The Chief Financial Officer: What CFOs Do, the Influence they Have, and Why it Matters

by The Economist

The rapid rise in importance of the role of the chief financial officer--from back-office accountant to front-line executive--is unrivaled by that of any other corporate position. With access to every facet of the business, CFOs now wield a level of influence matched only by chief executives.
This book explains how CFOs earned their privileged status, and what the future may hold for them. It describes their ever-expanding role, and how they are reshaping their departments to help them deal with that transformation. Insights from current and former CFOs provide a first-hand perspective on finance leaders' aspirations and doubts. It is a useful reference for finance chiefs seeking to learn from peers and benchmark their own performance; for those looking to build a career in the C-Suite; for managers seeking to improve their relationship with the finance department; for service providers--banks, accountancies and consulting firms--and anyone else who wants to get on the good side of the keeper of the corporate checkbook.

Genres: Business, Finance, Economics, Nonfiction, Audiobook

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 20, 2014

About the author

The Economist is a globally trusted source for fact-checked reporting and analysis. We connect the dots—from politics, economics and business to science, technology and beyond—giving sharp insights into international news.

Reviews

[Anjani Kumar · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title of the book is wrong.
It does not tell us “what cfo do”, instead It tells us “what CFO’s should do”.
This was not what I wanted to read,

[Francesco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book on the role of the CFO and how it interacts with the other parts of the business. Also appreciative of the relationship with CEO and investors. A good read.

[Mirek Jasinski · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a little bit disappointed as I expected more from the Economist. Suffice it to say, that I thought that the book was written by an accountant.

[AttackGirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mis Titled, perhaps like the Financial Statements, and authority of the CFO…

[Prajna Kandarpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insights into the modern CFO role and how they cut across business units and why folks from a financial team make for great chief executives that can really set businesses on the right growth trajectory

[Alastair · Rating 2 out of 5]

A functional introduction to the CFO position, but a book that doesn’t deliver much beyond this. A lot of the discussion of the role is couched in fairly anodyne language, often straight from CFOs themselves who, I suppose, were always unlikely to go on record and reveal much that is revelatory about the role.

The book would would have benefited from a few more of the vignettes spattered around. These offered concrete examples to flesh out the often vague generalities found elsewhere and represent the best the book has to offer.

By contrast, there is an almost laughably limited attention paid to the key roles CFOs have played in corporate accounting scandals. The book goes so far as to quote Enron’s still-evasive former CFO Andy Fastow, while barely mentioning his central and criminal role in his company’s collapse. Such avoidance probably reflects the book’s intended audience: not an interested onlooker but aspirant CFOs who are unlikely to value an overt focus on the murky side of their role.

I think it is likely better to read a deep dive into a specific corporation, or a relevant corporate event, to gain some insight (and perhaps some less self-serving insight) into what a CFO does than spend more than an afternoon churning through this book.

[Jwonnacott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read with some interesting information in it.

[Luiz Arthur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for an overall view of the CFO role.

[Jakub Malinowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

CFO 101