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Do CFOs make desirable CEOs?
By siliconindia
Fremont: Since the financial crisis grappled the global economy, the financial situation in numerous companies turned into a warfield, making the companies tighten their purses to fight the tough times, which saw the profiles of many CFOs rise.
According to Deloitte's recent CFO survey, a number of CFOs are turning to policies concerning growth strategies. So companies have a query that if the CFOs could navigate them through storms, can they steer them towards growth?
In the U.S. and U.K., about one fifth of the CEOs have been in the shoes of CFOs; with the CFO viewed as a strategic partner by the CEOs, investors and other stakeholders. The CFO holds the key to a company's financial security, with activities like controlling costs, treasury, managing cash, restructuring finance, and raising capital. 49 percent of serving CEOs in the current FTSE 100 Index have financial backgrounds, compared to only 31 percent in 2008. The accelerating trend can also be seen in the Fortune 500. However, only 57 percent of the CEOs of the FTSE 250 companies hold accountancy qualifications.
The volatile economic development has placed new demands on all business leaders, and impacted the pre-requisite skill set required to effectively embrace the high-profile strategic positions. Any CFO desiring to move up the ladder into the shoes of a CEO, has to able to handle the growing speed of business transition, make quicker decisions, enjoy and embrace all opportunities across a variety of media, and encourage and inspire others using the leadership skills, apart from having self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills.
The role of the CFO has become increasingly visible as the CFOs are assuming the central strategic position on the leadership team. The remuneration to CFOs has also increased, which has broadened beyond the traditional finance functions. Thus, any CFO aspiring to be the CEO has to face the volatile nature of the CEO's responsibilities, as the priorities of both have become closely aligned. They have to change the way they think, act, and communicate. They must be able to communicate effectively to a broader constituency and be far more politically attuned.