What makes a great CFO?

I find a lot of CFOs are either not qualified to be a CFO or think too highly of themselves to be effective. They often get labeled as the CF-NO, and that can often cause more harm than good.

Even though the CFO sits at the right hand of the CEO, I see the CFO as a support position to the ENTIRE Leadership Team. Each member of the leadership team is highly specialized and needs timely and accurate financial and operational information so they can make the right decisions.

The CFO has so much amazing knowledge and experience. They are a literal font of knowledge that everyone can tap into. But unfortunately, they are typically feared and unapproachable.

I think what makes a great CFO is a rare combination of being financially astute but also possessing operational acumen. Yes, it is the job of the CFO to protect the company from risk, but not all risk is bad. If the founder had not taken risk originally, there would be no company. Having operational empathy is knowing the difference between acceptable risk and being risk adverse. It is being able to understand that risks are faced every day by the various teams within the organization structure. Being able to mitigate and navigate that risk is the support that they need.

The CFO needs to support the leadership team so that the team can feel free to push the limits of their creativity. A good CFO will encourage their “out of the box” thinking but also know when to let the team know where the limits are. So what makes a great CFO? It is the one who can be the vehicle whereby each member of the leadership team is operating at peak levels.