The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the typical organization is now tasked with more than ever before, often asked to be the “savior” of enterprises that struggle to maintain a clear picture into total cash and corporate finances. Payables Place is pleased to present a series that highlights the “CFO’s view” of various functions and categories within the contemporary enterprise. Today’s article highlights the CFO’s perception, involvement, and ultimate impact upon the complex spend category of strategic meetings and events.
Strategic meetings and corporate events have long been two components of a complex spend category often seen as a “sister” area to business travel. Together, according to industry estimates, these two categories comprise upwards of 20% to 25% of an enterprise’s overall budget. This is certainly a critical expenditure that is not only growing in size each year … it is also growing in terms of an overall impact on the greater enterprise.
Strategic meetings and events hold an important place within the average organization: they cultivate relationships with clients and customers, help promote the company brand, and provide a traditional, in-person means of networking and communicating with peers. The rise in business travel over the past few years (after the economic downturn) certainly has a direct link to the criticality of meetings and events. And while this growth is certainly an indicator of economic health, it’s also a harbinger of understated complexities: the world of events management is very, very different than it was only five years ago.
The rise of engagement management, a concept revolving around the integration of social media, social networking, and other “touchpoints” to drive attendee engagement, has transformed the way organizations manage (and perceive) their corporate events. What does this mean for the CFO? Well, a few things, including:
- The CFO must represent a traditional line of thinking in an evolving world. Marketing and procurement will handle the evolution of the space at the forefront, helping to blend social media and strategic sourcing under an end-to-end program. The CFO cannot let the financial impact of corporate events take a backseat; a long-term calendar of events and real-time visibility into events against budget are two capabilities that will arm the CFO with the necessary intelligence to ensure that this complex category doesn’t wreak financial havoc.
- Collaboration between finance, marketing, and procurement is crucial to the development of strategic meetings management programs. The three functions represent varied aspects of events management, but, in a collaborative manner, the goals of any meetings management program (improve the attendee experience, drive revenue, stay on-budget, etc.) are all front-and-center. SMM programs that are too heavily-focused on the marketing (or procurement) side of the house will execute meetings that may draw attention and engagement, but also take away finances from future events.
- The CFO sits at the “table,” and can help boost the strategic impact of events. The executive table isn’t often concerned with complex spend categories, but recent events (such as the growth in reliance on non-traditional talent) have pushed these areas into the corporate boardroom’s agenda. In the world of events management, the CFO can utilize intelligence from SMM / events management programs to help paint not only a financial picture of the future (remembering that this category is increasing in budgetary scale), but also how events impact items such as revenue, customer development, and overall brand visibility.
There is still value to be had in the face-to-face networking and sales opportunities that strategic meetings provide. That’s if the meeting is planned and executed properly, however, and with an eye toward the finance side of the house as well as that which drives engagement. As such, it’s important for the CFO to take a role in the planning and execution of strategic meetings.
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