What's on the minds of CFOs, circa 2009?

• Author: Connelly, Kevin
• Position: CAREER DEVELOPMENT - Chief financial officers

The job of chief financial officer--while always multifaceted and complex--now has added responsibilities. Today's CFOs are responsible for raising capital in a risk-averse environment; staying alert to changing conditions and new business opportunities; controlling costs and managing enterprise risk; and working with chief executive officers and boards of directors to examine strategic alternatives as well as meet regulatory requirements.

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One result of this increased complexity is increased turnover. The average tenure among Fortune 1000 CFOs has fallen from 4.7 years in 2004 to 4.1 years.

To examine the evolution of the role, Spencer Stuart surveyed nearly 150 CFOs from around the world and interviewed dozens more to gain insights into the expectations they face and how they can position themselves for career success.

From the discussions, six themes emerged: the CFO must be a key business partner; the CFO must have an exceptional senior team; CFO success is defined in both quantitative and qualitative terms; a CFO's first 100 days are critical; the necessary skill sets and capabilities for CFOs continue to evolve; and finance executives aspiring to the CFO role or other top finance positions must make the correct career decisions.

Becoming a Key Business Partner

The CFO has emerged as a key business partner to the CEO, with broad responsibilities well beyond the scope of finance. Successful CFOs balance regulatory best practices and effective risk management with business performance goals.

With the stakes for companies--and their finance chiefs--even higher in the volatile global environment, finance leaders have an important role in reading and understanding the evolving drivers of the business and helping their companies seize the right new opportunities.

Many CFOs recall the late 1990s as an exciting time for finance. The function was migrating from being reporting-focused to being a key business adviser and partner to the CEO and management team. It evolved again in the post-9/11 and Enron environment, with the rise of compliance and reporting requirements and a heightened awareness of broader enterprise risks that need to be identified and managed.

The CFO's sphere of influence has continued to expand. The CEO, board of directors and shareholders look to finance to take a key role in shaping strategy and operations and driving bottom-line results. CFOs take the lead in business reviews, mergers and...