Here is a curated combination of sources articulating how important it is to invest in the CEO-CFO relationship. The question is, where are you (if you are a CFO/senior financial executive) or where is your CFO/senior financial executive (if you are a CEO/President/General Manager) going to learn how to truly become a better co-pilot?
“With the end of 2022 bringing a near five-year high in CFO turnover rates, labor issues are impacting every level of talent within organizations. Even with talent retainment efforts becoming more of a focus, CFOs still tend to be consistently on the move looking for the next best gig. Whether it’s autonomy, workflow, decision-making, or leadership issues, the CEO-CFO relationship has a significant impact on the likelihood of an organization’s ability to retain its finance chief.”
“A wise chief executive knows they only stand to gain from the support and counsel of a strong chief financial officer. The two of them must be able to work in tandem, complementing each other’s skills, so that they can improve organizational performance in a way that is sustainable and has integrity. Here CEOs and CFOs recommend the best ways to ensure that a company’s most important relationship has the right blend of dynamism and productivity”.
“Here’s how to leverage the evolving CEO & CFO relationship to transition from traditional reporting to strategic business partnership. The CEO-CFO relationship is critical to the success of the business. Finance business partnership could define if a company crumbles under pressure or can handle crisis situations while pursuing a strategic vision. This is why the CFO is becoming the second most important executive after the CEO, amongst well-run businesses. However, if the finance function focuses on number crunching or plays a traditional reporting role, the potential benefits of this powerful collaboration are muted”.
“The world’s most well-run businesses have a CEO-CFO duo that’s attached at the hip. But you can’t build a powerful strategic partnership with your CEO if finance only serves as a traditional reporting function. A strong CEO-CFO relationship hinges on effective storytelling”.
“In virtually every company we look at, the CFO is becoming the second most important C-suite executive. An effective leadership team depends on the CEO and CFO being a great double act.”
The question is, where are you (if you are a CFO/senior financial executive) or where is your CFO/senior financial executive (if you are a CEO/President/General Manager) going to learn how to truly become a better co-pilot?
