Home Executive-Insights Leadership CFOs Prioritize Data Security ...

CFOs Prioritize Data Security as Recruiting Budgets Come Under Scrutiny

Leadership

CFOs, data security, recruiting budgets, financial oversight, cost management

Business Honor
01 November, 2024

As data security rises in importance, CFOs explore recruiting budget efficiencies for better cost management.

The major concern of CFOs has become the growing landscape for finance leaders, and that is to throw data security ahead. According to recent survey data from consulting firm Protiviti, 61% of finance leaders today now put data privacy top of their list, representing a very stark contrast compared to previous years. That increase comes mainly from needing to be in line with regulatory requirements and customers' ever-rising expectations for matters of data protection.

According to Christopher Wright, global head of Protiviti's Business Performance Improvement solution, the role of the chief financial officer is of absolute importance when it comes to ensuring new cybersecurity regulations-UK GDPR compliance. "Data governance and all these aspects of security in terms of being managed by CFOs as opposed to before, are now actively and closely supervised by them". Such incidents may include the setting of fines by the ICO among those individuals who had failed to guarantee data protection.

Other than the security of data, budgets for recruiting are being placed under the microscope by the CFOs who look at squeezing every last bit of efficiency out of their organization. Neil Costa, the CEO of recruiting marketing firm HireClix, explains that most CFOs don't have visibility into HR spending, especially when it comes to recruitment. Knowing the cost of hire, including cost per hire and geographic competition, is key to budgeting. Recruitments are becoming increasingly costlier, especially for popular jobs like software engineers; hence, CFOs will need to carefully examine every expense to find areas that can be cut without forgoing talent acquisition.

To navigate these challenges, Costa recommends that CFOs focus on optimizing technology costs and improving the candidate experience. By reallocating funds traditionally spent on headhunter fees toward recruitment marketing, companies can enhance their employer brand and attract talent more effectively.

As CFOs tackle these dual priorities of data security and recruitment efficiency, their leadership will be key strategy in driving organizational success in a competitive market.