Chapter 1: The Finance Function and the Financial System Toward the Achievement of the SDGs: Literature Review and Lessons from the COVID-19 Crisis

The finance function and the financial system require finding a balance between wealth maximization, social and ecological aspects, and managing the triple bottom line of business sustainability. The main aims of this chapter are to: (1) describe (with the help of the literature review) relevant strategies in firms, financial institutions, and governments followed within the finance function on the way to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, including the times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and (2) propose practical guidelines for CFOs and managers to respond to the new challenges, learn positive lessons from the COVID-19 crisis, and thus keep improving to achieve more sustainability in the finance function. According to Lawson (2020), the current finance function priorities mentioned in a global study are (1) risk management, (2) cash management, and (3) cost management and control. In the hardest hit industries (e.g., hospitality sector) from COVID-19 lockdowns, the continued innovation of the business model is an important key to create new revenue streams and secure a better level of liquidity (Breier et al., 2021). During the first phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, social entrepreneurship funds reported more returns that are positive, suggesting that fund managers have changed from a high-risk style to low risk regarding size and investment strategy (Rizvi et al., 2020).