Mistakes To Avoid In Successful CFO

The first and most important step for CFO is to "try every means" to make itself famous.

Or rather, don't let people erase your name from the list.

We have discussed with some chief executives, senior human resources officers and consultants about the topic of "quality that is expected to become a CFO of listed companies and Private Companies".

So you'd better listen to their opinions and avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Of course, the following "Ten Commandments" in a certain number or a number of, does not necessarily mean that you will be kicked out of the ranks of CFO. If you are willing to work hard for this goal, we will be able to overcome the Ten Commandments pointed out in the problem.

Sometimes you may feel that some points in the Ten Commandments may be self contradictory.

Is it right to face the boss directly or to submit to a low profile? Is it possible to participate in daily operations as much as possible or to meet with numbers? To seek the right skills combination for career is the pursuit of professional managers.

Here is a coordinate for yourself.

Marc Pfefferle, head of CarlMarks Consulting Group in New York, said, "CFO is not just about figures, but financial technicians can't be promoted to the top if they don't have a real business background, no matter how superb their skills are."

He added that a good CFO should be a strategist no matter how big the company is.

Only the "beans" will only focus on the profit and loss account and ignore daily indicators such as cash flow.

Raymond Vennare, President and chief executive officer of Immuno Site, Pittsburgh, believes that "CFO should not be a channel for all information". He should learn to filter all information and analyze it. CFO, as an analyst, should understand the information pmitted by the market to the company and decide the information that the company feedback to the market.

But if a candidate breaks through the "bean population" mode, does it also require the future CFO to qualify as a certified public accountant (CPA)? The answer is JimCederna, the CEO and CEO of Calgon Carbon, a manufacturing company in Pittsburgh state.

He believes that even without the latest rules of the securities and Exchange Commission, people who sit in such a pivotal position of listed companies are hardly convincing if they are not certified public accountants.

(we have noticed that excellent CFO has recently become a scarce commodity.

)

For Private Companies, Mr. Vennare believes that it is important for a CFO to understand the industry in which the enterprise is located, while holding CPA certificates is icing on the cake.

Chip Clothier, managing partner of Howeand Associates, a career headhunter, believes that once a company has a number of qualified CFO candidates, one of the criteria for determining the final candidate is the ability of the future CFO office to deal with the politics of the office.

Moreover, a successful CFO should have an "executive attitude" and be flexible and impartial in the face of both inside and outside the company -- chief executive officer (CEO), Department Manager, director, Wall Street analyst, banker and finance department.

Pfefferle said, "both inside and outside the company must trust those numbers and CFO."

In other words, CFO should not only manage the whole enterprise downwards, but also "manage superiors", and submit data and suggestions to CEO and the board of directors.

Sometimes it may offend the boss. In a few cases, CFO itself may be in danger.

But if CFO wants to protect himself or fail because of lack of political skills, he will be at a disadvantage next time.

Of course, companies will suffer as well.

Vennare of Immuno Site believes that many people are purely bosseous to bosses instead of working hard. In fact, CFO sometimes needs to argue with their bosses instead of shrinking at the sight of bosses.

Cederba also said, "my favorite CFO is good news, and I can report to me without worrying about my anger."

The CEO and CFO should be "sharing weal and woe". On the one hand, it is based on respect and trust. On the other hand, it should be mutual attraction and other intangible factors. In fact, a new CEO often pays close attention to the CFO position of the vacancy.

In fact, being able to personally select CFO is also one of the reasons for attracting Cederna to Calgon Carbon.

As for CFO becoming a successful strategist, Melissa Halpert, managing director of Providence Capital, an institutional investor, believes that he or she should understand the intentions of the board rather than simply asking business questions.

This requires CFO to have rich management experience and financial skills.

"Well, CFO should be clear about the management philosophy of the board of directors and make good use of the professional knowledge of board members to better manage the business."

Pfefferle thinks that dealing with CEO is self confidence, but many talented managers are arrogant or even overconfident.

"Too self focused executives tend to overlook trifles or things they think are not important."

Vennare has therefore turned out some promising but overly conceited CFO.

Pfefferle also believes that a false pride conference has left some opportunities for self and enterprises to miss the "little things".

Sometimes CFO is a good starting point, but it will also get lost because of its self willed nature.

Vennare once avoided another disaster when he took up another Biotech Corp's CEO.

Vennare's predecessor hired a CFO with biological expertise.

It was a good thing for the private enterprise, but because CFO was short of vision and refused to investigate the market dynamics, he only believed in our technology products.

So instead of continuing to submit new product development plans to the top, instead of drawing up a business plan, she began to raise money for a $8 million two-year IT infrastructure project.

Vennare said the project almost destroyed the company.

Most of the people we surveyed believe that the most harmful form of conceit is deliberate "no worries".

Why do we say so? Financial managers hide some information as a game of power, say half or half of the facts, so that they can grasp the initiative of the whole, but in fact, this is the opportunity for the company to slip away.

Worse still, these people do not accept criticism or refuse to repent.

This requires a comprehensive inspection system of "360 degrees".