Are You Afraid of Your CFO?

CFOs.

They don't wield pitchforks nor do they wear barbed wire suits, but some business people (including powerful CEOs, CIOs and COOs) still fear them as if they were carriers of infectious diseases. It's a strange phenomenon and one that needs to be overcome; otherwise a company cannot possibly achieve its highest levels of success.

If you're one of those individuals who is afraid of your CFO, you might want to ask yourself why. If it's that your CFO is a control-freak maniac who is unwilling to look at possibilities, it's time to get a new one… ASAP. A high-quality CFO should attempt work with you, not against you.

On the other hand, if you've deemed your CFO as "stubborn" because he or she won't carry out an action that's unethical or illegal … well, the problem lies somewhere than other with the CFO of your organization.

At their best, CFOs should operate as trusted, valuable members of an executive team. This means that he or she should be a go-to professional who gives knowledgeable advice in a professional, respectful and candid manner. Even if you're in a highly-regulated industry or you're a public company dealing with the nuances of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), your business's CFO should still operate with you and not at cross purposes.

Are you going to like everything your CFO says? Of course not. That's not the way the world works. But if you don't feel comfortable even broaching subjects with your CFO, it's time to seriously reconsider the relationship for the future of your business.