# The Role of the CFO of an Industrial Company: An Analysis of the Impact of Blockchain Technology
## 4 Analysis of the Results  
Alongside the results, the previously defined research questions will be discussed in chronological order. It will combine the experts' statements with this paper's theoretical foundation to examine the impact of blockchain technology on the CFO of an industrial company. Firstly, the impact of blockchain technology on the financial as well as strategic role of the CFO will be discussed. Thereafter, the impact of blockchain technology in convergence with the Machine Economy on the KPIs of the CFO will be examined to ultimately determine the influence of blockchain-enabled integrated business ecosystems on the role of the CFO. RQ1: What is the Impact of Blockchain Technology on the Financial as Well Strategic Role of the CFO? The CFO is involved in the formulation of the strategic financial strategy as well as in the corporate strategy of his organization. This is where blockchain technology provides the CFO with a useful toolset. The integration of blockchain improves an organization's cost efficiency and data availability, it integrates and automates business processes and ensures robust and analytical business operations. As such, the following sections will discuss the impact of blockchain technology on the CFO's strategic financial management, including accounting, reporting and auditing as well as the impact on the corporate strategic management. The CFO oversees the organization's financial reporting and exercises influence on existing accounting functions. In this context, blockchain technology serves as an additional layer to enterprise-resource-planning (ERP) systems, facilitating operational efficiency and accuracy of data. By utilizing a blockchain, occurring financial transactions are immutably and automatically recorded in real-time and stored in a joint and company-distributed ledger. Hereby, existing data silos within a company are broken down and the financial data are aggregated, standardized and cryptographically verified. This process allows the CFO to meet the challenges of digitization in terms of controlling and data management. Firstly, the blockchain offers an effective data quality management as the data are consistently processed, maintained and represented. Secondly, the blockchain harmonizes and aligns a firm's IT infrastructure and enhances inter-departmental interoperability. Likewise, the blockchain simplifies the CFO's IT security, risk management and data governance. Unlike centralized databases,a blockchain does not leave room for a single point of failure. Consequently, it is considerably more difficult for attackers to deactivate a system or to manipulate data. Moreover, all data on the blockchain are cryptographically secured which prevents unauthorized access to confidential information. Given the high adaptability of consortium blockchains, authorized and granular access to financial data to external parties is facilitated, e.g., to tax authorities, auditors, banks or investors, consistently compliant with the general data protection regulations (GDPR). Having said that, the use of a blockchain provides the CFO not only with advantages with regards to internal accounting, but also benefits the inter-organizational exchange through the integration and automation of payment versus delivery. According to experts, blockchain-enabled automated accounting serves as a tool for business process optimization. Hence, previously labor-intensive and time-consuming accounting processes created by the non-harmonized transition from one company to another can be automated and streamlined by deploying smart contracts autonomously executing business logics. The resulting inter-organizational standardization and alignment allows for a concurrent settlement without the need for time- and capital-intensive reconciliations. In this way, new financial strategies can be designed such as ensuring a more efficient working capital or cash flow management. Such improvements can have a considerable influence on the accounts payable process.