August 25, 2021
Changing workplace means a changing role for finance heads
The CFO and Finance Director role is undergoing rapid change. Not only are they required to manage the traditional priorities of the job, but they must now also juggle a wide array of operational, transactional and commercial responsibilities. With added pressure from clients because of Covid-19 and a rapidly evolving workplace, the role is increasingly hard to navigate. To gain a deeper insight into this and the evolution and future planning of a department that is central to the success of modern businesses, Totum recently surveyed CFOs and Finance Directors from among UK headquartered legal firms with annual revenue of £20m or more. (more…)
A new survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit backs up the most commonly cited form of ‘hybrid working’ by claiming that business executives on average think work should be split 70 percent / 30 percent between the office and home respectively. In 
The long-term impact of COVID-19 on the economy (and the gig economy) will not be clear for some time. But in the UK, the easing of pandemic related restrictions has coincided with significant labour shortages and the driving up of wages. 
Thinking back to the fast pace of life 18 months ago, the working day looked very different. COVID-19 forced a significant adjustment in how many workforces operate, including the enforced use of multiple workplace technology tools to collaborate. How will our use of collaboration tools change as we go through pandemic recovery? How can businesses ensure they continue to transform their workflows in a way that gives them maximum efficiency and productivity? 
There’s a scene in the 1986 horror movie The Fly in which Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) persuades the reporter Veronica Quaife (Geena Davis) to try two steaks, one of which Brundle has just sent between two teleportation pods in an effort to work out why they can’t process organic matter, including the organic matter belonging to a very unfortunate baboon. 
One of the more welcome outcomes from the pandemic has been a reinvigorated and better conversation about the environment in general and workplace sustainability in particular. 
Restrictions may have been lifted but there is no major rush for everyone to head back to the office. Many 
I recently read an interesting little book called 
Most people now recognise that we are facing a climate emergency – the record breaking temperatures in the US are, perhaps, another reminder. Many would agree that economic and legislative change is the only way forward to achieve a sustainable change in behaviour. Who should pay for greater environmental responsibility? Is it time for a carbon tax to limit carbon hungry products and fund investment? 
Perhaps the most famous single act of personal creativity – with apologies to Archimedes – is Mary Godwin’s moment of inspiration for the story of Frankenstein in 1816. It was born from a wet summer in a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva, largely spent with her future husband Percy Shelley, John Polidori and Lord Byron. The poor weather and isolation meant the party had to entertain themselves the best they could. 
As businesses return to their offices they are faced with a challenge – how do they reappraise their space requirements post-Covid? Social and technological advancements are changing real estate from being a fixed physical product, into flexible, employee-centric spaces that enable new models of hybrid working and business operations. These have a significant impact on the ways that businesses work and the options available to them. 
August 26, 2021
Working from home: how far we’ve come and where we might be headed
by Georgina Smith • Comment, Flexible working, Workplace design