What makes a great CFO?

“CFO’s don’t bring in money – we force others to bring in money. We then complain that it is not enough and force them to go back out and get some more. When we get money, we hate to part with it and we arm wrestle with those in the organization who think money grows on trees. This is pretty much what we do – should anyone ask at a cocktail party where we try to get others to buy our drinks.” -John Marshall, the very funny but totally functional CFO of CBI Group

It’s always nice to see your friends get quoted and realize you were the one who caused it. John serves on a board with me and since he’s the only CPA on tap I asked him to do the budget. That didn’t make much sense, as he quickly pointed out, since this is a new organization and there’s no income to budget. Not one to waste talent, I said, well figure out where to get some. That was his tongue-in-cheek answer. And yes, I did buy him a drink.

This had all been by email and it was so funny, I passed it on to my R&D team who, of course, are always amused by the absurdities of the C level. Today, it showed up as the quote in a Tools4Careers report, an example of what good Watchdogs aren’t like.

Watchdogs are found at all levels of organizations.  They’re often found in the finance department but also show up in HR departments – any place, in fact, where limited resources that need to be stretched are an every day reality.   Functional companies respect them and value that special ability; dysfunctional ones disrespect them and meet their ability to spin gold out of straw by taking their meager supply of straw away bit by bit.

So what makes a great CFO?  If you’re a CEO wanting one, start by deserving one.   Figure out how you’re going to keep John’s description something to laugh at, not the reality of your organization.