Up until about a year ago, chief financial officers had more room to breathe. Shoppers were finally let out of the pandemic lockdown to roam and open their wallets like never before, and low-interest rates made it far easier to justify expensive investments.
After inflation set in, the role has become rather stressful—possibly more than ever before. Investment has dried up, and a vague but serious threat of a recession threatens to put an end to bumper revenues. Growth in the U.S. economy is slowing, manufacturing output fell in December, and the Fed continues to hike interest rates without mercy.
