Top Five CFO Traits And Responsibilities
/In the business world you need expert leadership to not only ensure continued success but to stay ahead of the competition. The modern marketplace is both hyper-competitive and global in scope, and you need your CFOs to bring high levels of skill and insight to deliver the best results. The track record of a successful CFO will resemble that of David Geithner, who in his career has led many companies to continued growth and success. CFOs have many responsibilities and those that can properly succeed in the following tasks will be successful in leading their businesses.
The Top Five CFO Responsibilities In The Modern Market
Manage Risks: Risk is a tricky thing in business and knowing when to take chances and when not to is a valuable part of success. This can include expanding into new markets or introducing a new product. Another key aspect of risk management is being prepared for bad risks as having the right methods and strategy in place can greatly reduce the impact of externalities if things don’t work out as expected.
Communicate Effectively: Any CFO will tell you a huge part of the job involves communication. CFOs have to meet with an assortment of professionals including the board, regulators, government agents, clients, shareholders, and more. Naturally, depending on a CFO’s area of focus and expertise, they may fall under specific CFO profiles in terms of how they communicate, however, broad communication skills are still essential.
Deliver Sustainable Growth: In business, growth is essential to not only growing your market share but also in keeping pace with the market. Companies that fall back on past successes can find themselves losing their position in the market to more agile and driven competition. While traditionally, CFOs focused on cost management, a newer aspect of this is ensuring growth such as new market segments, mergers and acquisitions are properly implemented into the company and its bottom line.
Integrate Business Operations: Most modern companies have various business segments, each focused on their goals and areas of interest. Part of a CFO’s job is carefully managing and integrating these various company departments, divisions, and subsidiaries. The challenge often lies in keeping groups that are often focused on completely different goals.
Foster Creative Thinking: Finally, never underestimate the value of innovative thinking. A good CFO is one who can see things in a unique fashion and while keeping with methods that worked in the past, isn’t afraid to try new techniques to improve key aspects of the company’s processes and performance. In addition to this, a CFO must be far-thinking and consider company goals many years into the future. Shortsightedness has caused more than one business to fail, and leaders that can avoid this will lead their company to a successful future.
Final Thoughts
The CFO role goes well beyond just finances and figures on a balance sheet. It is also a role that requires proper use of analytics, management skills, ability to see the big picture, and people skills. However, the CFO who combines these many leaderships skills is one that will grow or lead a business to its current and future success.
