CFO of the year.

AuthorFrancom, Sarah Ryther

As Utah's CFOs confront a struggling national economy, turmoil in the financial markets and stringent compliance requirements, our 2010 CFO of the Year honorees agree the day of the back office bean counter is long gone. Today's CFOs take on a strategic, communicative leadership role, acting as a partner with the CEO while providing firm fiscal guidance to secure a corporation's financial future.

BEN COVINGTON//ALTAVIEW CONCRETE//Like most companies in the construction industry, Altaview Concrete experienced hard times during 2009. But according to CEO Scott Reynolds, the company was able to stay out of the red thanks to the critical achievements of CFO Ben Covington. "Our banking relationship became severely strained," says Reynolds. "Ben negotiated tirelessly with our bankers while simultaneously working with other significant creditors in very novel approaches."

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According to Reynolds, Covington's determined efforts allowed the company to produce a modest profit, while the industry averaged a 50 percent drop. In addition, Covington made significant changes that led to a reduction of the company's manufacturing costs by 13 percent.

Though Covington is a vital member of Altaview Concrete's executive team, it's not unusual to find him working hands-on in various roles. "I have spent time operating a loader in our sand and gravel operation in Tooele County, unloading trucks at the batch plant on 114th South, and sitting in the batch operator chair loading batching concrete."

Covington says what he enjoys most about his position as CFO are the opportunities he has to interact with people from all across the organization. "I have the chance on a regular basis to visit with people who drive our trucks, operate our concrete pumps, manufacture our sand and gravel, and the mechanics who fix all the things that get broken," he says. "The enthusiasm of our people is what makes me want to do my best."

JOHN HIATT//CAREER STEP//Under John Hiatt's financial leadership, Career Step increased its earnings by 25 percent, its sales by 30 percent and its product offerings by 50 percent during 2009. "John Hiatt has been crucial to all of these changes because of his ability to balance the needs of investors (new and old alike), maximize available resources, institute proven business practices, understand the company's strengths and weaknesses, and choose the best partners to take advantage of available opportunities," says CEO Mike Wilstead.

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Another major accomplishment for Career Step during 2009 was the closure of a transaction in which private equity investors purchased 55 percent of the business. Under Hiatt's leadership, the equity partners made an additional investment that further reduced the founder's stake in the business, which ultimately served the needs of both parties.

"I was the primary representative of the company in both of these transactions negotiating and structuring the deal with the legal team," says Hiatt. "To me it is very gratifying to have the trust of the stakeholders. When a member of the board, a work associate or a third party to the business says, 'I want to hear what the CFO says about a particular topic,' their desire to have my stamp of approval is very satisfying. This trust others place in my honesty, integrity and opinion because of my title is important to me and I don't take this responsibility lightly."

MICHAEL OLSON//AtTASK//AtTask CFO Michael Olson says sound financial management was integral to the software company's growth during 2009. "During fiscal year 2009, our total bookings grew to $19 million, up from $13.1 million in 2008," he says. "Through sound financial management, AtTask was able to grow in a difficult economic climate while not burning precious cash resources."

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Also during 2009, Olson led a company-wide mission to redefine and improve core operating metrics, which have provided a higher level of accountability in the company. Improvements in these core metrics included increasing renewal rates from below 50 percent to more than 80 percent; increasing license value accounts from approximately $7,000 to $12,400; and increasing monthly recurring revenue from $783,000 per month to $1.2 million per month.

"Mike played a significant role in achieving increased and improved operating results during fiscal year 2009 and has been instrumental in defining critical processes and policies that were lacking within AtTask," says CEO Scott Johnson. "Mike has also quickly become a trusted advisor to me and a sounding board for not only financial and operational items, but strategic and forward thinking business plans. His contribution to the team has been very impressive and well beyond what I expected."

DOUGLAS DeFRIES//BANK OF UTAH//Bank of Utah CFO Doug DeFries considers himself the "traffic cop" of the organization. "[The CFO] needs to know a little knowledge and background about everything in the bank," DeFries says. "To be effective as CFO, that knowledge must be leveraged with all constituents and a CFO must quickly be conversant in all aspects of the bank, not just the control or financial functions."

DeFries took charge as CFO during 1992 and...

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