Wisconsin CFO Invitational

At a time when most key indicators point toward overall economic vitality, Wisconsin-area CFOs face a unique opportunity to drive growth for their organizations. A business-friendly regulatory environment and new tax policy suggest increased fiscal breathing room, but this potential flexibility affords options, not guarantees. Taking full advantage demands a clear vision and measured decision-making. In this roundtable conversation, you and your peers will discuss the strategic impact of tax reform on your organization’s growth outlook. You will also examine the ways in which capital investment into efficiency-creating technology can help maximize and accelerate growth in a healthy economic environment.

Discussion Topic #1: Strategies to Capture Economic Opportunity

A number of externalities may impact your strategies for long-term growth; this topic area addresses a number of these possible external factors. Please use these questions as a launching point to discuss the ways in which you weigh these factors against your own strategic outlook.

• Recent tax reform is designed and projected to give organizations increased fiscal headroom; do you expect to experience these kinds of gains? How do you best align strategy to take advantage of this environment?
• Given the relative uncertainty of the policy and regulatory climate, how do you build flexibility into your strategies?
• Is your organization taking an aggressive or “wait and see” approach to investment? What factors have the greatest influence on this decision?
• What are the areas of investment that contribute most to future growth? What are you doing to capture this value?

Discussion Topic #2: Technology’s Role in Growth Strategy 

• What innovative or emerging technologies have the greatest potential impact on your business?
• How do you measure the impact of technology investment? How do you define success?
• What steps are you taking to encourage automation in your organization? Where do you see these kinds of tools having the biggest effect on growth?
• What measures are you taking to enhance the data/analytics capabilities of your organization?
• As your technology strategy evolves, what measures are you taking to ensure you have the proper talent/skillsets to maximize your investment?