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Is it time to replace your CFO?

There have been lots of topics online recently about the need for a CFO. Some of these articles have been referred to in my previous blogs. I recently realized that these articles and blogs talk only about bringing a Chief Financial Officer on board, but do not about replacing a CFO.

I’m very pro-CFO. I am close with a lot of CFOs and know many, many more. So why would I write a blog about replacing the CFO?

When a CFO is hired, they are the right fit for the job. (Unless a company hires the wrong CFO). However, change is a constant. Companies change. Industries change. Economies change. Not only is change a constant of our current business landscape, but change is happening quicker than ever. So in a very short period of time, the CFO that was hired and right for the job may no longer be the right person if he or she is not changing and growing along with the company.

For the CFO that wants to continue to be successful with the company they are with, they need to constantly challenge themselves to grow and make sure they can meet the needs of the company as it grows. Coaching can provide support and guidance towards a path of continuous improvement for the CFO.

What I see in many cases is that a CFO gets lazy. Rather than continue to grow, these CFOs focus on their abilities and get stuck in the past.

So, when should a company replace their CFO?

1) When the company has changed, and the CFO hasn’t.

2) When the major investors lose confidence in the CFO.

3) When the company is getting ready to change, and the current CFO does not have the skills and abilities necessary to be a leader for that change.

Some of my CFO Search mandates are driven by these factors. The remainder of my Chief Financial Officer Searches are due to

1) a CFO leaving the company by their own choice

2) a CFO that was asked to leave the company

3) the company hiring their first CFO.

So how exactly does a company hire their next CFO when their current CFO is still in his or her chair?

Stay tuned (and click “Sign me up!” on the right of the blog page to get Samuel’s CFO Blog delivered to your email inbox as soon as it’s published).

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“Get a CFO on board when you are ready to take on the world”

The title is a quote from Fred Wilson, a VC and Principal at Union Square Ventures, who recently wrote a blog titled “VP Finance vs CFO”.

It’s an interesting blog – you should read it. It certainly got a lot of attention in the social media space (CFO, Tech and VC subsector) in the time since it was published 72 hours ago.

I chose this quote to write my blog post on because it was the meatiest and juiciest for me to work with. In addition to my own direct take on the blog which I recently wrote – Does a Small yet Growing Business need a CFO? – I have written blogs that have touched this topic from different perspectives.

Let us count the ways.

1) CFO Readiness. When is a company really ready to take on the world? Are they really ready for a CFO?

2) Promoting the VP Finance to CFO. Fred says that a VP Finance is about “what happened” and a CFO is more about “What is happening right now”. I do agree with him. But that doesn’t mean the VP Finance cannot become a CFO. Here is how. And here is how as well.

3) The Successful CFO. How does a CFO become a successful? They prepare a plan, map out their relationships, get coaching, and build a strong team to support them.

4) Hiring your CFO. How do you hire them? Read this. How do you NOT hire a CFO? Read this.

Come to think of it, there are more than just these 4 ways.

Just read all my blogs.

And, to not miss any in the future, Click on the “Sign me up!” button on the right side of the blog.

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Does a Small yet Growing business need a CFO?

You might think that given what I do, I would say “of course”.

I recently read a great piece by Janine Popick in the Huffington Post called Small Business CFOs: Do You Need One? In this article, Janine discusses the personal story of the growth of her company, Vertical Response, the challenges they faced as they were growing, and not having the right finance resources when they needed it.

Janine’s honesty is refreshing. She mentions that there were numerous times she needed to take decisions to bring on the right finance resources, but her concerns of cost overrode her need to build value. She also admits there were things she did not know.

The fact is many entrepreneurs of growing companies face the same issues. And make the same mistakes. I highly recommend this article to any entrepreneur who is building a growing business.

So, does a small yet growing business need a CFO?

If the business is small, growing and simple, I would say no.

If the business is a complex business (where revenue is not a simple formula, where there is innovation in the product or service and where new investment is needed regularly to accomplish success) I would say yes.

My recommendation to entrepreneurs of growth companies is: If you’re not sure, there are people you can ask. You can approach an entrepreneur of a successful growth business (like Janice) for their input. You can seek advice from the people that have invested money in your business (or people you hope will invest money in your business) for input.

Or, as one entrepreneur did last week, you can ask me.

Related Blog Posts:
More companies are ready for their first Real CFO
CEO and Investors: Are you ready for your First CFO?
New CFOs and the Entrepreneurial CEO – How to make it work

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New CFOs and the Entrepreneurial CEO – How to make it work

I have been privy to viewing (from near and far) many successful entrepreneurial businesses over the last 20 years. I have always been fascinated by how one person (or a small group of people) can create an amazing business out of nothing. It takes a certain type of individual to have the motivation, drive and skills to be a successful entrepreneur.

I have also seen many entrepreneurial companies reach a ceiling on their growth potential. The management structure and style that has made them the success they have become can no longer support continued growth without a radical change in how the company is run.

This inflection point is where it can continue its growth and success.

Or it can all fall apart.

It is at this time that the Entrepreneurial CEO, driven by his or her own logic or by outside forces (usually external investors), understands that he or she needs to hire a Real CFO.

I have been called in to situations like this to help with the CFO Search. The biggest challenge CEOs face at this inflection point is emotional, not logical.

A recent article by Alix Stuart in CFO.com called How to Avoid Power-Hungry Bosses discusses this issue, and provides a 7 point check list on how to avoid a “Control Freak CEO.”

From my vantage point, the challenge for CFOs as they assess new and exciting opportunities is more than just avoiding difficult situations. The challenge is: How does a new CFO “make it work” with an Entrepreneurial CEO on the cusp of major change?

In essence, the company needs to be ready for a Real CFO. For an outside CFO candidate on the verge of accepting an offer from a growing company, this is difficult to assess.

The Question for the incoming CFO is: Are they ready for a Real CFO?

The Question for the Entrepreneurial CEO is: Are we ready for a Real CFO?

For companies facing this important point in their growth, I always recommend our CFO Readiness Program.

You can learn more about our CFO Readiness Program by reading our blog – CEO and Investors: Are you ready for your First CFO?

If you are a New CFO getting ready for (or having just started) a new role in a growth company with an Entrepreneurial CEO at the helm, you need to learn more about how this CFO Readiness Program will help you help your new company.

If you are an Entrepreneurial CEO that knows you will be facing an uphill battle in the move towards a more corporate structure, our CFO Readiness Program will equip you and your entire team to make the shift with more impact and less pain.

If you are an Investor in (or on the Board of) an Entrepreneurial Growth Company on the cusp of change, investing in CFO Readiness will take the guessing out of making the shift to the more corporate environment that will make you sleep better at night.

So, how does a New CFO “make it work” with an Entrepreneurial CEO on the cusp of major change? With the CFO Readiness Program.

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CFOs: Are you a CEO in training?

The news of the replacement of Carol Bartz as CEO of Yahoo by Tim Morse, the CFO (as an interim position) brings up interesting points to ponder for the CFO about their career path and career plan.

As I was at my desk thinking about what CFOs could learn from the Yahoo news, the phone rang and it was the Wall Street Journal wanting my take on this news. You can read the article and my quotes in the article by Emily Chasan, When CFOs Become Interim CEOs.

This Yahoo succession story should make every CFO look in the mirror and ask themselves:

If I get the call to be CEO,

    • Can I take it?
    • Should I take it?
    • Am I ready to take it?
    • Do I have what it takes to take it?

Most CFOs will admit to second guessing the CEO on some of their decisions. It’s easy to think “I could do a better job”.

When a finance executive moves up the ladder to become CFO, they need to move out of their comfort zone of being technical to become a strategic finance leader. A CFO can only move to the CEO role if they have taken steps to move beyond finance.

What are you doing as CFO to learn, grow and challenge yourself? (Hint: Get a Coach or a Mentor)

Are you a CEO in training?

If you get the call, would you be ready to become CEO?

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CEO and Investors: Are you ready for your First CFO?

Companies in growth mode face great challenges. One of the biggest challenges a growing company faces is bringing in their first Real CFO.

In a previous post we reviewed an article written by Emily Chasen in the WSJ CFO Journal about how More Companies are Ready for their First CFO.

A growing company built on entrepreneurial spirit can only continue to grow so far on that spirit alone. At a critical juncture in the life of a growing business, it needs to make a transition from decisions made by the entrepreneur alone to a dynamic team that works on a business model of delegation of responsibility and co-operation between interests within the company.

This is an inflection point for many successful growth companies — when a CFO is recruited because the management disciplines that grew the enterprise to its current state will not be enough to take it to the next level.

Intellectually, the CEO and other key managers may know things need to change.  But that doesn’t mean they’ll be comfortable with a CFO who asks tougher questions, instills new disciplines or has a fiduciary responsibility to the investors as well as a loyalty to the management team.

So, what is the answer?  How do you strengthen CFO readiness when the next level of success takes people out of their comfort zones?  Courage.

That’s why we developed our CFO Readiness Program in conjunction with Dr. Merom Klein & Dr. Louise Klein, leaders of the Courage Institute.

The Courage Institute wrote the book on The Courage to Act — about 5 Courage Factors that equip effective leaders to challenge the status quo, champion new possibilities and get traction on breakthrough ideas and improvements. This is the foundation of the CFO Readiness Program.

The CFO Readiness Program is an assessment, feedback and action planning program that works to equip  the entire executive team to:

    • Strengthen and align your veteran executives — so they have the courage to welcome new thought-leadership and collaboration
    • Clarify your wish-list of expectations and priorities for the new CFO
    • Prepare for healthy debates and challenges to “the way we have done things here” as the new CFO identifies new opportunities
    • Equip the new CFO to conduct an independent assessment of your enterprise’s infrastructure, financial well-being and resources
    • Ensure career paths and mentoring opportunities for the finance executives who brought the enterprise to its current level
    • Identify fears, sensitivities and bridge-building that the new CFO could face — and ways to build courage to lift performance
    • Lift courage to embrace and accelerate change to get traction on new metrics, new ways of working and new ways to ensure regulatory compliance and good investor/board relations
    • Identify debates, deferred decisions and risk factors that the new CFO will face — and the input desired from the new CFO
    • See how to move past rivalries, turf-issues, personality clashes and other fear-inducing courage inhibitors that can reduce luminary efficiency at the executive and middle management levels
    • Invite scrutiny and transparency to sharpen up team thinking
    • Navigate matrix structures, networks and alliances — where it is not clear “who is in charge” or “who settles which debates”
    • Overcome fear and reluctance — as veteran members of the executive team are asked for courage to share decision-making discretion and authority with a new CFO

To receive a copy of our brochure and find out more about how our CFO Readiness Program can help your company, please complete this form:

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You’ve been promoted to CFO. Now what?

You’ve been in a senior financial role with the company for a while, and have been aiming for the CFO chair. One day, you get the call from the CEO (or the Chairman) and they offer you the CFO job.

Congratulations! You’ve been promoted to CFO. You have a new office, a new title, new business cards, and a better compensation package.

Except…

… You’re not exactly sure what to do as CFO.

Based on speaking with new CFOs in the same situation as you, you are not alone. When I speak with them and ask them if their job has changed since their promotion, they usually answer “Not really…”

As CFO, you should not be doing the same job you were doing before.

So now that you’ve been promoted to CFO, what can you do to ensure you become the best CFO you can be for your company?

1) Prepare a Plan

Your success as CFO depends on you having a plan for success. This requires that you be aware of the expectations the CEO and Board has from you, and putting in a plan to ensure you can deliver, and have a Strong Finance Team you support you in your goal to become a Successful CFO.

I recommend that this plan be completed within the first 100 days of your new tenure as CFO.

2) Get a Coach

If you ask your CEO, there is a good chance he or she has a Coach. It gets lonely at the top (see Lonely CFO). Being an Effective CFO requires someone that you can talk to that can guide you to make the right decisions and keep to your Plan.

Your success as CFO depends on your ability to deliver. Take responsibility for your new role. Make sure you have a Plan for your success, and have a Coach that ensure you keep to your Plan.

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More companies are ready for their first Real CFO

The WSJ CFO Journal recently posted an article by Emily Chasan called Silicon Valley Seeks CFOs to Hop on IPO Train.

This article, which is interesting reading, discusses how growing technology companies are getting ready for their next serious round of financing, which could include an IPO.

What I found interesting about this article is that many of these growing companies have been using Part-Time CFOs to guide them through their initial growth period, and that they are now ready for their first Real CFO.

Or, at least they think they are ready. But are they?

Having a Real CFO, especially for the first time, requires not only hiring the Right CFO. (See Dear CEO & Board: You can’t afford to hire the wrong CFO.)

The executives in the company, including the current CEO and other VPs, need to be ready for a Strong CFO. The leadership dynamics and the management relationships are going to change. Is your team ready?

My recommendation to CEOs, Boards and Investors: Make sure your team is ready for your new CFO.

How can you make sure your team is ready? Ask me about our program created specifically for you called: Are you ready for your 1st CFO?

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

You can reach Samuel by:

Telephone
San Francisco: +1 (415) 738-2070
Montreal: +1 (514) 907-0925

Email: samuel@dergelcfo.com