Can a CFO transform a traditional finance team
into a strategic business partner?
1st October, 2014, Steigenberger Hotel, Frankfurt, Germany
Post Dinner Report
Hosted by
Turning conversation into action
We hope you enjoyed the CFO Roundtable Dinner in Frankfurt hosted by TeamQuest. We hope
you enjoyed the networking and roundtables. We hope you enjoyed our hospitality. But most
of all we hope you have some golden opportunities to follow up.
This report is about making the most of those opportunities…
Contents
 CFO Roundtable Dinner attendees contact information
 The Executive Report
Attendee Contact Information
Parent Company
Full Name
Job Title
Kelly Services
Alessandro Bezzi
Finance Director
Procter & Gamble
Andrea Becker
Associate Finance Director
Daimler Insurance Services GmbH
Andreas Roth
CFO
HOCHTIEF
Bernd Holtwick
CFO
Cushman & Wakefield
Christian Valenthon
CFO
Metro AG
Clemens Hadtstein
CFO
Ferrero International SA
Giuseppe Valentini
CFO
BIT Analytical Instruments GmbH
Gotthard von Falkenhausen
Global CFO
Moovel GmbH
Marcus Spickermann
CFO
Johnson Controls
Martti Nurminen
Finance Director
Bilfinger
Niklas Wiegand
Finance Director
Deutsche Bank
Pete Burril
CFO
SIEMENS LTD
Pierre Bauer
CFO
T-SYSTEMS
Thilo Kusch
CFO
Allianz Global Investors
Walter Ohms
CFO
TeamQuest
Per Bauer
Director of Global Services
TeamQuest
Christian Wencel
Area Director Central Europe
TeamQuest
Manuel Bianchi
Business Analyst
Follow up with GDS Roundtable Dinner attendees
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The Executive Report
Can a CFO transform a traditional finance team into a strategic business partner?
The rapidly changing pace and dynamics of the modern business world is placing fresh
pressures on all “C-Level” executives, but none more so it seems than the CFO who is now
expected to become the leading cog in the business machine.
At the GDS Roundtable Dinner in Frankfurt hosted by TeamQuest, 15 CFO’s and other senior
finance executives debated industry best practises and new ways of tackling business
challenges. The level of interest also reflected current reviews of the role of the CFO and his
finance team that appear to be underway in most businesses, with representatives present
from leading automotive, financial services and other industries from Germany.
The evening started with Christian Wencel, Area Director Europe, TeamQuest discussing the
solutions and his previous experiences within the industry. Martin Petry from PwC and Walter
Ohms from Allianz finished off the introductions as the group of finance executives started
their roundtable topics.
How does a CFO explain the role of risk mitigation to business units who might see it as a
constraint to growth?
The brief comments from the roundtable were as follows:
 Be aware of the appetite for risk share with the wider organisation.
 More of an entrepreneurial spirit needed
 If you are a global organisation risk is not always on your agenda, risk mitigation is vital
to business in many ways
 Operational freedom is said to be also vital to grow a business particularly a new
company, this does not always align and causes friction between departments. This can
cause a problem particularly with bit plans in place for the future
 Political regime can cause problems for industry and organisations, Government
efficiency can effect governance tools, so it has to be in touch with government and
political policies and the ability to foresee certain challenges
 Risk can be as simple as non-paying customers. It is about accepting risk as well and
managing that risk, actions should be transparent between all concerned
 Risk mitigation is vital to the resilient business
 Many organisations have had to have a big focus on risk and governance particularly
during the past 2 years. Much convincing of business units and demonstrating to these
units the value and benefits
 Many organisation have taken years to change mind-sets, concrete case
studies/projects needed to demonstrate the new and improved processes
 Risk mitigation VS 100% risk prevention
Conclusion
Overall the CFOs who exemplify what it means to be a pragmatic strategist, they are the ones
who advance their firm’s growth or improve its competitive position in the marketplace by
identifying the risks, accepting them and ensuring alignment through all the business heads.
Risk and governance will continue to be a big focus for the CFO and business heads will
continue to see this as a constraint but for the CFO strategist, it results in using finance as a
strategic tool to free the company from these constraints.
How important is it for a CFO to understand how IT works?
The brief comment from the roundtable were as follows:
 It is difficult to find people who fulfil all requirements in one person: Business Partner,
technical accounting expert, Communication skills - and also exactly knowing how to
run finance and what is needed in order to make best use of IT Participants have
different ways - developing these profiles, for the time being having more than one
person to fulfil the requirements
 High Quality of Forecast and filling the gap between Forecast and actuals is a big topic
 You have to have an IT background in that you really have to challenge what is really
needed and what is delivered - there is nothing like a "do what I mean" interface
 IT is not the solution itself - first be clear how your business and processes work(s) and
what you want to achieve and what IT really can do
 You shouldn't let IT become a black box / hole without clear rules
 Demand Supply Organisations can help to manage between IT and business - but also
could lead to Chinese whispers
 Low or no budget helps - yes, it might be slower, but you can make sure you only do
what you really need and you ensure to do it right the first time
 Data gathering is still a big issue - changing regulatory requirements and new business
models lead to new perspectives on the information - this puts pressure on a higher
granularity which often is not available - a holistic view is necessary. Also it is still reality
to combine data from different sources and granularity - also with different quality - to
deliver the needed reports - highly manual process with different version of the truth
 In an IT project CFO should be a moderator - he should mediate between all
stakeholders and should avoid that "guilt" is pushed around
 Automation is still fantastic and every CFO wants figures and report by the push of a
button
 Quality of Master Data is still a big issue
 Sometimes too many data sources is also an issue
Conclusion
A CFO’s worldview generally comes down to trying to understand the ROI associated with what
the company spends. In IT there are a lot of experiments and have a habit of piloting new
projects. It’s entirely possible that these activities, as important as they are, may not have a
positive ROI. It is imperative the CFO understands this and not IT itself.
CFOs are very focused on areas where IT departments have not been traditionally strong:
processes, efficiency, and costs. What this means is if the CFO is running the show, every IT
expense will be looked at in terms of what it can produce for the company.
The CFO must ensure that the IT department educates them on all things having to do with IT.
Specifically know enough about IT in order to balance the risk of making an investment in an IT
project against not making an investment in an IT project.
In close to 50% of the firms out there, the CIO does not report to the CEO. Rather the CIO
reports to the CFO. What this means for CFOs is to spend some time understanding more
about the department and the importance of information technology including the two sides
of IT: a back office and a customer facing side.
The CFO must understand how IT works and that not all IT costs have an ROI associated to
them. But most of all the CFO must ultimately rely on the CIO as a trusted advisor.
Are there any limits to where the CFO should seek to influence the business? If not, how does
the CFO role differentiate from the CEO?
The brief details from the roundtable were as follows:
 Just bring the topic and the CFO will deliver what you want to achieve, that was a
popular myth that was well understood by many
 If the CFO was promoted to CEO tomorrow, what would he do differently? He may
bring more structure but also has to have the vision needed.
 The CEO and CFO can be a bit like good cop – bad cop!
 Is there value with the CFO working next to the CEO? Yes definite advantages and many
similar and like-minded topics to talk about. There is also the case when the CEO is axed
and the CFO is promoted to CEO
 The CFO covers many, if not all areas, the CEO looks to the CFO always
 They both are discussing same strategy and same discussion in their business
 The CFO can challenge you and say don’t be stupid
 Internal processes - often it’s the CFO responsibility
 CFO’s have some power and could make or break the business
 The CFO influences the business on a daily basis yet has to fight to be seen
 Yes, the CEO understands finance but heavily relies on the CFO to get all the right things
together
 The CFO has the ability to translate a complex message into simple data and make it
useable, offering an easy message to transform
 Unlike the CEO, the CFO can offer a full picture to the board
 The CFO’s opinion – there is value!
Conclusion
It is difficult to deny that as each year passes, the CFO is expected to do more. Today, the CFO
is operating in a much more challenging environment. There is more information that
businesses need to digest and more regulations to comply with.
The CFO must influence the whole business and be a moderator when discussing the strategic
elements of the business. The CEO and CFO must work together and complement each other.
In many businesses the CEO is seen as the heart and the CFO seen as the head, the head must
influence the entire business, even the heart, to ensure alignment.
Thank you!
I hope the GDS Roundtable Dinner hosted by TeamQuest has exceeded your expectations and
if you have any comments, questions or feedback regarding this or any other GDS International
product then please contact glenn.hapgood@gdsinternational.com
Please also make sure to join the LinkedIn group so that you can continue the interaction
online. GDS Roundtable Dinners Linkedin Group
Or follow us on Twitter: @GDSDinners
If you have any further questions in regards to the topics discussed or to move the discussion
forward please contact TeamQuest.
Herriotstraße 1
60528 Frankfurt
+49 (0)69 6 77 33 466
emea@teamquest.com
www.teamquest.com