Why CFOs belong at the brand table

As CFOs, we’ve long been trusted to protect business value. But now, we’re increasingly being asked to help define it. With growing demands for transparency, purpose-led strategy, and credible ESG reporting, finance leaders are stepping into a broader role, one that goes beyond the bottom line and into the heart of brand identity.

At Moneypenny, we’ve seen just how important that shift is. Financial leadership has become a key enabler of how we present ourselves to clients, our people, and the communities we serve.

The expectations placed on business have changed dramatically. Authenticity, trust, and transparency are now and rightly so, essential. And with that shift comes a new challenge, and opportunity, for CFOs: to step beyond traditional finance roles and help shape the identity and reputation of their organisations.

The days of finance being confined to spreadsheets and quarterly forecasts are over. Today, CFOs need a seat at the brand table not just to sign off on marketing budgets, but to ensure that the financial decisions made across the business reflect and reinforce the company’s values, vision and public promises.

We know that brand is more than marketing. It’s the lived reality of how a business operates and that includes how it allocates resources, invests in people, supports sustainability, and communicates risk.

Historically, ‘brand’ sat with marketing and communications. But clients, consumers, and employees are now deeply values driven. They’re scrutinising every element of how businesses behave and that includes how and where money is spent.

Putting Values into Practice

Take sustainability. It’s not enough to make vague pledges or plant trees. People expect measurable, long-term investment. At Moneypenny, our Wrexham headquarters was designed with sustainability front and centre, from solar panels and rainwater harvesting systems to EV chargers. These decisions weren’t just operational; they were brand-defining and led by finance prioritising long-term value over short-term cost.

The same principle applies to employee wellbeing. It’s easy to say you’re a people-first business, but credibility comes from meaningful investment. We’ve built a world-class workplace, complete with an on-site pub, treehouse meeting rooms, and wellbeing spaces because we believe happy people do better work. It’s now part of our employer brand, attracting top talent and improving retention. That wouldn’t have happened without financial backing and listening to our people, quite literally. Our founders asked every team member what they wanted in the office and built it into the blueprint.

Financial Transparency Builds Trust

With increasing pressure to prove that companies are doing the right thing, environmentally, socially, and ethically, the finance function has become a cornerstone of brand trust. Financial transparency isn’t just a regulatory box to tick. It’s a reputational necessity.

Stakeholders want alignment between words and actions. If a business claims to champion diversity, does its recruitment and leadership data support that? At Moneypenny, it’s about putting money where our mission is and that starts with clear, consistent reporting.

ESG is a prime example. Too often treated as a separate, standalone initiative, ESG should be deeply embedded in business and finance strategy. Whether it’s the cost of carbon-saving initiatives, the ROI of mental health programmes, organising blood donation drives with local hospitals, or managing supply chain ethics, these commitments all impact the numbers and shape how the brand is perceived.

From Scorekeeper to Strategic Storyteller

The CFO of the past managed costs and controlled risk. Today’s CFO is a storyteller, not by writing taglines, but by shaping the financial narrative behind a company’s key decisions.

That means working across the business, with marketing, HR, operations, and beyond to ensure every investment aligns with who we are and what we promise. Agility, sustainability, innovation, and wellbeing all carry brand weight, and finance leaders must ensure those priorities are backed by smart, aligned spending.

Our job is not just to approve budgets, but to guide how capital supports long-term value creation and meets the expectations of customers, investors, and employees.

The Brand Table Is Expanding

Functions are more connected than ever, and the brand table is where decisions about future direction are made. CFOs must be there not just to challenge numbers, but to help craft a consistent, trusted brand.

We bring a unique perspective: balancing trade-offs, forecasting risk, and driving accountability. But we also have a responsibility to make sure the financial engine is fuelling a brand that people believe in; one that’s credible, consistent, and capable of earning long-term trust.

It’s not about reinventing the CFO role. It’s about recognising its wider influence and using it to build the kind of business we all want to work for, partner with, and believe in.

The smartest brands are built not just on marketing ideas, but on sound, strategic investment decisions. As CFOs, our voice matters and it belongs at the table where reputation, values, and long-term success are being defined.

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