India, Oct. 16 -- For a long time, the finance function in organisations has been a back-office job - close the books, stay compliant, keep enough cash in the bank to survive the quarter. The job rewarded accuracy over foresight, and a CFO's standing was measured by how few surprises were brought to the table.

The job description no longer holds today, particularly for SaaS businesses, where a small dip in quarterly retention can snowball into a much larger problem.

The role has grown to include almost everything under its ambit, from market research to product R&D and even deciding pricing of products or services, once exclusive to the CEO's role.

Simply put: finance leaders are today involved in deciding which market deserves more in...