Business – Page 20 – The Frustrated CFO

Ten Reasons Why “CFO Techniques” Is a Must-Read for Small-Business CFOs

Reason #1.

"CFO Techniques" was NOT written from an academic perspective, such as of a typical university professor with a consulting-for-large-business on the side.

On the contrary, it WAS WRITTEN by your fellow CFO, who earned her professional stripes in the small-business trenches. During more than 20 years of this hands-on experience, with the last 18 in CFO and Controller positions, she was fortunate to gain exposure to all facets of financial management and organizational administration. Just like the most of you, she knows only too well what it means to wear many hats at the same time.

Reason #2.

Yet, the author did not loose a constructive touch of a theoretician. In writing the book, she employed her:

in-depth knowledge of the fundamental principles that govern all areas of corporate accounting and finance,
methodical approach to all tasks that compile ever-expanding scope of a CFO's responsibilities,
and ability to dissect the cause and effect relationships of various concepts.

The result is the crystallization of the vast experience into a streamlined functional system, easily adaptable to various types of businesses and industries.

Reason #3.

"CFO Techniques" doesn't try to rehash official regulations, statistical information, bits of hot technology news, results of narrow studies, and such. The book's mission is to spotlight the most important areas of a CFO's or a controller's functionality:

Reason #4.

These professional cornerstones are broken down into crucial components described in bite-size, easily digestible chapters written in a fun and lithe language. The book presents the most complex financial and accounting concepts in comprehensive forms, which can serve as introductory aids for those who just attained their first controllership appointment and as concise refreshers for seasoned professionals.

Reason #5.

It is an unfortunate truth that millions of small businesses struggle (and frequently fail) to survive not because they are neglected by owners and managers, but because these hard-working people simply have no clue what exactly is wrong with their companies, where are the weakest points, which areas require immediate improvements. Smaller enterprises suffer the most from the lack, even complete absence, of business intelligence and performance analytics. "CFO Techniques" is a part of the author's personal crusade to help small and mid-size businesses by providing them with survival tools (analytical, budgetary, procedural, etc.) that don't require expensive and complicated software.

Figure 25-1

Reason #6.

One of the most unique and valuable devices offered within the book is the proprietary chart

INCOTERMS FOR ACCOUNTANTS.

Originally developed by Eclectic & Dynamic Controllership Consulting (E&D CC) specifically for businesses involved in buying and selling goods, it expands the definitions of standard Incoterms to include such accounting notions as title transfer rules and description of applicable source documents, thus accommodating needs of proper revenue, COGS, and inventory recognition.

Reason #7.

One of the main underlying themes of the book is the necessity for small-business CFO's and controllers to raise themselves above the bean-counting stereotype and become critical thinkers, indispensable members of the executive management team. "CFO Techniques" emphasizes this pressing demand throughout every section and accentuates the tasks that may facilitate such transformation.

Reason #8.

While shedding new light on the day-to-day routines and spinning conventional accounting and finance tasks as crucial and indispensable cogs in the business machine, the author's functional system gives equal rights to new categories of CFOs responsibilities, such as company-wide Information Technology Management, Risk Control, and Strategic Planning.

Reason #9.

The book takes a holistic approach to multi-faceted positions of CFOs and controllers and supplements specific structural guidelines and practical functional advices with discussions of more general topics applicable to any senior professional operating in private-business environment. Among others, it includes observations and suggestions on how to deal with people on different level of corporate hierarchy and what changes to expect in your future, even if at the moment you feel 100% secure.

Reason #10.

Even if you don't learn anything new, or if you'll find the book not applicable to your specific professional niche, at the very least you can entertain yourself with the multitude of eclectic cultural references and business insights from the author's personal experience woven through the book's text.

Respect Your Audience: Reflections Triggered by Matthew Good’s Concert at Mercury Lounge

Let's face it – most of business professionals, including CFO's and controllers, like hearing themselves talk. Frequently, we cannot stop ourselves, going on and on about some business matter, or bitching about some subordinate, or superior, or peer. Presentations are too long to hold listeners' attention, pitches are unfocused, emails look like novellas, and meeting speeches are self-aggrandizing. There is no denying – that pervasive affliction of humanity, narcissism, is inescapable.

The sad truth is that by doing this we depreciate ourselves – people see it as overcompensation for hidden insecurities. Moreover, such behavioral tendencies give the listeners a good reason to be dismissive. They will feel disrespected and resist to be receptive.

However, even with that affliction sometimes obstructing our way to successful communications, most of us have enough common sense and professional experience not to offend our audience with outright insults. The nature of our positions forces us to be diplomatic. We are in the business of dealing with brash bosses, prima-donna sales people, sensitive customers, important bankers, strategic suppliers, valuable subordinates, and whoever else the job brings into our habitats. The words we use and thoughts we express have a potential of affecting our company's business in a positive or negative way. So, we'd better be respectful, and, most of the time, we are.

These thoughts kept popping into my head last week during Matthew Good's concert at Mercury Lounge. The whole experience was a bit strange. I've been listening to this Canadian rocker's beautiful music, channeled through his amazing vocal and guitar skills, since the 90s (God bless them!). Now, standing right in front of the tiny stage, I've observed a 40-year-old (looking over 50), kinda balding, kinda pudgy, unkempt man, who managed to down three large glasses of gin in a span of 90 minutes.

It was unexpected, but I really-really don't care what people look like as long as they do their job well. And I've got to say, when Mr. Good sang, it made you forget everything: his age, your age, what he looks like, and what you look like now, and all the shit that happened in 20 years since you first heard him. The trouble was the man sang only half the time.

Dana Carvey once said that all comedians want to be rock stars; apparently, and vice versa. Matthew talked after every song (literally): SNL sketches, whooping cough epidemic in Vancouver, one of his kids being a bastard, postnasal drip, Lance (his guitar Dobby/drinks server/on-the-road chef), hot dogs – what have you. I was standing there thinking, "Dude, do your job, sing. Have some fucking respect – it's midnight on a Wednesday night, some of us worked all day and have to work tomorrow."

It got worse: as the blood alcohol level was rising, his widely known political side started coming out. When he began throwing accusations regarding American government's shadiness mixed with condescending remarks like, "You should know what your government is doing" into the audience (thanks, dude, without your Canadian ass I wouldn't know how to form political opinions!), someone else voiced, "What about your government?"

But at the end, it was an issue related to his own music, with which he hit the ultimate low of disrespect. The exhausted, but still forgiving fans started throwing song requests at him; some from The Matthew Good Band's first album "Last of the Ghetto Astronauts." "There is a better chance for my starting chewing crack than for your forcing me to sing anything from that album. Common, people, admit it – that was crap written by a 24-year-old." This is to those who bought the album and listened to it since 1995, plus many members of the audience who are in their 20s now, yet know every word of lyrics you wrote when they were wearing pampers? How offensive is that?

Essentially, touring musicians are in business of selling their albums and solidifying their fan base, thus making sure that people will buy tickets again and again. In that, they are not much different from other business professionals. The way I see it, they should be afraid to lose their paying customers the same way we do. Alas, Matthew Good thinks differently. Well, I'm not buying next time.

What If You Don’t Look the Part?

Ah, December! The month of office parties and corporate gatherings. Small or large, every company feels obligated to do something: sandwiches from a nearby deli with soda in plastic cups, or formal cocktails and fancy dinners – whatever fits the budget (frequently, way over budget).

On Monday I had to take part in my client's festivities. The company is small, but has a lot of external relations (bankers, financiers, big-time suppliers, shippers, brokers, lawyers, consultants). So, the gathering turned out to be pretty significant. As their acting CFO I am viewed as an insider and, therefore, was placed at the head of the "finance and legal" table. Funny! Other tables – operations, logistics, etc. were vividly mixed-gendered. At my table – I was the only woman.

"But no matter, no matter!" As all of us – females of corporate finance, I've been working in the predominantly testosterone environment my entire career. I know how men operate and expect them eventually, after obligatory discussions of each other's success, politics, economy, and the stock market, to fall into a football patter. And even though I myself find basketball and tennis far more exciting (and, as my readers know, prefer arts altogether), I am ready. It's not really that difficult – here, in NYC, they are predominantly Giants' fans. All it takes is to remember few key names and events, and they feel like you are "one of the boys."

So, here we are, in the third hour of the event, with enough liquor in all of them to knock a team of stevedores to the ground (ever since the martini lunches have become their industry's long-gone past, the thirsty bankers make up for them in the evenings), when the Giants sneak their way into the conversation. Only this time around, there is a twist – a politely contained and quiet tiff erupts over Eli Manning.

You see, there is this guy, second from me on the left, in his early sixties, who looks like the Nazi who got the scepter's head burnt into his palm in "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Only 30 minutes ago he said that the best presidential candidate right now was Michele Bachmann, which made me bit my tongue so hard to prevent a spontaneous response, I bled a little in my mouth. Now he is arguing with other neighboring boys, telling them how much he hates Eli, and the way he sits on the side, and his smile, and his hat, etc., etc. The fact that he is one of the only three Giants' players ever to be named a Super Bowl MVP apparently means nothing.

Let me tell you, I don't really give a rat's ass about either of the Manning brothers. It's the underlying principle that's important to me. So, I look the man in the eyes through his round glasses and say, "Many conservative men don't like Eli Manning, because he looks like a goofy high-schooler." "Yes, and that stupid grin of his," says the man. And I say, "But that look, and that grin, and that hat – they have nothing to do with his performance on the field." The conversation ended right then and there.

More than a year ago, I finished my post "He Looks Like an Accountant…" by saying that young crowd at rock concerts don't believe that I am a career CFO. The truth is that, unless I am introduced as one, nobody ever guesses it. Moreover, there is always an element of surprise in people's reaction, when they learn about my profession. It doesn't matter that I am very good at it and have a book on the subject coming out, I don't come off as "corporate finance," at least not by American standards. I am not tall, not skinny; I don't have the fake gloss all over me. And that crazy hair I could never tame! I am acutely aware of this discrepancy with people's expectations. That's why "CFO Techniques" doesn't have my picture on the back cover – I don't want to confuse people.

Ten Reasons Why “CFO Techniques” Is a Must-Read for Entrepreneurs

Reason #1.

You are a part of a proud cohort of just a few millions of people who summoned their courage and said, "I will not work for the Man anymore! I will be my own boss!"

While your company is growing, it will need to keep its overhead lean. Meanwhile, you can use "CFO Techniques" as a surrogate for a seasoned executive that will provide you with clear guidelines for financial and administrative management.

Reason #2.

Don't let the title fool you. "CFO Techniques" is not a bean-counting manual. It's written with a view to achieving commercial success and places business considerations ahead of everything else.

Reason #3.

It will arm you with a flexible framework for structuring your business in a logical and sensible way.

Reason #4.

"CFO Techniques" is not an academic textbook either. It manages to shed new light on various aspects of finance and business in a fun and easy language. The book is organized into a bite-sized chapters sprinkled with familiar cultural references and illustrations from the author's professional life.

Reason #5.

Yet, it's packed with practical advice,

instructive suggestions, step-by-step guidelines,

checklists,

and visual examples.

Reason #6.

"CFO Techniques" will provide you with a comprehensive breakdown on acquisition of capital resources necessary to sustain and grow your business.

Reason #7.

An entire section of the book is devoted to assessment, reduction, and transfer of the internal and external risks your company may encounter in a normal course of business and in extraordinary circumstances.

Reason #8.

"CFO Techniques" will show you that one of the most critical determinants of whether your company will fail or prosper is the active attention to its performance. The book rejects the rigidity of the uniform approach to business intelligence and underscores the importance of selecting specific indicators that will have the most significant impact on your decision-making process.

Reason #9.

Anticipating your furture needs, the book describes the fundamental steps of strategic planning and basic techniques for explorting opportunities as well as diminishing external threats.

Reason #10.

And when you are looking to hire a CFO, a valuable member of your executive team, the book may serve you as a benchmark in evaluating the candidates' breadth of expertise and depth of knowledge.

Response to a Reader’s Question: Take a Position Abroad or Stay Home?

One of my readers, a fellow female CFO, have sent me an email asking for an advice on the following dilemma she is trying to resolve for herself:

"Hi Frustrated CFO

Please advice.

I'm at a crossroad between choosing to work as a group cfo in overseas subsidiary in US or stay in home country (malaysia) and becomes a group cfo of a division.

Both has its merits and demerits but i'm a woman and study shows that most women do not end at top spot without sacrifice. My family and I would have to sacrifice more if i choose to go overseas. My husband need to put his business on hold and becomes a house husband for a while until we settle down. Its good for the kids as they will go to international school and gain mastery in english language.

Staying in home country is not bad either. I will be in a familiar condition, i will gain new exposure, nothing need to change and i can send my kids to good schools at a higher fee.

Most people will say that experience abroad will change how people perceive you as a leader and thus this will give you greater opportunities within or outside the group.

What do you reckon?

Thank you.

Rgds
Anonymous"

Honestly, it is apparent to me that deep in her heart Anonymous knows very well that, professionally speaking, the best thing to do is to take the job overseas. I always said that a career CFO or a Controller needs to view every job as a line on her resume. Nothing more and nothing less. And what can make a better resume entry than a position showing that your knowledge and expertise are viewed to be unmatchable by a local talent pool in a foreign location? This is a great stepping stone in anyone's career development.

Men don't even think twice about opportunities like that, family or not. But women are naturally more considerate creatures. Many of us try to achieve an impossible balance between professional careers and personal lives. This requires a lot of trade-offs – you cannot possibly have everything. You want spend more time with your kids than you can. You don't want to be too tired for your husband. But, at the same time, your career is a source of income and, more importantly, social independence. The last thing a strong woman wants is to give that up.

I am also a strong believer in exposing children to foreign cultures. It broadens their horizons and sets them apart. Most professional parents do it through traveling and student-exchange programs, but here is a fortunate opportunity of a complete immersion. It would be a shame to pass on that.

So, the only real difficulty is the husband. Is it fair to ask someone to put their business endeavors on hold for the sake of perpetuating your own career? It's really a very private issue that depends on individual personalities, and it can be blown into a very complex problem. However, in my opinion, at the end of the day, it comes down to two major considerations:

1. What will guarantee better financial future for your family as a whole? We are financial professionals – we know how to count. Estimate the future values of each possibility.

2. What will secure the psychological stability of your family? If you are excited about the overseas opportunity, but decide to stay home for the sake of your husband, will you subconsciously hold it against him? Will you let the resentment corrode your marriage?

If you can honestly answer these questions, it will ease your decision-making process. I promise.

I invite other readers to express their opinions on this subject in their comments.

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