CFOs, it’s time to bring your A-game 🎯

While no two CFOs are alike, some traits set the A-players apart — and most of them involve storytelling and relationship-building.

Gone are the days when the CFO’s role was purely cutting checks and people management. CFOs invested in career growth and the expansion of their organization must go beyond the table stakes of FP&A and hone their risk tolerance, interpersonal communication skills and more to be truly successful.

The CFO Show’s latest guest, JMI Equity Partner Vinny Prajka, gave us a primer on how to become the kind of growth-driving CFO any organization would love. 

The TL;DR: Tell your business story while focusing on building relationships along the way.

Find a Delicate Balance

Many CFOs err on the side of caution, stepping in to tell other teams to temper their spending — but there are moments when encouraging growth while managing costs will pay off.

The key here? Understanding your business’s core story — the goals, OKRs, KPIs and limitations alike — and respecting how that story can move forward as you walk the tightrope between growth and cost management with grace.

The ultimate goal, as Vinny says, is to be able to tell your organization’s story as deftly and well as the CEO can. Being able to do so will ultimately result in better business cases for expenditures that drive growth — and will foster a better relationship between you and other executives.

Bring Your Best to the Table

To remain focused on business growth, you must focus on honing two relationships: customer relationships and board relationships. 

Each one has a strong impact in its own way; what’s most important to remember is these relationships aren’t rooted in prescriptive advice or ROI-related demands. Rather, your goal as you craft these partnerships should be to ensure you have a 360-degree understanding of the organization’s challenges and needs.

Understand the business. Attending a sales meeting or listening to support calls is a great way to gain a zoomed-in view of your customers' challenges. This, in turn, helps you become a more empathetic leader and a more valuable business partner. If you understand firsthand the problems your organization is solving, your data-driven storytelling will be unstoppable.

Bottom-line it for the board. Board members are busy, and what you have to say is important. Marrying the two is as simple as sharing a slide deck ahead of time and ensuring you keep every data point short, sweet and to the point. As you continue to do this consistently, you’ll find that your meetings run smoother — board members will know what’s coming in every slide deck, which streamlines meetings and their subsequent decision processes.

Ready for a roadmap toward becoming an A-level CFO while boosting your business’s performance? Vinny shares this on this week’s episode of The CFO Show, available wherever you typically listen.

In case you missed it…

In a world where cyberattacks are becoming increasingly common and more sophisticated, there’s never been a more essential need for CFOs to be prepared to respond to those threats. The key, Joe Oleksak says, is teaming up with your CIO and CEO to build processes that leverage technology to safeguard essential data while creating a company culture of security and privacy.

What’s next…

CFOs are experts in growing a business, navigating through volatile economic environments, and acting as leaders inside and outside the organization. But as finance professionals grow their careers, the role often changes from supporting as an individual contributor to managing a team of individual contributors. In this episode, Vena’s Director of FP&A Thomas Krolak explores how CFOs keep their tactical skills sharp as they move a little farther away from the day-to-day action.