for others to follow. We love to celebrate the individuals who have followed their dreams, made the impossible possible and did not give up whether it be in the field of sport, politics, exploration, arts, entertainment, technology or business and more.
Take Amelia Earhart, the American aviation pioneer who was the first female pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic back in 1932, or Nelson Mandela, who became South Africa’s first black President or Alan Turing, code-breaker and the founder of computing. All are icons of their time and recognised around the world for their contributions in pushing the boundaries against all the odds.
We all have our favourite trailblazers who inspire us, from either history or our personal lives, but do Chief Finance Officers (CFOs) tend to feature on the list? Maybe not, but these unsung heroes are ones to take notice of as they could save a business tens of thousands of pounds a year.
New research from Barclaycard Commercial Payments, reveals that a CFO’s leadership style and willingness to invest in their financial and accounting software has a tangible impact on their business’ bottom line. Barclaycard has identified the behaviours and leadership styles of four categories of CFOs: Conformists, Resourceful Traditionalists, Explorers and Trailblazers.
Conformists – CFOs that rely on tried and tested systems and practices and are therefore more reluctant to adopt newer approaches and technologies
Resourceful Traditionalists – Those that place more emphasis on insights gained from previous experiences when making important decisions, but who are potentially open to new approaches
Explorers – CFOs that are prepared to consider and explore new and improved accounts payable technologies and processes, and tend to be more prepared to take on board insights gained from data analytics
Trailblazers – CFOs that are motivated to investigate, actively trial and speedily implement new and improved ways to do their job, and who have been able to maximise efficiencies and cost savings as a result
The study showed that a common issue for more than one in five business leaders is that their accounting systems are out of date, and 16 per cent of those researched said their systems do not allow them to take advantage of early payment discounts. These are pre-agreed discounts for paying suppliers earlier than the standard payment terms and currently save UK businesses a total of £14.4 billion each year. However, there are still a considerable number of corporates not making the most of early payment discounts and are missing out on an estimated £6.7 billion
Lack of investment in software
One of the reasons that they are unable to take advantage of early payment discounts is outdated systems with 40 per cent of businesses admitting they have not invested in their software in the past five years because of ‘resistance to change’. Many CFOs would like more automation, such as the ability to integrate their payment solutions directly into their procurement platform, so they can take advantage of early payment discounts more often.
Barclaycard’s economic modelling shows that companies with a Trailblazer CFO at the helm are significantly outperforming their peers as 98 per cent of them use discounts, equating to £82,818 savings per year. This compares to businesses with a Conformist CFO who only take advantage of just over half of the discounts available and therefore miss out on nearly £19,000 of saving each year.
Critical role of CFOs
Just like the famous trailblazers from history, such as Neil Armstrong who was the first man to walk on the moon 50 years ago, the Trailblazer CFOs are leading the way in advocating and piloting new ways of working by embracing the new technologies available, even when faced with resistance to change. They play an essential role and drive growth for their business’ financial performance. By utilising the latest innovations in B2B payments, CFOs are staying one-step ahead of the competition and savings time, effort and money.
Find out if you are a Trailblazer
It’s true, trailblazers can be anywhere then. They aren’t just the famous names from history that we first think of, they can be much closer to home in your local community and even in your finance team if you look close enough.
So how can you tell if you have the potential to be a trailblazer in finance? Take our fun, simple five-question quiz below and find out:
Q1: Do you always keep up to date with changes in new technology?
Yes – 1 point
Sometimes – 2 points
No – 3 points
Q2: Do you actively look for ways to improve doing administration based activities?
Yes – 1 point
Sometimes – 2 points
No – 3 points
Q3: Are you ahead of your peers when it comes to having the latest must-have gadgets?
Yes – 1 point
Sometimes – 2 points
No – 3 points
Q4: Do you try to be as efficient as possible when it comes to spending your time on everyday tasks?
Yes – 1 point
Sometimes – 2 points
No – 3 points
Q5: Do you like to save money?
Yes – 1 point
Sometimes – 2 points
No – 3 points
Add up your points and see which category you fall in to:
If you scored 5 points – Congratulations, you are a real Trailblazer. You are leading the way and like to stay one-step ahead of everyone else.
If you scored 5 – 8 points – You are an Explorer. You consider new ways of doing things whilst keeping an eye on your peers.
If you scored 9 – 12 points – You are a Resourceful Traditionalist. You like to test the waters first with new experiences before fully committing.
If you scored 12 -15 points – You are a Conformist. You make changes once you know that others have tried and tested them first.