Beyond the Conventional CFO

Managing investments and assets, negotiating with the bank

to get the best rates of interest, reporting to the CEO and

presenting to the Board of Directors; if you are a CFO, these

are likely tasks you check off your daily planner. But at the

end of the day, you know that you are only as good as your

team. The finance department not only plans money, tax and

treasury; but also analyzes data and gives insights that are

crucial to top-level decision-making.

As the designer and architect of this team, how do you attract

and retain talent that can look beyond number-crunching to

contribute towards overall organizational success?

1) Lay the Foundation

Today, organizations are becoming increasingly layered and complex, customers are turning fickle and employees are often drifting along without a sense of direction.

As a CFO, it is essential that you share your business’ vision with your team and give a roadmap to successful achievement of objectives.

Clearly define the role of each member on this journey, show each the difference he/she is making and infuse the team with a sense of purpose.

2) Strengthen the pillars

Besides hiring the best individual for each function, add talent

development as one of the most important tasks on your

agenda. It could take on the form of training seminars, job

rotation or succession planning.

Also, collaborate with IT to create systems for knowledge-

sharing across the business. Invest in systems and

processes that do away with bureaucratic red tape and make

workflow quicker and more efficient.

Remember that talented employees will look forward to

working under an energetic, progressive leader.

3) Look Ahead

It is essential that you create a finance team that can expand easily and serve future needs of the organization.

You are expected to look into the future and take proactive measures so that issues are tackled before they arise.

To retain talent for the future, bear in mind their expectations with respect to compensation, career progression and work flexibility.

Restructure your processes to suit their needs; rotate tasks often and promote from within the organization to enhance loyalty.

Finally…

Lead by example. If your working is aligned to

organizational goals; if you embrace and encourage

training; and if you successfully play your role of a

dynamic change agent; so will your team.

Maureen O'Connell

Maureen O’Connell is the current Executive VP, CFO

and CAO of Scholastic Corporation. When not

working, Maureen loves running, Skiing, Scuba

Diving or Travelling.