In today’s high-stakes digital business battlefield, cybersecurity isn’t just for IT teams.
Cyber threats are a growing challenge for businesses of all sizes, making the role of chief financial officers (CFOs) and senior leaders in cyber resiliency as important as financial and compliance oversight. It has become.
After all, finance departments tend to hold the keys to the corporate kingdom, including large amounts of sensitive data about payment information, financial forecasts, internal strategies, external partners, and more.
A cross-functional approach that includes finance ensures that cybersecurity measures align with business priorities and adapt to evolving threats without sacrificing innovation.
And as finance teams play an increasing role in digital initiatives such as automation, artificial intelligence (AI)-powered financial analytics, and the adoption of e-commerce payments, CFOs are transitioning from point-of-sale to business partner to cyber-savvy leader. It is especially important to evolve into . CFOs are well-positioned to drive cybersecurity forward with their expertise in risk management, regulatory compliance, and resource allocation.
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Launch a cross-functional cyber defense
Rather than viewing cybersecurity as a cost center, finance leaders should position it as a strategic asset that reduces risk, enhances business continuity, and maintains investor confidence.
Bank of America emphasized earlier this month that “If a nation were the victim of cybercrime, it would be the world’s third largest economy.” The global bank noted that the cost and prevalence of cyber-attacks is increasing with the rise of digitization and AI.
A finance-led approach to cyber resilience establishes security protocols that protect these digital assets while enabling growth, adding layers of accountability and oversight.
“The role of treasurers and CFOs has evolved and will continue to evolve,” Adrian Bloom, Managing Director and Head of Asia Pacific Financial Institutions Corporate Banking, Bank of America, told PYMNTS told. “It’s becoming a bigger, broader job.”
CFOs can implement a framework to assess the cybersecurity risk of new initiatives along with the expected return on investment (ROI). By calculating the risk-adjusted benefits of early adoption of hardening measures, CFOs can innovate without exposing their companies to increased cyber risk.
While many executives, including CFOs, may lack in-depth technical knowledge about cyber threats or feel that cybersecurity is outside their area of expertise, cyber resilience is especially important for businesses. It is no longer a responsibility that falls solely to IT, as it impacts not just the business but the enterprise as well. Not just your organization’s cyber perimeter, but your payment processes as well.
“Fraud is growing at the same pace, if not faster, than the overall B2B market,” Eric Frankovich, general manager of business payments at WEX, told PYMNTS.
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Cyber resilience as a strategic imperative
For companies to build defenses that adapt to evolving threats without hindering progress, CFOs and executives must take a proactive approach to cybersecurity. By fostering cross-functional collaboration and building resiliency into digital initiatives, finance leaders can protect growth while securing their organization’s digital future.
Alicja Cade, director of financial services in Google Cloud’s Office of the CISO, told PYMNTS that cybersecurity needs to be “built into the DNA” of a business. It cannot be siloed within the IT department, but must be integrated into every part of the organization, from business processes to leadership decision-making, and this is especially true for financial services, he added.
In separate interviews for the “What’s Next in Payments” series, executives also told PYMNTS that a layered security strategy, also known as defense in depth, is important to reduce risk on various levels. This approach means implementing multiple defenses throughout the corporate network.
One of these key layers of defense is the digitization of traditional paper-based payment workflows. Once workflows are digitized, companies can leverage AI and machine learning (ML) technologies to detect anomalies in payment transactions in real-time. These systems can analyze vast amounts of data to identify anomalous patterns that may indicate fraud or cyber-attacks.
“It’s better to recognize a crisis before it happens,” said Rick Kennelly, chief technology officer at Boost Payment Solutions. Companies can stay ahead of potential threats by partnering with companies that provide early warnings when they independently identify threats and fraud, such as domain spoofing attempts.
