Roles can be a misleading. More often than not, they are nothing more than a word that organizes where certain people sit in an office. Take for instance, the role of a CFO. Many consider the CFO as the most glorified accountant of a company, the firm’s money manager, but in reality, they are the secret to a company’s success. Bruce Besanko, the CFO of OfficeMax points this out when he stated that “as CFO, I’m in a unique position within the organization, at the absolute center of the universe. The only other executive besides me that has that same presence at the center is the CEO.”¹  

Of course a CFOs traditional role, namely, overseeing taxes, budgeting, accounting, financial planning, and analysis, is critical to the success of any company. When businesses fail manage these areas they end up failing in general. However, the CFO’s role is evolving into more robust position that is critical to every facet of a business. Read more

The rivalry between firms’ sales and financial departments is real. Rather than seeing each department as a player with a different position in the same team, erroneous perceptions lead many to view them as opposing teams in the same sport. However, if a firm wants to achieve competitive advantage, it must understand the critical roles finance and sales play for each other. Read more