There’s a five-letter word we use an awful lot of times in business, and often we don’t think too hard about what it really means. The word is ‘value’, and it’s a troubling, awkward, shape-shifting word. Its meaning moves over time and from place to place.
A generation ago it was easier to define it in business life. You could equate ‘value’ in the difference between the cost of providing a product or a service and how much you were paid for it. ‘Value’ was about profit and return on investment.
The equation no longer works. We see all around the world how consumers, investors and governments demand that businesses serve as good citizens before they’re good earners. They demand that their ‘value’ to society must include a respect for the health of the planet, and their full impact on society.
I get a real sense that ACCA members are dedicated to this broader vision of what ‘value’ means
Ahead of the game
In terms of the business jargon, value is increasingly tied up with ESG – environmental, social and governance issues. And for business leaders, the wider definition of value must also drive strategy. The risks of not doing so – in terms of losing investors’ backing and consumers’ confidence – are simply too great.
ACCA members are ahead of the game in this arena, and as I travel the world and speak with them at events, I get a real sense that they are dedicated to this broader vision of what ‘value’ means.
We are witnessing CFOs embracing a CVO – chief value officer – role, in practice if not in a formal title
It’s reflected in our latest report – Accounting for society’s values. It is based on interviews with business leaders and finance professionals from all over the world, who make it clear that they are responding to – and in many ways leading – the changing concept of what success and value truly mean.
It’s having a profound effect on the work of accountants and in the evolution of the roles we do. The report paints a fascinating picture of how the CFO position in particular is changing swiftly.
Crucial shift
Finance chiefs are increasingly concerned with this richer definition of what ‘value’ means, and we are witnessing CFOs embracing a CVO – chief value officer – role, in practice if not in a formal title.
You don’t need to be a towering genius to understand why such a shift is critical, at a time when the world is crying out for a more sustainable way of ordering our economic affairs. But it helps if you are.
As Albert Einstein wisely pointed out: ‘Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.’ And that’s an equation we can all appreciate.
