CFO Series Symposium February 2017

I attended the Brisbane CFO Symposium, thanks to Richard McBride of the CFO Series and attended some very good facilitated sessions and have listed what I thought were the top 20 Key Takeaways in no particular order. Well worth attending if in a city near you. #CFOSeries

Key 20 Takeaways of the CFO Re-engineered

• Need to have soft skills
• Need to be an effective communicator
• Engage with the business and get out and understand operations and ask questions
• Challenge the unknown and move out of your comfort zone
• Need to be a leader and have good team behind you and empower them
• Lead by example
• Need to be agile and be open to new ideas
• Focus on the strategy and not just the numbers
• Be a business partner to the business and not act in isolation
• Learn not say no but say “How can I help you”
• Have simple reports with less words and more infographics, dashboards for easier reporting
• Have a plan and be persistent
• Continually drive change as change does not happen over night
• Get a mentor/business coach
• Be professional and your personal branding and be careful what you post on social media from a personal perspective
• Develop your “elevator pitch” for yourself and your business
• CFO must be more confident to match/stand in for CEO
• Be forward looking, results are always what happened (Rear view vs windscreen)
• Thinking at least 6-12 months out and continuously look ahead
• Listen and action out of listening