BCG

FINANCEFUNCTIONEXCELLENCE

EnergyCFOsMustPowertheGreen

Transition

By

AlexanderRoos

,

TimoGrund

,and

HendrikSchnelle

ARTICLEMARCH27,202515MINREAD

The

energytransition

isreshapingtheglobalenergylandscapeatunprecedentedscaleandpace—anddespitesignsofdeceleratinge?ortinsomegeographiesandcountries,theglobalimpactof

themovementonmarketparticipantsissigni?cant.

Energycompanies,includingoilandgasplayersandutilitiesthatexplore,develop,produceand

distributetheenergythatpowerseverydaylife,areattheforefrontofthisnewreality.Thesepivotalstakeholdersmusttransformtheirportfolios,

operations,

andadministrationinsupportofa

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sustainabletransitiontowardanetzerocarbonfuture.Tofundthejourney,mostplayersmustattractanddeploycapitalinvestmentsatanunprecedentedscale.

Severalexternalfactorsmakethee?ortevenmorechallenging,includingtightening

environmental,social,andgovernance(ESG)andenergy-relatedregulations,costin?ation,dividedinvestorexpectations,andthevolatilegeopoliticalandregulatorylandscape.

Chief?nancialo?cers(CFOs)andtheir?nanceteamsplayakeyroleinguidingtheircompaniesthrougha

?nanciallysustainable,

value-enhancingenergytransition.Theymustbringarigorous,long-termvalueperspectivetothecriticalstrategicandtacticaldecisionmakingthatwilldrive

performanceandensuretheresilienceneedediftheircompaniesaretonavigatethetransitionsuccessfully.

Inthisarticle,weexaminehowenergyCFOsandtheirteamscanbestsupporttheircompaniesinmeetingthechallengesoftheenergytransition.

ManyCFOsintheenergysectorhavealreadyembarkedonajourneytoevolvetheroleofthe

?nancefunction.Butchangeneedstohappenevenfaster.RecentdatacollectedfromBCG’s

CFO

ExcellencePanel

showsthatthe?nancefunctionsinmanyenergycompanyaretrailingtheirpeersinotherindustriesinbothe?ciencyande?ectiveness.Gapsareemergingincapabilitiesthatareessentialtoe?ectivelymanagecapitalspendingandtooptimizeoperationalandregulatory

performance.(SeeExhibit1.)Inshort,manyenergy?nancefunctionsarenotyetreadytomeettheincreasingrequirementsoftheenergytransition.

Toaddressthisshortfall,energyCFOsandtheirteamsshouldpursuethreeimperativesthatwillhelpshapetheircompanies’e?ortsandfuture-proofthe?nancesupporttheircompaniesneed:

.Shapethestrategictransformationwithavaluelens.

.Driveperformanceandbolsterresilience.

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.Aspiretotop-level?nancefunctionperformance.

ShapetheStrategicTransitionwithaValueLens

CFOsandtheir?nanceteamsshouldplayakeyroleinsettinga?nanciallybalancedand

sustainablecoursefortheircompanythroughtheenergytransition.Todoso,theymustexcelinthreedimensions.

DynamicCapitalAllocationandE?ciency

Asenergycompaniesfaceunprecedentedinvestmentneeds,theirabilitytoprioritize,?nance,andextractvaluefromcapitalinvestmentswillbecomeacriticalfactorintheirsuccess,particularly

giventhepastfewyearsoftightenedmonetarypoliciesandincreasedcompetitionfor?nancing.Inthecontextofnewbusinessmodels,divergenttimelines,costin?ation,andatighteningregulatoryenvironment,CFOsandtheirteamsmustemphasize?exibilityinadaptinghowtheymanage

spendinginconjunctionwiththebusiness.Severalwinningmoveshaveemerged:

·EnhancedPortfolioTransparency.Establishadata-drivenviewofcurrentandfuture

projects,supportedbynext-generationplanningsolutionsthatfacilitatedynamicperspectivesandaidconsistentdatacapture,tosupportoptimalprioritizationofcapitalallocation

decisions.

·RigorousPrioritizationLogic.Usingconsistentcriteria,introducea“singlecurrency”

scoringandprioritizationlogicthatgoesbeyondspendingand?nancialreturns.Toprovidea

strongfoundationfortradeo?decisions,adi?erentiatedscoringsystemshouldconsider

variousinternalandexternalfactorssuchastheriskpro?le,ESG,andregulations.Leadersinthisareaemployalgorithmsthatiterativelyoptimizetheinvestmentplaninlinewithclear

?nancialandoperationalconstraints.

·DirectiveBudgetaryEnvelopes.Providethebusinesswithclearbudgetaryenvelopesthatpermitdynamicprioritizationofinvestmentsatafasterpace,bothannuallyandthroughouttheinvestmentcycle,whileensuringstrategicalignmentattheportfoliolevel.

·NewProcessesandWaysofWorking.Drivefundamentalbehavioralchangethat

embracesthenewapproachandpromotesthenewtransparencyinday-to-daydecision

making.Inmanyorganizations,takingthisactionmayentailadoptingamoredisciplined

approachtoarticulatingandupdatingplansandclearlyframingandtrackingtheoutcomes.

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Inpractice,wehavefoundthatthelastmovenotedaboveisparticularlychallengingfor

organizations.Itcanaccountforasmuchas70%ofthechangee?ortandcanbeacrucialfactorindeterminingthesuccessoftheotherimprovements.

TransformativeEquityStory

Expectationsfromtheinvestmentcommunityhaveincreasedsigni?cantlyinrecentyears.In

response,CFOsandtheirteamsneedtotaketheleadincraingarobustinvestmentthesisthatcaterstotheinterestsofbothtraditionalandsustainability-focusedinvestors,drivingshareholderreturnbyblendingacommitmenttotraditionalpro?tpoolswithrealisticandinspiring

decarbonization

initiatives.

Theproperbalancepointbetweenthesetwoendsofthestrategiccontinuumwillvaryfrom

companytocompany.Inanycase,however,CFOsshouldstrengthentheirinvestmentthesisalongseveraldimensions:

.De?neananchoringvisionthatoutlinesthestrategicdirectionandframesahigh-levelinvestmentthesis.

.Activelycommunicatee?ortstotransformthebusinessthroughfull-potentialplansthat

balanceshorter-termreturnexpectations,suchasreturnonaveragecapitalemployedandreturnoninvestment,withlonger-termdecarbonizatione?orts.

.Expandthesetofperformancemetricsfortrackingandcommunicatingcommitmenttoand

progressininnovationandsustainability.Investorswantclearproofthatcompaniescanlive

uptotheirpromises,especiallyinhigh-uncertaintyemergingmarketssuchashydrogen.

.Emphasizetransparencyinidentifyinglong-termcapitalneeds,anticipatedbottlenecksinfundingandtheirimpacton?nancialleverage,andplansforinnovativenewsourcesof

funding.

.A?rmanddemonstratecommitmenttosafeguardingdividendpayoutsandsharebuybacks.

·Highlightprogressof?agshipprojectsin

renewableandlow-carbonenergysources,

suchascostcurveimprovementandproject-levelpro?tability,todemonstratetheireconomicviabilityandlong-termpotential.

.Clearlyarticulatekeyrisksandmitigationplans,includingtechnologicalandregulatoryuncertainty.

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Companiesshouldbepreparedtoprovideobjectiveevidenceofprogress,includingdetailedplansfortransformingtheirtraditionalbusinesses,realistictimelinesforinvestmentsinlow-andno-

carbonassets,andcertaintyaround

M&A

e?ortsinstrategicgrowth?eldssuchasgreentechnologies.

AdvancedM&A,Integration,andPartneringCapabilities

TheenergytransitionisspurringM&Aactivityaroundtheworld.Keydriversincludeacquisitionofrenewables,newinfrastructure,greentech,upstreamanddownstreamoperations,and

carve-outs.

CFOsandtheirteamsshouldbeengagedinthisprocessfromendtoend,andshouldbuildvariouscapabilitiestoe?ectivelysupportit:

·Sourcing,Assessing,andExecutingonDeals.Aspartoftheduediligenceprocess,?nancefunctionscanhelpdeterminethestrategic?tofeachpotentialdeal,providing?nancial

analysisofthepotentialsynergiesandensuringthatallresultingdealsarewellstructuredandwell?nanced.AdvancedmodelingcapabilitiescanensurealignmentofM&Aactivitieswith

thecompany’slong-term?nancialandsustainabilityobjectivesandplans.

·PostmergerIntegration(PMI).Financeteamsshouldbuildthecapabilitiesneededtotakealeadingroleinplanningandexecutingvalue-accretivePMIe?orts.ThesecapabilitiesincludehelpingmobilizediscretebutconsistentlymanagedPMItransformationprograms,ledbya

strongPMIo?ce.The?nanceteamshouldberesponsibleforidentifyingandprioritizingthevalueleversonwhichthedeal’ssuccesswilldependandshouldpushforactionsthatwill

createvaluequickly.Oenitisthe?nanceteamthatneedstoensurethatvalueleversarerealizedinthelongrun,evenascompaniesmakeprogressinintegrationandreturnto

“businessasusual.”Atthesametime,the?nanceteamneedstopursueintegrationofthetargetcompany’sown?nancefunctionalongaclearroadmap,prioritizingoperatingmodel,process,andsystemsintegration.

·E?ectivePostdivestitureCostManagement.The?nancefunctionmustactivelymanageanypotentiallynegativefalloutfrom

divestitures.

Forexample,itmustidentifyanddisposeofstrandedcosts,suchasthecostofsowarelicensesorITinfrastructurethatarenolonger

needed.Thisisnotnecessarilyaone-o?e?ort.Transitionserviceagreementsmayextendthelifespanofunderlyingcostdriverssigni?cantlybeyondcompletionofthedivestiture.Financeleadersshouldpreventslippagebycontinuouslymonitoringcostsandbyensuringe?ective

costtrackingandreporting.Theymustalsodevelopbudgetsthatanticipatesuche?ectsanddriveaccountabilitytoavoidlong-termstrandedcosts,therebysafeguardingvaluedelivery.

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DrivePerformanceandBolsterResilience

TheenergytransitionrequiresCFOsandtheirteamstostepuptheirroleastrue“custodiansof

performanceandresilience.”However,timeshavemovedonfromaone-dimensionalviewofwhatthismeans.Financeleadersnowneedtointegrateacrossmanydimensionsofperformance,

including?nancialandregulatory,sustainability,andsocietalimpact.Strengthsinthreeareasinparticulararecrucial:enhanceddecisionsupportandfullpartneringwiththebusiness;dynamicplanningandforecasting;andbalancesheetoptimization.

EnhancedDecisionSupportandFullPartneringwiththeBusiness

Financialsteeringrequirementsareincreasingrapidlyinthecontextoftheenergytransition,

drivenbyseveralfactors.Themarketandmacroeconomicenvironmentinwhichenergy

companiesoperateisbecomingmorevolatile,whichmakesplanning,budgeting,andforecastingfarmoredi?cult.Moreover,companiesfacegreatercomplexity,owingtotheexpansionofmetricsthatneedtobeoptimized(suchasESG),increasinglycomplicatedregulatoryschemes,andmoreheterogeneousbusinessportfolios,valuedrivers,andtimehorizonsforinvestments.

Toaddresstheseproliferatingrequirements,energycompaniesmustuseabusiness-centriclenstofocustheir?nancedecisionsupport.Thismeans,?rst,understandingkeydecisionpointsand

valuedriversalongthevaluechain,and,second,criticallyassessingwhere?nancecanandshoulddrivevalue.(SeeExhibit2.)

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Onthetacticallevel,CFOsandtheirteamsshouldexpandtheirperformanceframeworksandkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)tore?ectthenewpriorities,includingESG,andintroducedistinct

approachestomanagingtheperformanceofnewbusinessmodelssuchaslow-carbonenergy

sources.TheyshouldalsotiepersonalincentivesandaccountabilitytothenewKPIsandestablishnewroutinestocementnewwaysofworking.Oncetheproperfoundationisinplace,theyshouldselectivelybuildnewservicesinsupportofthebusiness,includingregulatorymodelingand

reportingandad-hocsimulationoftheimpactofexternalshocksonbudgetsandcarbonallowances.

CFOsalsoneedto?ndwaystobringtheir?nanceteamsclosertoteamsinthe?eld.Onesimple

yete?ectivemeasurethatleadingcompanieshaveemployedisworkshadowing.Bypairing?nanceprofessionalswithcolleaguesfromthe?eldforceandhavingthemworkside-by-sideforafewdays,the?nanceteamcangainabetterunderstandingofthedailydecisionsandvaluedriversthatareatstakeintheenergytransition.

DynamicPlanningandForecasting

Enhanced?nancialplanningandforecastinghasthepotentialtounlocknewlevelsofdecision

supportandrelieveenergycompaniesofresource-intensiveandoenslowprocesses.Here,too,abusiness-centricapproachtotheprocessandtoolsusediskeytothee?ort,asisarelentlessfocusonbusinesssupportandvaluegeneration.Businesscentricityrequiresteamstoinvestsigni?cantlyinunderstandingthebusiness’sneeds,includingthedecision-makingprocess,therelevantvalue

drivers,andtherequiredlevelofgranularity.

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Tothisend,companiesshouldconsiderredesigningtheplanningandforecastingprocessfromthegroundup—aninitiativewhere

BeyondBudgeting

toolscanhelp.Usingtoolssuchasvalue-drivertreestoidentifywhichelementsofthebusinessarecreatingvaluecanhelpcompaniescapturethespeci?csofbothtraditionalbusinessesandnew,low-carbonbusinesses.Developingscenario-

planningandstress-testingcapabilitiescanhelpcompaniesplanforuncertaintyandvolatilityinthecourseoftheenergytransition,ascanshiingtodriver-oractivity-basedplanning.

Leadersinthisspacedeploypredictiveanalyticstoaugmenttheforecastingprocess,enhancing

theirabilitytospotmarkettrendssuchasretailcustomerchurnatanearlystage.Financeteamscanalsorolloutvariousself-serviceapplicationsforthecompany’sbusinessusers,withdrill-downcapabilitiesintoareassuchasopexdrivers.

Integratedtoolsuitesthatincorporateplanning,forecasting,andreportingwillbecrucialto

supportingtheplanningprocess,aswillcomplete,accuratedata.Companiesshouldbe

understand,mapout,andaddressdatasourcesandassociatedrisksearlyintheprocesstode-riskcostlysowareimplementations.

BalanceSheetOptimization

Respondingtotheenergytransitionandthecurrentvolatileeconomicclimatewilllikelyentailsigni?cantlyadjustingenergycompanies’portfolios—andthatinturnwillputpressureontheirbalancesheets.Toboost

balancesheetresilience,

CFOsandtheirteamsshouldconsiderthe

followinglevers:

·WorkingCapital.Enhancereceivables,payables,andinventorymanagementtopreserveheadroomforlow-andno-carboninvestments.Forexample,AI-enabledtools,canhelptopredictlikelyoverdueaccounts.

·CashandLiquidity.Improvecashplanningandforecastingtoavoidliquiditybottlenecksthatmightresultfrominvestmentswithinherentlychallengingcash?owpro?les.

·FixedAssets.Deployrigorouscapitalprioritizationattheprojectlevel,usinga

multidimensionallensthatincludes?nancialmetrics,strategicconsiderations,andlong-termvaluepotential.

·CapitalStructure.Safeguarddividendsandbuybacksbyoptimizingandsimplifyingthecompany’scapitalstructure—forexample,throughenhancedmanagementoftheweightedaveragecostofcapital.

·Financing.Deploytraditionalandnewmeansoffunding—suchashybrid?nancingandgreenbonds—toappealtonewinvestorgroups,andoptimizethe?nancingmixtobolstercreditratings.

·Partnerships.Considerco-developingandsharingbusinessesandprojectswithpartners,andinvestigatealternativebusinessandpartnershipmodelssuchasminorityshareholdingsanddevelop-to-?ipbusinessmodelsforrenewablewindprojects.

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·RiskManagement.Developstrategiestomitigateany?nancialrisksassociatedwiththetransitiontorenewablesbusinesses,suchashigher?nancingcosts.

Byemployingadi?erentiatedapproachthatre?ectsthedynamicsoftheenergytransitionandbypartneringcloselywiththebusinessalongthesedrivers,?nanceteamscanhaveasustained

impactonthecompany’s?nancialperformance,ultimatelyfreeingupcashtofundthetransition.

AspiretoTop-LevelFinanceFunctionPerformance

Ane?cientande?ective?nancefunctioncanbethebackboneoftheCFO’sroleintheenergy

transition,leadingtostronger?nancialdecisionmaking,alower?nancefunctionexpenses,and

betterregulatorycompliance.Toachievethis,leadingCFOsandtheirteamsareimproving?nanceoperations,partneringbetween?nanceandthebusiness,andadvancingcentersofexcellencefortax,treasury,audit,andinvestorrelationsinthreepriorityareas.

DigitalandAIEnablement

Enterpriseresourceplanning(ERP)systemupgradesstilldominatethedigitalroadmapsofmanyenergycompanies,butthepotentialofpredictiveAIandgenerativeAI(GenAI)hasbeenfrontofmindforenergyCFOsoverthepasttwelvemonths.Althoughthesetechnologiesarenascentin

most?nancefunctions,weexpecttoseeagradualshifromexperimentingwithindividualuse

casestowarda“stringofpearls”approachtodrivee?ciencyande?ectivenesswithinthecomplex?nancesystemslandscape.

Improvingtheend-to-endperformanceofthe?nancefunction’sprocesses,involvesviewingthe

function’stechnologymixthroughanintegratedlens,combiningERP,best-of-breedapplications,andpredictiveandGenAIsolutions.Thesetechnologyimprovementsmustbeaccompaniedby

changesintheoperatingmodel,includingprocesses,organizationalmodels,andwaysofworking.

Againstthisbackdrop,?nanceleadersacrosstheindustryaremodernizingtheirsystemslandscapebytakingactioninseveralkeyareas:

.Carryingoutlarge-scaleERPupgrades

.Deployingbest-of-breedapplicationstoaugmenttheexistingERPsuite

.Rollingoutplanning,forecasting,andreportingsuites,includingprocessoptimization

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.EvaluatingexistingERPandwidertechroadmapstoensureapipelineofwell-integratedAIcapabilities

.ImplementingpredictiveandGenAIpilots

.Buildingdatalakestoconsolidateperformancedataacrossdataassets

CommonpitfallsconfrontingITprojectsin?nanceincludetoonarrowafocusonbackward

compatibilityintryingtoreplicatelegacyprocesses;lackofbusinesscentricityandaclear

understandingofusers’requirements;inconsistentattentionduetodistractionsandoverburdenedteams;andunexpectedbottlenecksresultingfromissueswithdatacomplexity,availability,

accuracy,andreliability.

End-to-EndProcessExcellence

End-to-endprocessperformanceremainsanevergreentopicinthehandbookof?nancefunctionexcellence.Morethanever,however,companiesneedtotakeasystematicapproachtoboostingprocessperformance,employingamixoflevers.

First,leadingcompanieshavefullyinstitutionalizedtheprocessviewbyputtingglobalprocessownersinchargeofoverseeingend-to-endprocessperformanceandaligningtheorganizationaccordingly.

Second,theyactdecisivelytoreducecomplexityinmajorprocesses.Thesee?ortsinclude

simplifyingunderlyingdatastructuresandoperatingprocedures—includingthe?nancialchartofaccountsandapproachestoallocatingcosts—andpullingactivedemandmanagementlevers,

suchasreplacingbespokereportswithself-servicedashboardsandlimitingmanualcommentarybyintroducingvaluematerialitythresholds.

Third,well-establishedoptimizationlevers,suchastheuseofsharedservicecenters,continuetoplayacriticalrolein?nanceleaders'transformationagendas.Notably,thestrategicuseofsharedservicecentersforthe?nanceteamisrapidlyshiingfromapure“costplay”toa“talentand

valueplay,”withkeyparticipantsexploringopportunitiestooptimizetheiroutsourcingando?shoringstrategies.

NewTalentandNewCapabilities

The?nanceteam’sskillrequirementsareshiingquickly,promptingchangesinhiringpro?lesacrosstheenergyindustry.CFOsshouldbuildtheirteams’capabilitiesandindividualskills

systematicallyinadata-driven?nancelandscape.Therangeofcapabilitiesneededwillcertainlywiden,demandingdi?erentiatingexpertiseacrossthe?nancefunction.Alreadytheyincludea

numberofcapabilities:

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.Adeepunderstandingofunderlyingbusinessprocesses.Regulatoryacumenandmodelingprowess

.End-to-endprocessengineeringandautomationknowledge

.Deepexpertiseinsourcing,manipulating,analyzing,andreporting?nancialdata

Speci?ccontentknow-howinareassuchasESG,taxissues,andInternationalFinancialReportingStandards

Tocloseemerginggapsintheircapabilitymix,?nanceteamsshouldlayoutneededcapabilitiesandconductga