As the business environment becomes more complex, chief financial officers (CFOs) are shifting from a purely technical focus to responsibilities that extend into digital transformation, sustainability, ethics, and corporate governance.
The research report How CFOs Create Value in Brazil: Leadership, Influence, and Organisational Integration in Finance from the University of São Paulo and funded by CIMA® General Charitable Trust, examines how finance leaders operate in practice in Brazil. Based on a survey of 129 CFOs and senior finance executives, the study explores how CFO characteristics, leadership approaches, organisational relationships, and governance practices relate to decision-making involvement and perceived organisational performance.
The findings point to five interconnected lessons: Effective CFOs combine strong relationships and CEO alignment with broad decision-making influence, integrated organisational practices, and a clear understanding of how finance contributes to long-term value.
Lesson 1: Connect leadership, governance, and decision-making
“Finance” is no longer a back-office function. According to the report, CFOs in Brazil are increasingly positioned as strategic partners, integrating finance, governance, and organisational execution. Rather than identifying a single formula for success, the research presents a framework for understanding how several interconnected dimensions of the CFO role work together in practice.
The research found that higher levels of perceived organisational performance were associated with three interconnected factors:
Strong behavioural and relational foundations
Broad influence in strategic and operational decision-making
Integrated organisational practices, particularly budgeting and ESG
The study also highlights the values that underpin the CFO role. According to the report, respondents tended to prioritise responsibility, ethics, and collective purpose over individual recognition. They also showed a stronger preference for stability, control, and predictability than for experimentation and change.
Lesson 2: Build strong CEO-CFO alignment for greater strategic impact
According to the research, strong alignment between the CEO and CFO is a key indicator of a finance leader's influence in decision-making. When CFOs and CEOs share professional values and strategic priorities, finance has greater influence across the business, which can, in turn, affect organisational alignment and performance.
Leadership style also matters in this context. When CFOs adopt an empowering leadership style characterised by delegation and autonomy, it builds trust and credibility at the top. For boards and audit committees, this alignment signals that finance will co-create strategy, not just gatekeep budgets.
Lesson 3: Lead beyond finance
The CFO role is becoming increasingly integrated into the wider business agenda. The findings depict a CFO role that extends into communication, influence, digital transformation, sustainability, and ethics. Traditional finance responsibilities are as important as ever, but the finance function is becoming more integrated into a broader range of organisational processes and decisions.
CFOs in Brazil report substantial influence over strategic direction, organisational design, and management systems. The report highlights that this influence is closely linked to behavioural and relational strengths such as a focus on responsibility, ethics, and collective purpose rather than technical expertise alone. The findings reinforce the importance of developing capabilities beyond technical finance expertise.
Lesson 4: Embed sustainability into business decisions
Most CFOs surveyed reported some involvement in environmental, social, and governance activities. However, the research found significant variation in how organisations integrate sustainability into their processes.
The report emphasises that the main challenge today is not whether sustainability is on the agenda, but how deeply it is embedded into planning, budgeting, and decision-making. The findings suggest that organisations reporting stronger sustainability engagement were also more likely to report broader CFO involvement in decision-making, closer CEO-CFO alignment, and more enabling approaches to budgeting.
According to findings from the report, sustainability is part of a broader pattern of organisational integration and finance leadership. Sustainability appears to have the greatest impact when embedded in planning, budgeting, and organisational decision-making, rather than treated as a standalone reporting exercise.
Lesson 5: Shape performance, not just report on it
For many organisations, performance management is still seen as a backwards-looking exercise. The research suggests the most strategically positioned CFOs take a different approach.
The study identified three CFO profiles: strategic, institutional, and operational. Strategic CFOs reported the highest levels of influence and perceived performance, reflecting a broader role that connects leadership, governance, and organisational decision-making.
Rather than just reporting results, strategic CFOs support the decisions, priorities, and governance processes that influence those results in the first place. More involved in decision-making and organisational leadership, the study's strategic CFO profile demonstrates that finance can be far more than a scorekeeper.
The research findings suggest that when finance is closely connected to strategy and execution, it can play a stronger role in supporting organisational performance and long-term value creation. Today's most effective CFOs aren't just measuring success, but they also help create it.
For more insights and practical takeaways, explore the key findings further and read the full report How CFOs Create Value in Brazil: Leadership, Influence, and Organisational Integration in Finance.