CFO Network event: Strategy, performance & the relationship with the CEO
By Michael Derin
The final CFO Network event for 2011 was held last night at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Sydney. This time round the discussion panel was focused on improving strategy, performance and the relationship with the CEO.
2011 has been a challenging year for many CFO. During the year many have shared with us that one of their biggest challenges is managing the financial functions of their organisation while at the same time also having the capacity to provide strategic leadership, risk management initiatives and big-picture thinking.
What became evident to me last night was the importance for every CFO to focus on building a positive and cohesive relationship with the CEO. This is one of those things we often know we should do but can be hard to put into practice. But getting this right can lead to positive outcomes for a CFO personally as well as being vital to the long term future and success of the organisation.
Our speakers last night summed up the topic perfectly.
Janet Young, CFO at Freehills law firm gave us insights on being a CFO and COO in a multi partner firm and also shared her view of being a successful CFO which is using your technical expertise, understanding the business and its culture so you can achieve business outcomes. (See Janet’s slides)
Simon Smith, former MD of eBay and current director of Quantium Online, talked about his experiences leading companies and how having a good relationship with a CFO that is technically proficient as well as thinks about the bigger picture, has been invaluable to achieving successful outcomes.
Peter McCelland, CFO at Luxottica Retail, spoke of the value a CFO can deliver to an organisation if they are able to move beyond just looking after the finance and create a finance department that is a business partner and contributes to the growth and success of the business. (see Peter’s slides)
In many ways last night’s topic was the perfect culmination for 2011. This year we covered the topics cloud computing, valuations and risk management. A big thank you to those who shared their suggestions on topics for us to cover in 2012.
In the coming weeks we will be finalising the date and topic for the next CFO Network event which we will announce first on the CFO Network Australia Linked In group page before sending out invitations early in 2012. If you are not already a member, I encourage you to join.
Thank you to everyone who came along and participated and made the CFO Network events a worthy and valuable undertaking.
Have an enjoyable festive season and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2012.
