McKinsey on Finance, Number 74

Strong, steady leadership from the finance organization is critical for addressing immediate concerns about safety and survival, stabilizing the business in the near term, and positioning it for recovery.

Look after employees, customers, and suppliers; adopt a through-cycle mindset; and communicate transparently. Profits and dividends will come later if you make the right moves now.

Companies need a new approach to financial planning and performance management—one that informs rapid realignment of plans and actions and ensures organizational resilience.

Two board experts explain how in times of crisis or transformation, the CFO can serve as a rock in the boardroom, a critical arbiter of difficult decisions, and a scout for the future.

Programmatic M&A can help companies build resiliency, but this approach to deal making requires a solid game plan—one that will guide proactive deal sourcing and opportunistic deal evaluation.

While there is no shortcut to outperformance in deal making, a new survey finds that expert acquirers take a different approach to strategy, deal execution, and integration.

For many companies, managing financial resources is a challenge. But combining analytics with a holistic approach to balance sheet management can help capture the opportunity and improve performance.

A momentum case can reveal what could happen if a company takes no, or only limited, strategic action.