The Ledger
Curated content foranalytical business leaders
CFO Crisis Leadership – Open a War Room
July 19, 2020
Managing during a crisis takes on a different set of priorities, according to a six-time CFO. “The first — respond as effectively as you can to short-term needs while preserving cash and liquidity. Second, build engagement between finance and procurement teams. And third, ensure efficiency and be more responsive to quickly changing demands and shifting priorities.”
Industrial Companies: Control Indirect Costs to Gain Profits
July 13, 2020
“Maintaining profits and growth is going to be very difficult. However, regardless of the larger economic environment, companies can take actions that can help. Specifically, many companies are seeing the share of general and administrative (G&A) costs increase. From 2008 to 2015, G&A expenses grew more slowly than revenues (41.8 percent versus 61 percent). Since then, the trend has reversed, with G&A expenses rising faster—15.4 percent compared with 6.0 percent revenue growth. Traditional cost-optimization approaches are yielding diminishing returns; if revenues begin to fall, then, so will profits.”
Risk Strategy for CFOs in a COVID-19 World
July 7, 2020
CFOs are continually evaluating their risk exposure as unpredictable becomes the new normal. A recent survey from Euler Hermes exposed that 90+% of CFOs predict that the risk strategy in their organizations will change, with significant challenges in managing cash flow. “Many CFOs have a gap in their financial analysis when it comes to customer and customer behavior, particularly at such an unpredictable time as now.”
Productive Relationships are Key to CFO Success
July 3, 2020
With business disruptions mounting and the COVID-19 crisis continuing to impact companies, CFOs should hone their leadership skills in three areas. According to a recent publication from The Wharton School of Business – “As leadership advisors to C-suite executives, boards, and investors, we have found that successful leaders do three things well: They have the right Priorities, the right people (Who), and the right Relationships to achieve results.” The study identifies which two CFOs tend to do well, and which one falls short.
