From the Editor's Desk Call it the CFO conundrum. As your company’s most senior finance executive, you understand that your most important mission is to enable significant value creation. That means finding a way to shift from “just” keeping a complex finance function on the rails to establishing yourself as the CEO’s principal thought partner—rather than, as some CFOs confide, being considered “a glorified accountant.” For some CFOs, the challenge can be even more intense. Instead of being carefully prepped for succession over the course of years, they find themselves thrust into the top role unexpectedly, perhaps when the business is in distress, emerging from an ownership change, or dealing with a tail-event crisis (as occurred with the COVID-19 pandemic or as is playing out today with geopolitical conflicts). They simply must carry the mantle forward. Urgent requirements, including cash management, internal and external reporting, talent development, risks and controls, and scenario planning, can’t be wished away. |
Monday 6th May 2024