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No. 1 CFO Concern: Understand Customer Needs

“No. 1 CFO Concern: Understand Customer Needs”


"Spending more time understanding customer needs" was ranked as the No. 1 issue by CFOs for 2000, according to 37% of the respondents to a KPMG survey. Other important themes for the year are to:

  • Determine how the Internet will affect profits and growth (33.3%).
  • Better understand the impact of the company’s Internet strategy (30.2%).
  • Improve analyst relations (19.0%).
  • Increase time spent with family (17.5%).

Additional findings:

  • 66% of CFOs see a reduction in their stress levels in the year ahead vs. 34% who expect stress levels to increase.
  • 62% of CFOs say their firms will devote equal time to reducing costs and increasing revenues vs. 20% who expect to pay more attention to reducing costs and 18% whose firms will spend more time increasing revenues.
  • 60% of CFOs have no specific target for reducing their company’s effective tax rate, compared to 16% who will attempt to reduce the corporate tax rate by 1%.

Writer: Tom Truman