6 ways successful CFOs are smarter than you (so far)

When you look at how the CFO role has evolved in the past decade or so, you can’t help but think your predecessors had it easy. In the old days, the CFO’s thought processes might have gone something like this: Worry about emerging competition? That’s the development officer’s headache. Dazzle board members and investors? On the CEO’s shoulders, not yours. Plumb the depths of the collective psyche of your customer base? Best left up to the marketing team.

That’s certainly not how things are now. Long gone are the days when being a CFO meant sitting in your office down the hall from the CEO and quietly counting your beans. Today, you had better know who else is selling beans, how they’re moving them to market, what they’re saying to sell more beans than your company, where everyone’s beans are coming from, what the government says about how you must handle your beans, and what technology is best for counting your beans.

Modern CFOs — at least those who are highly successful — know how to focus on holistic growth, rather than just what the numbers tell them. If your background is in accounting or finance (as many CFOs’ are), it can be difficult to make that transition. How do you do it? That is the question we asked that lead to a the publication of a white paper called “The Evolution of the CFO: Six Habits Helping Today’s CFO and Shaping Future Finance Leaders“ as well as our upcoming webinar on April 13, 2016 called “Six Habits Helping Today’s Finance Leaders Stay Ahead“ that I will be hosting along with Joel Sweren, CFO, Freedom Bank of New Jersey and Guy Becker, VP of Finance & Operations for Deluxe Financial Services.