Source page: McKinsey & Company
Commentary
CFOs fostering fortitude
C-Suite | Leadership | Strategy
May 21, 2024 – As CFOs move into the middle of their tenures, they must become prime movers of change. Expanding their focus beyond finance is a key priority for midtenure CFOs, and to raise performance overall, an organization must broaden its lens but also focus it based on the company’s life cycle and financial position, note senior partner John Kelleher and colleagues. A McKinsey CFO survey found that 55 percent of respondents expect their organization to home in on business building, which is considered an offensive move, while the top defensive tactic was changing the capital structure.
To read the article, see “Faster, smarter, bolder: How midtenure CFOs shift into a higher gear,” May 1, 2024.
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Visual form
Bar chart.
Layout / body structure
This is a single ranked horizontal bar chart with paired or adjacent bars for strategy types. The reading order runs from the longest bar at the top downward through the remaining strategy actions.
What is being compared
It compares the strategic actions CFOs expect their organizations to make in the next 12 months, separating defensive moves from offensive or business-building moves.
Measurement system
The values are percentages of CFO respondents. Color distinguishes defensive from offensive or business-building actions, and the numbers are printed directly on the bars.
Visible structure inside the graphic
The chart stacks a series of labeled strategic actions down the page, including business building, reshaping the organization, capital structure changes, transformation, joint ventures, resource reallocation, divestitures, and other actions. The bars are ranked by size so the most expected moves sit at the top.
Main takeaway from the visual
The chart shows that CFOs are planning both defensive resilience moves and offensive growth moves at the same time, rather than treating resilience as a purely defensive agenda.
Key standout values or extremes
Business building is the longest bar at 55 percent, followed by restructuring the organization at 50 percent and changing the capital structure at 47 percent. At the lower end, divestitures or carve-outs sit near the low 20s and the smallest dark bar on the page is around the low teens.
Controls / sequence, when applicable
This is a static chart image with no in-chart controls to operate.
Companion media, when applicable
There is no separate companion audio or video; the chart image is the full visual on this page.