8 out of 10 CFOs from Romania’s largest companies say they now need constantly updated financial forecasts, unlike previous years when the focus was primarily on financial results, budgeting, and accounting, according to Inulta, a company specializing in Corporate and Enterprise Performance Management (CPM/EPM).
The Romanian consultancy company Inulta specializes in financial planning and reporting solutions. Its portfolio includes CCH Tagetik, a platform developed by Wolters Kluwer, used by CFOs to monitor real-time company performance and make data-driven decisions.
“Until four years ago, finance departments focused on fixed annual budgets and strict compliance, with little room for adjustments in response to market evolution. Today, the CFO’s role has become significantly broader and more complex. The modern CFO is no longer limited to reporting past results, but acts as a strategic partner focused on the future, responsible for data analysis, predictive scenario modeling, and integrated business planning,” said Anton Niculescu, Managing Partner Inulta.
In an economic environment marked by volatility, uncertainty and mounting external pressures, CFOs must be able to quickly reconfigure plans, goals, and budgets based on newly available data. Technology plays a key role in this process, from integrating data from multiple sources to visualizing it in decision-relevant reports.
The digital transformation of the financial function is also driving closer collaboration between finance and operations. Financial planning and governance are no longer isolated activities but have become collaborative processes, supported by integrated systems and a data-driven organizational culture.
As the CFO role evolves, the importance of external data sources is increasing. For instance, FMCG manufacturers collect indicators directly from retail stores using field agents. These data points, such as product expiration dates, active promotions, shelf placement versus competitors, or inventory levels, are centralized and analyzed at the national level.
With the help of technology, CFOs can gain a complete view of the market and make decisions based on real-time consumer behavior. For example, they can better understand if their products are placed next to competing ones, assess stock turnover rates, or identify opportunities to adjust pricing and promotional strategies.
The four priorities of Romanian CFOs in 2025
According to Inulta, the main four priorities for CFOs in Romania in 2025 are demand forecasting, inventory management, consolidated financial reporting, and carbon footprint calculation.
1. Demand forecasting
Demand forecasting starts with analyzing financial history and market trends. External factors, such as consumption seasonality, can positively or negatively impact demand, especially in sectors like FMCG.
Planning is no longer done solely by season, but also around special events (e.g., National Day), considering the days immediately following. Financial planning can be developed at monthly, daily, or even event-specific levels.
For CFOs, the complexity of a multi-month budget lies in the large volume of data, the pace of decision-making, and the need for alignment between budget, execution, and strategy. Key steps include frequent data collection and aggregation from multiple financial and operational sources, rapid adaptation to market shifts, and aligning financial scenarios with real-world conditions.
In this context, the finance leaders primarily need real-time visibility, what-if simulation capabilities, automation, and interdepartmental collaboration.
2. Inventory management
Optimizing capital tied up in inventory and aligning stock levels with actual demand are top priorities for CFOs today. Finance professionals also focus on reducing logistics and storage costs, improving real-time visibility and traceability, and managing the financial impact of excess or deficit inventory.
3. Consolidated reporting
Pillar 2 (establishing a stable international tax system by preventing profit shifting and tax avoidance by multinationals) brings added pressure for transparency, data quality, and fast, auditable consolidation.
With the implementation of OECD/G20 BEPS 2.0 – Pillar 2, multinational companies with consolidated revenues exceeding €750 million are required to adhere to a global minimum effective tax rate of 15%.
For Romanian CFOs, this means a growing need for clear and accurate consolidated financial reporting to determine the group’s effective tax rate. Fast access to accounting and tax data from all group entities, even those operating across different jurisdictions, is now essential. Additionally, aligning finance, tax, and legal teams is crucial to avoid compliance risks. IT systems must also be adapted to automatically generate reports that meet the new requirements, including the GloBE Information Return (GIR).
Consolidated financial reporting involves aggregating the financial statements of all entities in a group into a single set of financials, eliminating intercompany transactions and presenting a unified picture of the group.
It is essential for providing stakeholders, investors, authorities, banks, with an accurate performance overview, assessing risks, making strategic decisions, and ensuring compliance with international accounting and tax regulations (IFRS, Pillar 2).
4. Carbon footprint calculation
Carbon footprint calculation provides visibility into emissions generated across the supply chain. It enables finance executives to make more informed decisions when dealing with suppliers, identifying those with high CO₂ impact and evaluating more sustainable alternatives.
With accurate carbon footprint data, CFOs can negotiate collaboration terms based on climate responsibility criteria and prioritize partnerships with suppliers that align with ESG goals and compliance.
Technology supports the collection, aggregation, and standardization of environmental data from suppliers and automates emission calculations using recognized conversion factors (e.g., GHG Protocol). It also ensures integration into ESG platforms for real-time monitoring and reporting.
The cost of the inventory pipeline represents the value of capital tied up in goods in transit, production or storage. It’s a critical CFO indicator as it impacts cash flow and company liquidity. It also reflects supply chain efficiency and commercial decision quality, while potentially hiding hidden costs such as taxes, insurance, depreciation, and losses.
About Inulta
Inulta is helping businesses focus on their analytical potential by providing the right software solutions for real-time, robust, and relevant decision making.
Combining EPM (Enterprise Performance Management), SCM (Supply Chain Management), SPM (Sales Performance Management) technical competences and business domain expertise, Inulta is the trusted advisor and consulting partner a company needs to help Finance, Supply Chain and Sales management drive innovation, enable digital transformation and real-time analysis.
We are experienced in providing financial, operational, and statutory reporting automations using world-class software platforms and helping hundreds of clients with their corporate management functions, such as Phillip Morris, Danone, Nissan, Renault, The Lower Colorado River Authority, and Bi-State Development.
As a strategic Wolters Kluwer CCH Tagetik Platinum Partner and Akeron exclusive partner, we are one of the few companies equally comfortable deriving a sustainable financial solution and possessing the technical proficiency to make it a reality.
For more information, visit www.inulta.com.
