Evolution of CFO Role in India Inc, ETCFO

A diverse female CFO and male CEO analyze complex financial data on a transparent digital display in a modern boardroom, embodying strategic collaboration and forward-thinking leadership.The Chief Financial Officers (CFO) have long been the financial guardian of an enterprise, a custodian of balance sheets, compliance, and reporting. But in India Inc today, the job is evolving into something far more strategic.

Speaking on the sidelines of ‘ETCFO Turning Point 2025: The New Age CFO’ in New Delhi, CFOs in unison said that the role is emerging as a co-pilot to the CEO, a business leader who drives transformation as much as they track numbers.

From Steward to Strategic Partner

Sachin Gupta, CFO of LT Foods, said adaptability will define the CFO of the future. “The next factor that every CFO has to do is to adapt in an agile, ever-changing environment. Each day there is a new learning,” he observed.

For Gupta, this is not theory but lived experience. LT Foods operates in global markets, grappling with geopolitical risks, internal controls, and compliance complexity. Add the rise of generative AI to this mix, and the CFO must constantly recalibrate, he said. “We need to adapt to all of this while also thinking of how Gen AI and other technologies can be used in the overall business to deliver superior profitability,” Gupta added.

The CFO as Business Co-Pilot

If adaptability is the first trait of the new-age CFO, the second is business leadership. Deepak Raj Jain, Head of Finance and Accounts at Jaguar Group, believes the CFO role is expanding beyond finance. “They can become like a Chief Business Officer or even a Chief Future Officer, because every transaction that has a financial implication ultimately culminates in finance,” he argued.

Jain explained that CFOs are uniquely positioned, armed with a panoramic view of company finances, to think beyond operations and contribute to strategic growth. “The CFO is the person who can be next to the CEO because he has all the information available, and he can think about the business better than many of his peers,” he said.

Performing and Transforming

At PepsiCo India and South Asia, CFO Kaushik Mitra frames the challenge as a dual agenda, “perform and transform.” In his view, CFOs must maintain financial stewardship while simultaneously enabling business transformation.

“The final objective of the CFO role is to create value, and value creation now is a trifecta: driving the top line, driving the bottom line, and most importantly, creating a better world,” Mitra explained. He emphasised that sustainability will be central to this transformation. Funding green initiatives, embedding ESG principles, and ensuring responsible growth will become core responsibilities of the finance function.

Harnessing power of AI

Globalisation, automation, and now AI are reshaping industries at breakneck speed and CFO’s are steering companies through these transformations.

“We saw globalisation, we saw automation, and now we are looking at artificial intelligence (AI). AI is going to help CFOs not just in reporting the past but in future predictive analysis. That’s going to be the bread and butter of finance and will ensure the CFO is not just protecting value but also creating and adding value to the organisation,” said Ananda Shalini, CFO, CavinKare.

The CFO of tomorrow will not only sign off on the accounts but also steer the business through uncertainty, guide investment in technology, and champion sustainability. Mitra said that CFOs will no longer be “just stewards” but “transformer catalysts.”

• Published On Sep 26, 2025 at 03:08 PM IST

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