As the business world grows in complexity and increases in pace, organisations expect the leaders of their management accounting teams to be just that–leaders. Crunching the numbers, running financial reports, and complying with rules and regulations are only a part of contemporary CFOs′ or controllers′ work. Equally important is CFOs′ participation on the executive team as a strategic leader of the finance function, a strong communicator, high–level negotiator, and builder of a collaborative environment.
While your organisation expects you to take on this evolving role, you may not feel confident in your ability to perform these high–level functions. The Traits of Today′s CFO: A Handbook for Excelling in an Evolving Role has the answers you need. This book explores in detail controllers′ and CFOs′ critical traits and explains specifically what actions are required to meet these requirements. It provides a wealth of information on coaching employees and, in the process, transferring accountability for results back to their hands. It further includes thorough coverage of best practices in governance and risk programmes, gap analysis, shaping organisational culture, and team building.
Drawing on studies of executives and leaders of finance teams, The Traits of Today′s CFO develops a detailed picture of the contemporary and future controller and CFO and tells you how to powerfully perform in these roles.
Checklists, self–assessments, position descriptions, coaching exercises, and other practical tools make this book immediately useful to your work now and your own evolving career.
"There will always be a high demand for the strategic CFO," author Ron Rael says. Ensure you are a strategy–driven management accounting leader with this valuable book.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1Advanced Critical Skills 2
Specific Best Practices 3
1 Step 1: Improve Your Leadership Effectiveness by Looking Ahead 5
Our Future More of the Same, at Warp Speed 5
CFO and Controller s Future Roles 5
The CFO and Controller Team s Responsibilities 6
The Management Accounting Department s Journey Into the Future 7
Value Creation Approach to Management Accounting: Eight Insights into Management Accounting s Future 8
Universal Theme No. 1: An Emphasis on Nonaccounting Roles 8
Universal Theme No. 2: Our Performance Gap 17
Universal Theme No. 3: The Collaborative Partnership 17
Solution No 1 How to Overcome the Performance Gap 18
Solution No 2 How to Prepare for Tomorrow 19
2 Step 2: Become an Effective Coach 21
Coaching in a Nutshell 21
Coaching at the Individual Level 22
The Skill of Coaching 22
Accountability Factor in Coaching 23
Specific Skills of a True Coach 23
Coaching Skills Defined 24
Coaching at the Organisational Level 26
Teaching and Training 26
Counselling 26
Guiding 26
Learning 26
Sharing 27
Questioning 27
Relating 27
Listening 27
Using Intuition 27
Creativity 28
Controller and CFO Best Practice: Position Description 28
Elements of the Position Description 28
Benefits of Using a Position Description 29
Tips on Making the Position Description Effective 29
Position Description for a General Accounting Assistant 31
3 Step 3: Improve the Organisation s Performance Through Coaching 41
CFO = Influencer 42
Best Practice: Shape the Culture by Defining It 45
Tone at the Top 45
The Leader as Proactive Shaper of Culture 46
CFO Tool: Cultural Ideals 46
The Story You Tell 47
In the End 51
Best Practice: Create Balanced Risk–Taking With a Risk Programme 52
Risk Is Individual to Each of Us 52
Risk Is Everywhere and Never–Ending 53
Why Defining Risk Is Necessary 54
The Meaning of Risk Has Changed 54
Fundamental Sources of All Business Risks 55
CFO Solutions to Make People Aware That Risk Exists 58
CFO Solutions to Make People Aware That Risk Can Be Survived 58
CFO Tool: Risk Identification 58
CFO Tool: Selecting the Right Strategy 61
In the End 61
Best Practice: Foster Accountability by Defining It 63
Accountability From a Leader s Perspective 63
Accountability Is Often Misunderstood 63
Where Accountability Fits In 65
The Undefined Standard 66
Why Accountability Works to Make Everyone Successful 66
How Leaders Improve Accountability 67
10½ Rules of Accountability 68
Best Practice: Establish a Governance Programme That Eliminates Questionable Practices 70
Controls or Policies Are Not Governance 70
Makeup of a Governance Programme 72
The Human Element in Governance 73
Cost of Governance 74
4 Step 4: Improve Your Team s Effectiveness Through Coaching 75
The Value of Teaming in Finance 75
The CFO as Developer of Team s Skills and Talents 76
In Essence 76
Best Practice: Shape Your Employees Teaming Behaviours With a Solid Structure 78
The Teaming Culture 78
The Team s Decisions Are Made by Consensus 81
How to Create a Strong Team 83
10½ Rules About Building Effective Teams 83
In the End 84
Best Practice: Shape Your Employees Accountability by Establishing Behaviour Expectations 85
Expectations and Standards Shape Behaviours 85
Cultural Objectivity 87
CFO Tool: Culture Statement 88
CFO Tool: Ground Rules 89
CFO Tool: Service Standards 89
In the End 90
Best Practice: Shape Your Employees Behaviour by Using Honest Feedback 92
Power of Immediate Feedback 92
How to Keep Feedback Objective 93
How Leaders Use Feedback 94
When and Where to Use Feedback 96
10½ Rules for Performance Improving Feedback 97
In the End 97
Best Practice: Shape Your Employees Behaviour With Recognition and Rewards 99
Why Rewards and Recognition Foster Team Behaviours 99
How Leaders Create Team Recognition 100
In the End 102
5 Step 5: Improve Your Change Agent Skills Through Self–Coaching 105
Your Need for Self–Coaching 105
Controller or CFO s True Role 105
Similar Roles Yet Different Responsibilities 106
Best Practice: Skills Gap Assessment 107
Change Agent s Skills Explained 108
Best Practice: Gap Analysis 109
Gap Analysis Defined 109
In the End 111
Best Practice: Formalised Action Plan 112
Obtain Tangible Results With an Action Plan 112
Best Practice: Action Plan Reporting and Accountability 114
In the End 115
CFO Versus the Controller How the Roles Vary 115
6 Step 6: Improve Your Skills as a Leader in the Middle 119
Your Personal Strength: Surviving as a Manager in the Middle 120
Your Biggest Hurdle to Becoming a Great Leader 120
Natural Rule of Leadership 121
Best Practice: Solution Creator 123
How to Become an Effective Problem Solver 123
Their Pain Is Real and Tangible, Yet Hidden 123
Best Practice: Probing Questions 124
How to Get to the Real Problem 124
Why Management Accountants Do Not Use Objective Questioning 125
Best Practice: Problem Restatement 127
Ways Get to the Real Cause of an Issue or Problem 128
No 1 Big Mistake of the CFO 128
No 2 Big Mistake of the CFO 129
How to Use Problem Restatement 129
The Process for Restating the Problem 130
In the End 131
7 Chapter 7: Step 6½: Improve by Making a Commitment 133
Growing Pains 133
No 3 Big Mistake of the CFO 134
Today s Management Accounting Leader Realities 135
Our Skills and Knowledge Grow Obsolete at an Ever–Faster Rate 135
A Management Accounting Team Advances in Only Two Ways: The Solutions We Provide and the Connections We Sustain 135
Significant Trends in Management Accounting that Impact the CFO and Controller 136
Trend No 1 136
Trend No 2 137
Trend No 3 137
Trend No 4 137
Trend No 5 138
Trend No 6 138
Trend No 7 138
Trend No 8 139
Trend No 9 139
Strategies for Coping With the Pain of These Changes 140
Best Practice Instilling a Personal Commitment 140
Best Practice Instilling Continuous Improvement with Plus/Delta 141
Steps of the Plus/Delta 141
Controller s Resources List 145
