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2019 CFO Leadership Conference:“Seven Pillars of the Modern CFO” May 13 - 14, 2019, Boston Seaport District

THE SEVEN PILLARS Strategy and Innovation: As a true partner to the CEO, CFOs employ strategic thinking and embrace company-wide innovation to give their enterprise long-term sustainable advantages. CFOs no longer record change and measure value – they drive change and create value within their organizations. Creative problem solving is arguably THE critical skill of the modern CFO. Performance Measurement: Although performance measurement is a traditional role of the CFO, new technologies have changed the way CFOs and their teams measure and evaluate performance. A CFO who retains skills in performance measurement can identify strategic opportunities, provide optimal investor guidance, and help the CEO avoid errors. CFOs need to maintain expertise in this area, but the skills required to excel have changed. Mastery of technology, the ability to analyze data, and even interpersonal skills have taken on an increased role. Economics and Globalization: Most organizations think globally from inception, and even local businesses are not immune from the impact of globalization. CFOs must not only think globally, but also executive globally. Global is no longer a concept or something to be aware of. CFOs need to understand how finance must support the organization's strategy for going and growing global, its execution, and measuring the success of these efforts. Data-Driven Decision Making: The last decade has witnessed a revolution in the quantity and quality of available data. More than other executives, modern CFOs use data to create value, drive efficiencies, and empower their organizations. Advances in technology have provided organizations with an increased range and depth of data. This is both a blessing and a curse. Today's CFO has an opportunity and obligation to bring a financial lens to this data and guide the organization in transforming it to meaningful information to derive insights and support fact based decisions to realize value creation. Executive Presence and Communications: CFOs have long been respected for their clear and forthright communications style. What has changed is their role in articulating and selling the company’s vision in a manner that is compelling, while doing so in a way that does not compromise integrity. CFOs are now expected by CEOs and Boards to be a catalyst for meaningful change. For example, to fulfill this new role and to be successful requires heightened skills in the areas of executive presence and communications. Leadership: CFOs partner with CEOs and the Executive team to establish strategic vision, advance that vision with key stakeholders, and inspire these parties to fulfill this vision. The combination of financial and strategic thinking, as well as the reputation for integrity, makes the CFO uniquely qualified to sell the strategic vision. Today's CFO is expected to lead in developing and advancing an organization's strategy, bringing about needed change to execute the strategy, and to objectively measure and inform the organization on its performance. This broad role demands effective leadership skills for the modern CFO to succeed.

Seven Pillars of the Modern CFO