Expanded Role Requires Expanded Skills
CFOs have seen their duties grow in recent years. Eighty-five percent of CPAs said the role of the CFO and the finance function has expanded moderately or significantly in their organization, according to a recent AICPA survey. "We don't just do numbers," said Ralph Bender, CPA, CGMA, the CFO of Manship Media in Louisiana. "We do people. We do strategy. Were looking at: What are the smart ways to grow the business? What are the opportunity costs that we miss if we don't do something?" CFOs say that by developing the right skills, finance professionals can drive their organizations to conquer the growing complexity and deliver growth. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] DELEGATION AND TIME MANAGEMENT The expanding duties of the finance function can lead to wading into unnecessary details so deeply that it can undermine the CFO's effectiveness. That may be why 35% of more than 2,100 CFOs surveyed by finance and accounting outsourcing provider Robert Half Management Resources said delegating more responsibilities is the most effective method for managing their time at work. Paul Vanek, CPA, CGMA, managing member of The Vanek Consultancy Group in Houston, said effective delegation begins with confidence in one's staff. "It's not just having good people," he said. "It's having trust in them, that when you give them something, they're going to do it." Bernie Leone, CPA/CITP, CGMA, an accounting and consulting partner in New York and Morristown, N.J., for accounting firm WithumSmith+Brown, listed these other timesavers: * Track your time. Tracking everything you do over a two-week period can help you evaluate how you manage your time. An analysis of all work performed can help uncover which activities had real value and which activities were less useful and should be reduced in the future. * Understand the reason for meetings. Although meetings are important for sharing information, systems or processes can be made more efficient to convey that information. For instance, the length of a meeting to review the details of financial statements can be reduced if the financial statements are provided to the participants ahead of time. Then the meeting could be limited to a short overview and addressing questions. * Stick to the subject matter. Setting an objective and a time frame for a meeting--and sticking to them--can keep meetings from getting out of control. COMMUNICATION SKILLS Communication is also a key skill for finance professionals as they take on more responsibilities. "It's important to be able to try to not speak over people's heads," said Marc Valentin, CPA, CGMA, vice president of finance for MISCOR Group, an Ohio-based industrial services and rail services manufacturer. "It's speaking at the same level. You know, when in Rome, be a Roman. I try not to use all my technical jargon when I'm talking to other people. I try to break it down into laymen's terms." Bob Gaby, CPA/CITR CGMA, a founder and principal at California-based management and technology consulting firm Arxis Technology, said three skills are essential for finance professionals today: * Communication. …