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You are here: Home / Archives for CFO / CFO Relationships / CPA Firm

November 5, 2014 By Samuel Dergel Leave a Comment

The C-Suite Relationship Map

I am fortunate to speak with hundreds of executives each year, in addition to those that I follow and track. Over the years, I have learned a lot about success, what works and what doesn’t, from these talented leaders.

One area that successful executives have in common is their ability to get the best out of their corporate relationships. No matter the discipline of the C-suite executive, their technical ability is just the base upon which they start having an impact on their organization. The CXO is not an island, but is integrated into an ecosystem that is mutually dependent. The success of any executive relies on others. Those who recognize, nurture and sustain successful corporate relationships are those that accomplish more.

My blogging and recent book, Guide to CFO Success, focuses on my primary audience, the CFO and the Office of Finance. Some of the content is CFO specific, but the guidance with respect to relationships applies across the executive suite. Guide to CFO Success spends a few chapters dealing with relationship management for the Chief Financial Officer. A key tool in this discussion is my CFO Relationship Map, a copy of which is visible below.

CFO Relationship Map - October 2014

While I created the Relationship Map for my discussion with my Finance audience, this Relationship Map is useful to all executives who wish to succeed in their own environment.

The Relationship Map is a graphical representation of the areas of corporate relationships. They include who you work for (at the top of the map), who you work with (internally, on the right of the map, and externally on the left), as well as those that support you (your team).

In the CFO Relationship Map, you’ll notice that the CFO reports to the CEO, Board and Investors, and works with the other executives of the company internally. The CFO has a number of important outside relationships, which can include bankers, lawyers, auditors and other advisors. And, as I say in my book, the CFO can only be as good as the team they have allows them to be.

Depending on your own situation, your personal Relationship Map will look different. However, like other executives, you have people you work for, work with internally as well as externally, and have people that support you.

To read the full article on the BlueSteps Executive Career Insider Blog at this link.

You can also map out your own relationships, using this blank Relationship Map or by creating your own.

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Filed Under: Blog, BlueSteps, Board, books for CFOs, Build your Finance Team, CEO, CIO, Financial Executive Coaching, Guide to CFO Success, How Samuel Helps, HR, IT, Sales Department, Social Media, Speaking and Training, Successful CFO, The Fresh CFO, VP Finance, Wiley

August 14, 2013 By Samuel Dergel 1 Comment

CFOs: IPOs are coming back. Are you ready?

Initial Public Offerings were hot commodities in the early and mid oh-oh’s. Most finance leadership reading this blog remember those days well, and some of you did very well financially because of it.

The recession that occurred towards the end of the last decade put a stop to that IPO train. Companies needing capital for growth had to look elsewhere, and many companies were unable to succeed because this driver of growth dried up.IPO (Initial Public Offering)

For the past few months I have been hearing the rumble of the oncoming IPO train. A number of CFOs I have spoken with in the past months have shared with me that they are being given the strategic responsibility to be ready for when the IPO market comes back. There is a feeling of cautious optimism that this catalyst for economic growth will soon be back.

How can a CFO prepare for the talent challenges to come?

One of the biggest challenges that an uptick in the IPO market will face is that there is a small pool of talented mid-level professionals with relevant and recent IPO experience. The amount of work needed to be IPO ready is significant. When the IPO dam breaks, many companies will be rushing to get their IPO done. If the talent challenges are not planned properly, companies will have to be more reliant on expensive external resources (think audit and law firm rates). Companies who properly plan for their talent needs in advance will be able to go public earlier, which could be very beneficial as well.

Another significant challenge to companies that are currently private is that the cost of being public is expensive. A CFO needs to ensure that they have the leadership and professionals on staff that can deliver the quantity and quality of timely and correct information necessary to be considered a well-run public company. CFOs bear the burden when their finance team is not able to deliver accordingly.

CFOs who have been mandated to prepare for an upcoming IPO by their board need to have a talent plan to ensure they can meet their needs for going public and staying public. This plan for talent acquisition, development and retention is necessary to balance the costs of going public and staying public.

This talent planning business will not be easy. But those that start planning now will be at an advantage.

CFOs, get ready. You could be in for a very bumpy ride on the IPO Express.

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Filed Under: Board, CEO, CEO, CFO Compensation, CFO Consulting, CFO Consulting, CFO Search, Finance Team, Finance Team, HR, Human Resources, Investor Relations, Investors, Investors, IPO, Public Company, Risk Management, Succession Planning, Talent Management, Talent Management, Team Structuring, Team Structuring

November 29, 2011 By Samuel Dergel 2 Comments

Ask Samuel: Is it time to change CPA Firms?

Dear Samuel,

I am a CFO of an owner-managed company. In recent years, our CPA firm has not been servicing us properly.

They are always pushing our deadlines to the limit, even when all the information they have requested has been delivered in a timely fashion to them. We also recently had a significant interest charge from the IRS because they ‘forgot’ to file a form on time.

I like the partner in the firm, but I don’t find that we are getting the service we need. Is it time to change CPA firms?

Fed up in Phoenix

Dear Fed up,

If you look at our CFO Relationship Map, you will see that the CPA firm is an important external relationship that needs to be nurtured for a CFO.

It is unfortunate that you are not satisfied with the service from your CPA firm.

Changing CPA Firms is an option. Before you do so, I would recommend that you sit down with the most senior person at the firm you deal with to see if you can find solutions to your dissatisfaction.

If you decide that it is time to change CPA Firms, I recommend that you get referrals to other firms from other CFOs you know, as well as your bankers. You should do a preliminary review of the services of a few CPA firms, and reduce the list to 3 of your top choices. Ask these 3 top firms to meet with you and prepare a proposal.

When making your choice for a CPA firm, make sure that when you assess the proposals, it is not solely based on price, but on the work they will be doing, as well as the service levels they will be committing to. This is important – because the reason you left your previous firm in the first place was not because of price, but because of service.

If you’d like to ask Samuel a question, click here.

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Filed Under: All of Samuel's Blogs, All of Samuel's Blogs, All of Samuel's Blogs, Ask Samuel, CFO, CFO, CFO, CFO Coach, CFO Coach, CFO Coach, CFO Coaching, CFO Coaching, CFO Coaching, CFO Relationships, CFO Relationships, CFO Relationships, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Executive Coaching, Executive Coaching, Networking, Training and Development, Training and Development, Training and Development

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