Strategy officers create new challenge for CFOs.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: EXECUTIVE SUITE

A chief strategy officer is still a fairly rare breed, mostly confined to Global 2000 companies where they do exist. But in companies with CSOs, most CFOs agree that a working relationship with the CSO is critical to their success, according to new research by Accenture.

While both CFOs and CSOs admit that this new relationship could spark disagreements, the research shows they currently recognize the basic principles on how to embrace "creative tension" to remain productive. These include:

* Recognizing that each role is critical to execution, thus aligning business priorities and working jointly on projects;

* Finding sufficient time for the senior team to meet and to have active debates and discussions that involve the whole senior team; and

* Focusing on common activities and objectives--not just at the C-level but also within each of the functions (i.e., have mid-level finance executives involved with strategy initiatives and vice versa).

Daniel T. London, managing director of the Accenture Finance and Performance Management service line and co-author of the report, said in an interview that many Global 2000 companies view strategy formulation as its own discipline. In naming a CSO, they are recognizing that strategic execution happens in...