Guide to CFO Success E-Book

Samuel Dergel

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Serie: Wiley Corporate F&A
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 366

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

Proven leadership strategies that will impact your career and your company Having the right CFO is a critical component for every company's success. Guide to CFO Success provides CFOs and those in the making with a strategic blueprint to benefit their companies and their careers. This book reveals how to build a strong, successful career plan with guidance on team building and management of the multiple relationships that CFOs face on a daily basis, plus how to balance one's work and personal life. * Offers strategic guidance for leadership growth for CFOs * Presents essential information for every CFO who wants to play a tactical role in their organization * Includes best practices for building and developing the most effective Finance Team * Features practical career advice for future Chief Financial Officers From balancing one's work and personal life to dealing with the CEO, Guide to CFO Success has the answers you need to plan for a strong and successful career.

Leseprobe

CONTENTS

Cover

Series Page

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgments

CFO Advisors

Chapter 1: Chief Financial Officer

What Is a Chief Financial Officer?

Personal Attributes of a Successful CFO

Skills Required for CFO Success

CFOs Are Different

Work–Life Balance

The Other Important Thing to Balance

Career versus Employer: A Question of Ethics?

Focusing on Your Career Helps your Employer

Conclusion

Part One: Successful Career Strategies for the CFO

Chapter 2: Planning for Career Success

Playing to Your Strengths

Personal Brand

Networking

Social Media for the CFO

Skills Development

Career Coaching

Conclusion

Chapter 3: Career Danger Signs

Career Danger Signs

Conclusion

Chapter 4: Should a CFO Moonlight?

Perception Is Reality

Acceptable Moonlighting Methods

Conclusion

Chapter 5: The CFO in Transition

The Grieving Process

Welcome to Your New Job

Ideal State

Catching Up From Behind

How CFOs Find Their Next Opportunity

Accepting Your Next CFO Role

Negotiating Your Next Employment Contract

Conclusion

Chapter 6: Starting Your New CFO Role

Onboarding

Onboarding Experiences of Real CFOs

Conclusion

Part Two: Successful Employment Strategies for the CFO

Chapter 7: Planning for Success at Your Employer

The Case for a Formal Plan for Success

Executive Coaching for the CFO

Conclusion

Chapter 8: Relationship Management for The CFO

The CFO Relationship Map

Elements of Relationship Management

Examples of Successful CFO Relationship Management

Examples of Failed CFO Relationships

Why Do CFO Relationships Fail?

Conclusion

Chapter 9: Relationships with the CEO, Board, and Investors

The CEO Relationship

Relationship with Your Board of Directors

Relationship with Investors

Other Situations

Conclusion

Chapter 10: Relationships with Fellow Executives

Human Resources

Information Technology

Marketing

Sales

Production

Conclusion

Chapter 11: Relationships with Outsiders

Auditors

Lenders

Lawyers

Other Outside Relationships

Conclusion

Chapter 12: Building and Developing Your Finance Team

Elements of a Great Finance Team

The Cost of a Great Finance Team

Plan for a Great Finance Team

Building Your Finance Team

Superstars

Develop Your Team

Methods to Develop Your Team

CFO Succession

How Do I Become a CFO?

Your First CFO Role

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the Author

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Table 1.1

Table 7.1

List of Illustrations

Figure 1.1

Figure 1.2

Figure 1.3

Figure 2.1

Figure 2.2

Figure 2.3

Figure 2.4

Figure 2.5

Figure 2.6

Figure 4.1

Figure 7.1

Figure 8.1

Figure 12.1

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Preface

Part 1

Chapter 1

Pages

ii

iii

iv

v

vi

xi

xii

xiii

xiv

xv

xvi

xvii

xviii

xix

xx

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

60

61

62

63

64

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

81

82

83

84

85

86

87

88

89

90

91

92

93

94

95

96

97

98

99

100

101

102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109

110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117

118

119

120

121

122

123

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142

143

144

145

146

147

148

149

150

151

152

153

154

155

156

157

158

159

160

161

162

163

164

165

166

167

168

169

170

171

172

173

174

175

176

177

178

179

180

181

182

183

184

185

186

187

188

189

190

191

192

193

194

195

196

197

198

199

200

201

202

203

204

205

206

207

208

209

210

211

212

213

214

215

216

217

218

219

220

Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons is the oldest independent publishing company in the United States. With offices in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia, Wiley is globally committed to developing and marketing print and electronic products and services for our customers' professional and personal knowledge and understanding.

The Wiley Corporate F&A series provides information, tools, and insights to corporate professionals responsible for issues affecting the profitability of their company, from accounting and finance to internal controls and performance management.

Guide to CFO Success

Leadership Strategies for Corporate Financial Professionals

Samuel Dergel

Cover image: © jgroup/iStockphoto

Cover design: Wiley

Copyright © 2014 by Samuel Dergel. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone], or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, [phone], fax [phone], or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at [phone], outside the United States at [phone] or fax [phone].

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Dergel, Samuel, 1969-

Guide to CFO success : leadership strategies for corporate financial professionals / Samuel Dergel.

pages cm. – (Wiley corporate F&A series)

Includes index.

ISBN 978-1-118-67499-4 (cloth); ISBN 978-1-118-87188-1 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-87170-6 (ebk)

1. Chief financial officers. 2. Career development. I. Title.

HG4027.35.D47 2014

658.15–dc23

2013044547

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my grandparents, Clara and Hans Diestel.

Preface

Who cares about the Chief Financial Officer?

I do. And so should you.

Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) are cultural and business icons whose actions and decisions impact not only the companies they work for but nations. While the business media has been paying more attention to this Very Important Person over the past decade, general society has not given CFOs the attention they deserve. Our culture glamorizes other professions and business leaders without giving credit to the character that keeps businesses running and the cash flowing.

I do not expect this book to make a dent in the cultural status of the CFO. I do intend to inform CFOs themselves, as well as the people aiming to become CFOs, of their value and how they can take responsibility for their own success. I deal with CFOs every day. CFOs bring much more to the table than their technical expertise. There are books on leadership strategies for general business success. There are technical books aimed at CFOs. But I have not been able to find any leadership books for CFOs. I decided to write the first one.

I decided to write the first book dedicated to the success of the Chief Financial Officer because, based on my conversations with them as an executive recruiter and coach, I noticed that they need guidance. Senior finance executives are very talented individuals, yet I have found that many of them are either focused on their career or their employer at any given time. Only very successful CFOs understand that their personal success is based on the effort they put into their employer and their career and that focusing on both at the same time is not mutually exclusive.

The content for this book was not created in a vacuum. My ideas derive from the conversations and consulting I do as part of my practice as an executive recruiter and coach that has a very strong focus on the CFO and his or her team. Over the past years, with the encouragement of CFOs, I have blogged and written for and about Chief Financial Officers and the issues they face. Social media allowed me to get ideas across, but it did not allow me to share my comprehensive vision for what success means to CFOs, and how they can achieve it. Blogging, tweeting, and sharing information on LinkedIn allowed me to share some of my thoughts, but not enough. While social media is great for sharing individual thoughts, there is nothing like an “old media” book to share my thoughts on this subject in a comprehensive manner.

This book should be read by CFOs, future CFOs, and the people who work with these talented individuals.

CFOs will appreciate this book for the valuable ideas and strategies that will help them challenge themselves to improve in all aspects of their careers. If you are a Chief Financial Officer, parts of this book will make you feel as if I am speaking to you directly about the issues you are currently facing or have faced in your career. I'm sure there are leadership books that may be able to give you some great ideas, but there are no books out there written with an understanding of your unique role that bring you strategies for success from a perspective that you face every day.

Financial professionals who are on the path to becoming CFOs will find this book of significant value. Not only will it give you a real appreciation for what it looks and feels like at the top of Finance, but you will be able to prepare yourself for the reality of the challenges faced by the Chief Financial Officer. If you are hoping to make it to the top finance position in your career, you need to know that your success is not only about your technical skills. The information and strategies in this book will help you to understand the critical nontechnical skills that are also needed to prepare for a successful career as CFO.

If you interact with the CFO or the office of the Chief Financial Officer, reading this book will give you insights into the challenges faced by the CFO and an understanding of what they need to do to be successful. People without financial backgrounds who work with the CFO often say they find the CFO to be a challenge or an enigma. Not so. CFOs can be very easy to work with and for. Read this book and you will arm yourself with the understanding necessary to be successful in your relationship with corporate finance leaders.

Chapter 1 begins with a discussion about Chief Financial Officers, what makes them successful, and how they can balance life, work, and career on the road to success.

Part One of the book focuses on strategies for career success for the CFO. Chapter 2 discusses how a CFO can plan for career success. The third chapter reviews danger signs CFOs need to be aware of and avoid. Chapter 4 tackles the issue of moonlighting—focusing on projects outside of work. A conversation about the unemployed CFO is the basis for the fifth chapter, while Chapter 6 offers tips and strategies for CFOs about to start with a new company.

Part Two focuses on the other pillar of CFO success: being successful at the job. Chapter 7 deals with planning for success at your employer. Chapter 8 begins the discussion about the importance of relationships to the CFO, while Chapters 9 through 11 deal with specific strategies for relationship success with the people you work for and with. Chapter 12 concludes Guide to CFO Success with a conversation about how to build and develop the finance team that is crucial to the support of the CFO.