A Professional Community of Member Scholars, Companies and Trusted Advisors committed to the development of Chief Financial Officers
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Governance & Controls – structure and controls.
Transaction Recording – systems, transaction processing and closing the books.
Reporting - efficient, timely and accurate information for decision making and meeting compliance requirements.
Accounting
Business Planning - provide the financial roadmap for the company with supporting analytics.
Financial Forecasting - integrate the company’s current performance relative to budget with the real-time business environment.
Investment Analysis - the framework to analyze new opportunities as they present themselves.
Finance
Cash Management - the discipline to ensure cash is available to operate the business normally.
Funding - Planning for and raising funds to meet the needs of the business.
Risk Management – Identification and mitigation of key business risks.
Treasury
Self-Awareness - Internal.
Team Building - External.
Strategy & Culture – Motivate people to follow you.
Leadership
Four Pillars of Executive Expertise
CFO.University is built around the Four Pillars of CFO Success. These Pillars are supported with Core Competencies. Our framework allows you to master your role as a senior financial officer. The Four Pillars are made up of:
Accounting – Governance & Controls, Transaction Recording and Reporting
Finance – Business Planning, Financial Forecasting and Investment Analysis
Treasury – Cash Management, Funding (Capital Raising) and Risk Management
Leadership – Self Awareness, Team Building and Strategy & Culture
Newsletter (The Balanced Digest)
The most up to date and relevant accounting, finance, treasury and leadership headlines all in one place.
Forum (CFO Insights)
Bringing the learning needs of our Member-Scholars directly in contact with thought leaders from CFO.UNIVERSITY Staff, Affiliates and other Member-Scholars.
Practical Learning
Practical, real world subject matter that you can immediately convert to value for your company and your career is the basis for our CFO-centric learning model
Tools
Our Supply Chain Risk Assessment to gives you a quick take on how developed your Supply Chain Risk Management System is.
Try the Supply Chain Risk Assessment Now!
What the Board Expects from a Chief Financial Officer - Part II
Interactions with the Board of Directors can be intimidating for a first time CFO, or even an experienced CFO being introduced to a new Board. To help navigate the critical relationship between the CFO and their Board we interviewed four seasoned public company directors and received a treasure trove of insightful responses.
In part II of the series we cover questions 3-5 from our interview with with the Directors.
3. Are there characteristics you have seen in CFOs that are particularly useful from a Board of Directors perspective?
4. Are there any backgrounds (experience or formal training) that seem to develop more capable CFOs than other backgrounds?
5. Is there a “good way” or “right way” for a CFO to publicly oppose a decision made by the CEO or the Board?
Starting a Business? Here’s What Should Be in Your Plan
Launching or restarting a business takes time and careful planning. It’s a venture fraught with challenges, often leaving leaders facing these characteristic challenges:
- I need to set some financial targets and work hard to reach them.
- My financial statements are inaccurate; what can we do to achieve greater transparency?
- Our business plan is developed, but it needs fine-tuning.
- The books are always closed late; how can we improve efficiency?
- Our current systems aren’t meeting our needs; what are our options?
- We thought we had enough working capital but are short on cash to meet daily expenses.
- The CFO is lacking the skills and training required for our new vision.
Are You Missing a Finance Department? You are Not Alone
The majority of middle market companies started as small, conservative enterprises. Your employees may still wear several hats and perform multiple tasks within the organization. It may be just fine for a small business to have their receptionist double as their accounts payable clerk, but if you plan to grow your business, you will need an accounting and finance department that can keep up and protect your company.
Strategies for Building Accountability
In a recent online poll, leaders reported that the number one change they’d like to see in their corporate culture is a stronger commitment to accountability. Accountability takes many different forms across organizations. In many cases, accountability is only referenced in the form of performance failures and mistakes. In this context, accountability is often characterized as being willing to “fall on your sword” and admit your part in where things went wrong. This is a short-sighted and negative interpretation of accountability that is unlikely to create a positive change in an organization’s culture. At its best, accountability is a personal commitment to taking the ownership needed to drive results and achieve goals.
