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 III of the series we cover questions 6-7 and potpourri from our interview with with the Directors.

6. How should the CFO communicate with the Board? On one extreme - should conversations be led by the Board and the CFO brought in as needed/instructed. On the other extreme should the CFO have full access to the Board on whatever subject they believe is worth the Boards time.

7. As a Board member if you could hire for only one quality in the CFO what would that quality be?

Read More…

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?

Read More…

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 I of the series we cover questions 1 and 2 from our interview with the Directors.

1. What are the key roles the Board expects out of the CFO in their role as a member of the leadership team?

2. What are the primary roles the CFO plays in serving the Board?

Read More…

This instructional video covers why account reconciliations are critical to running a well-managed business and how you can get there.

Read More…

Recently, the concept of critical data has caught the attention of data management professionals. I myself was no exception, so I decided to dive deeper into this subject and do some research. In this article, I would like to share some results of my research and my experience with:

• …definitions of critical data and critical data elements (CDEs)
• …reasons to use CDEs
• …key challenges with CDEs in practical implementation.

Read More…