Wow, 2023 was a whipsaw of a year. From the collapse of SVB and the teetering regional banks to the lightning evolution of generative AI and its potential impacts on the business landscape, from skyrocketing interest rates and ebbing and surging recession fears to armed conflict around the world, there has been a lot of news to cover this year.

Throughout 2023’s tumult, CFO Brew has done our darnedest to provide our readers with practical, useful information on how the news could impact them and their work. We know that not every story can be a zinger, but recently went back to find the most popular stories we published in 2023.

What we found is that finance professionals want to know how to deal with a rapidly changing world, whether it’s the impact of new technologies, talent management innovations, or potential banking crises.

Click here to read our 10 most popular stories of the year.—DA

It’s basically 2024—and a new year deserves a new social media strategy based on the freshest trends.

Create your winning game plan with Hootsuite’s Social Trends 2024 in Financial Services report—the first one they’ve created specially for marketers in financial services.

Their report found a 64% increase in how much finance orgs plan to use AI. Check it out for more firsthand insights, industry inspo, and valuable guidance on topics like:

• AI’s role in finance social teams
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• how entertainment can boost the bottom line (even for finance orgs)
• the rise of “finfluencers”
• navigating compliance and brand safety

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We’ve been looking back over 2023 here at CFO Brew, and, if anything, this year’s been a reminder of just how much a CFO’s job is handling risk: Supply chain risk. Climate risk. Cybersecurity risk. Labor risks. Macroeconomic risk (looking at you, Powell).

I’ve learned a lot about risk since I started here in April, and two of my top three takeaways for the year deal with it. The third is the way in which CFOs are addressing the accounting shortage. (I suppose I could say it’s about “talent risk,” but I didn’t want to stretch things.)

The economy is harder to predict than the weather. Recently, I got to engage in some amateur economic analysis while writing an article about how the holiday shopping season might turn out for retailers. I spoke with an economist, combed through earnings calls, examined inflation data from the Department of Labor, and looked up consumer confidence surveys. At the end of it all, I wrote that the data pointed toward a “muted” holiday season. I felt very smart.

Then I started seeing headlines like this.

For more on Courtney’s 2023 insights, click here.—CV

Today’s top finance reads.

Stat: 25%. That’s one estimate of the amount of office space available for lease in the country . That’s up from 15% pre-pandemic and comes as hybrid work arrangements become permanent. (the Wall Street Journal)

Quote: “We’re seeing some softening on the hiring front and IT spending, which are classic areas of belt-tightening in uncertain times. At the same time, business executives’ expectations for their own organization’s prospects over the next year are down just a bit from the third quarter and ahead of where they were a year ago. So, there’s a lot of mixed signals right now on the economy.”—Tom Hood, EVP of business engagement and growth at AICPA, on a December economic survey that showed financial decision makers are becoming more pessimistic. (Journal of Accountancy)

Read: Some snacks aren’t as good as they used to be, and cost management might be to blame. (Business Insider)

Social media secrets: Get all the info you need to create a strong social media strategy for 2024 with Hootsuite’s Social Trends 2024 in Financial Services. Insights + inspo for your social strat are right here.*

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