What does a Board demand from its CFO?

An insight from the CFO Symposium

Last week I was fortunate enough to attend the CFO symposium where James Ogden shared insights into what boards want from their CFOs. James has previously served on the board of NZ Post and Kiwibank and is currently serving on the board of Summerset Group and The Warehouse Group - so I took real interest when James started to open up.

What does a New Zealand Board look for in a CFO?

 Someone who is a great team fit.

From a board perspective a strong CFO is someone who will provide honest and accurate insight on commercial and financial matters. They need a black hat who will ask the hard commercial questions and act as a sounding board.  This is someone who will provide true unbiased facts and who will offer the board guidance.

To survive being challenged in this way a strong working relationship within the executive is paramount.

Someone with great technical skills

This has to be someone that the board can rely on to have rock solid Financial, Investment and Commercial understanding of their business. Someone who is going to be rigorous in their analysis  and who can support the Audit & Risk Committee with technical expertise.

In the last 18 months James has been served on boards that have made more than 12 acquisitions - Only 3 or 4 of these have been really successful.

James also shared that it can be powerful for the CFO to bring in an outside consultant, when the board needs to explore a situation that could be divisive, who can be really independent and who is not afraid to offer blunt unbiased advice.

It is really important to find a way of dispassionately looking at any strategic decision within the company, whether that is an acquisition target or hiring a new member of the executive. In both instances mistakes in these areas can be fatal for a company.

What Should the Board Give Back?

Quid Pro Quo. A Board expects a lot from its CFO - it has to be willing to provide support and advice and recognise the difficulties they can cause in expecting an honest dispassionate analysis of strategic decisions.

James shared thoughts on many other topics including working with a foreign board, when it is the right time in your career to join a board and the importance of looking after your health. If you ever get the chance to listen to him speak or gain his advice I would highly recommend it.