All great CEOs want a CFO who will help them drive results. They are looking for what I call an “operating” CFO, that is, someone who will get involved in the business and positively influence outcomes.
Some CFO mistakenly view their role too narrowly. They think their job is just to accurately report results. That is important, and a core part of the job, but insufficient. To become a more effective and valuable CFO you’ve got to broaden your focus. When I conduct a CFO search for our clients, I am looking for someone who sees their role as being responsible (alongside the CEO) for delivering outperformance. I want to hear multiple, concrete examples in the interview of how the CFO candidate identified an issue or opportunity early, took action, and drove a superior outcome. I’m listening for what the CFO did specifically and probing to assess if he or she was just along for the ride or was actually in the forefront steering the initiative and persevered. In particular, I’m looking for six things … and so are the CEOs and board members who will ultimately be speaking with those candidates that make it past my screening. If you’re not doing these things today, make a shift and take your game up a notch.
Keep in mind, all six are necessary, miss one and you’re missing the mark.
9 Comments
8/25/2022 09:58:06 am
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12/20/2022 02:38:01 am
Very well written. Your blogs always impress me. Keep up the good work. Expecting the same from you.
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1/16/2023 07:14:56 pm
CFOs of today have a lot to manage. In addition to overseeing a firm's cash flow and financial planning, they are also occupied with recruiting and supervising their own staff of financial experts and collaborating with internal and external parties on problems that have an impact on the bottom line of the company. Additionally, they are frequently seen as the CEO's right-hand man, a strategic consultant who offers advice on everything from the budget to the use of human resources and technology.
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2/3/2023 02:01:09 pm
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2/3/2023 04:33:14 pm
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2/23/2023 07:30:00 pm
It's great that you elaborated that implementing ideas for a bigger picture of the company should be the vision of your company. A couple of days ago, my buddy told me he and his business companion were looking for fractional CFO solutions to collect strategies for their clothing business displays and promotions budget. He asked if I had thoughts on the best option to consider. I'm thankful for this valuable article. I'll tell him he can consult a fractional CFO service as they can provide facts about the process.
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3/2/2023 01:25:01 pm
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6/9/2023 05:39:35 am
Thanks for sharing this blog, I would appreciate your efforts! Keep sharing such nice posts in the future also….
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6/14/2023 03:36:53 am
Very informative blog. Simple, effective, and useful too. Continue to enlighten us with your knowledge. Thanks for sharing.
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September 2023
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