2013 was an interesting year for the Chief Financial Officer. I find it fascinating that the office of the CFO continues to receive more attention from the general business press, vendors trying to make inroads in to the C-suite, and from CFOs themselves that are turning to social media to get feedback on issues where they used to feel lonely. I believe that 2014 will continue on these trends, and I have a feeling that there will be a major trend change in 2014 for CFOs (Stay tuned).
2013 was a very interesting year for me. The highlight of my year was putting together my upcoming book, Guide to CFO Success. It was truly a yearlong process. I started putting the proposal together at the beginning of the year, which led to getting my book deal signed with Wiley. I then created and developed my CFO Advisory Group for my book. These 87 CFOs answered a weekly survey over 14 weeks and gave me (and you) input and anecdotes to support CFO success. I found the writing of the book one of the most challenging professional projects I have ever faced, and can say (after the fact) that it was an amazing personal growth experience. As December and 2013 wraps up, the book is in final production.
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With Guide to CFO Success taking up a big portion of my time, I was not able to write as many new blog posts in 2013. Many of my top blogs viewed this year were written in previous years. The power of Google drives people who are interested in these topics. The topics and information in some of these popular blogs have been further developed in my upcoming book because of the interest in these CFO subjects. Stay tuned for new blog postings in 2014.
2013 was a very busy year for CFO Moves, my weekly blog covering CFO hires and unhires in the USA, Canada and the UK. I continue to be impressed by the feedback I get from the people following these blogs, and am grateful that people appreciate the work that goes in to preparing them every week.
2014 looks to be shaping up to be a wonderful year for me and my CFOs. The book will be coming out in March. I am scheduled to present at the AICPA CFO Conference in May. I had some very interesting end of year conversations relating to my upcoming book, and as these things develop, I will certainly keep you in the loop.
Wishing you and your family the very best for the holidays, and a prosperous and successful 2014!
Samuel’s Top 10 Blog of 2013
10) Podcast: Becoming a world-class CFO and Finance team: What it takes, why now, and who’s made it?
8) 5 Most Popular Names for CFOs (2013 Edition)
7) Road Map to Successful CFO Relationships
6) Different companies need different CFOs
5) Negotiating your CFO Employment Contract
4) CFOs: When interviewing for your next role, make sure you have one of these
3) Presentation Links: The Road to CFO
2) CFOs: Do you want to become a Controller? This CFO did just that.
1) The First 90 Days of a New CFO
If you’d like to see previous year’s top blogs, click here and here.
Do you have any topics that you would like addressed in 2014? Let me know by sending me a message on LinkedIn or commenting below!
Samuel