Commercial acumen CFO’s most important

MANY accountants aspire to become a chief financial officer. It’s not hard to see the appeal, but how do you get there?

MANY accountants enter the ­profession aspiring to become a chief financial officer. It’s not hard to see the appeal of the top finance job. But how do you get there?

Career paths can vary, but those who become CFO must share some common traits and attributes and we wanted to demystify those qualities to help aspiring candidates. So we set out to identify the DNA of a CFO.

In December and January we conducted 500 face-to-face sessions with CFOs to find out what their journeys had been to the top of their profession. We found commercial nous, the ability to co-operate with operations and a willingness to work hard helped them succeed.

Of the CFOs we spoke to 67 per cent were aged between 41 and 55 and 84 per cent were male, so it seems the typical CFO in Australia is a man in his 40s and 50s.

Extensive post-qualification experience is commonly found among CFOs and over half (57 per cent) have worked outside Australia or New Zealand. The time spent overseas is highly valued as 96 per cent of CFOs who have worked abroad say the experience has benefited their career.

Finance leaders have generally notched up many years of post-qualification experience. Half had over 20 years of experience under their belt and a further quarter had between 16 and 20 years’ PQE. Only one per cent qualified less than five years ago. So you need to build experience, and to have had the time to sharpen your skill set and commercial acumen.

Over half of today’s CFOs trained in an accountancy firm, and believe this is a solid foundation for a successful finance career. We also found CFOs show an appetite for continuous professional development, using this as a tool to set them apart from their peers and improve their own performance.

For up-and-coming CFOs, gaining experience of projects as early as possible can help you stand out from your internal and external competition.

CFOs are also increasingly business partners who work in close contact with operations. They agree commercial acumen is the most important skill for a CFO, followed by people management, reflecting the CFO’s role as a leader, influencer and negotiator. Aspiring CFOs should note that 66 per cent think the up-and-coming generation needs to get involved with their organisation’s operational activities. Networking is also important, with 65 per cent of CFOs saying they had attended a networking event.

CFOs from the private sector are increasingly filling public sector vacancies. Almost half of the public sector CFOs who completed our survey said their previous role was in the private sector.

CFOs usually work long hours; 55 per cent work 46 to 55 hours and a 29 per cent work more than 56 hours per week. Another 66 per cent think being hardworking has aided their career success but at the same time believe it’s important to make time for work-life balance. As well as spending time with family, 78 per cent play sport or exercise to wind down.

Finally, 76 per cent say if they had their time over, they would still choose the profession, and most would either stay in their current post or take on a higher ­finance leadership role in the ­future.

Lynne Roeder is Hays Accountancy & Finance’s regional director.