How CFOs Turn Scenario Planning into a Competitive Edge

Harvard Business Review (Dec 11, 2024) by Bob Swan, Ben T. Smith IV, Tawfik Jamjoum and Affan Mian argues CFOs have moved risk management to the top of their agenda and are using scenario planning to manage risk and unlock new value, given today's business and geopolitical complexity. The piece sets out three approaches: rigorous, cross-functional integration of scenarios into the company's strategic framework; outward-looking, externally informed planning that tracks regulatory and policy updates; and continual refresh — adding new data, monitoring against current scenarios, and translating insight into compelling stories the board can act on. Practical for SEA mid-market CFOs presenting scenario decks board-side.