CFO Techniques: A Hands-On Guide to Keeping Your Business Solvent and Successful

CFO Techniques: A Hands-on Guide to Keeping Your Business Solvent and Successful is a comprehensive and instructive working manual for multitasking chief financial officers and controllers working in the fast-paced commercial environment. Every senior financial professional with an ever-broadening span of control will benefit from this complete outline of the core activities - with specific descriptions of individual tasks - comprising the daily agenda of a successful CFO or controller. It covers everything from traditional responsibilities like budgeting and financial reporting, to more innovative tasks like performance analytics and business strategy development. While emphasizing specific guidelines on what it takes to excel as a company's head of finance, the book refrains from overwhelming dryness by using cultural references, real-life examples, and a casual tone. With its bite-sized, easy-to-read chapters, CFO Techniques serves as both an invaluable desktop reference handbook and a good bedtime read. Whether you need a quick recommendation on treasury procedures, adhering to GAAP, keeping funds safe from embezzlers, or advice on dealing with the CEO, you will find the answers in this book. * Guides you through CFO/controller core responsibilities, function by function * Serves as a reference manual on financial matters specific to the small and mid-size commercial environment * Goes beyond finance and accounting, addressing the administrative and behavioral issues all CFOs occasionally must address What you'll learn You will learn to: * Identify best practices for each CFO/controller function * Select tasks crucial for survival and growth of the company * Formulate processes and procedures * Organize daily, weekly, monthly, and annual routines * Identify reporting and analytical requirements * Establish internal and external working relationships * Keep the organization on the right side of the law and regulation at all times Who this book is for CFO Techniques: A Hands-on Guide to Keeping Your Business Solvent and Successful is for professionals who have built their careers in accounting and finance and reached - or are nearing - the top level. It's for chief financial officers, controllers, financial directors, and vice presidents who work in small and mid-size companies characterized by flatter organizational structures and wider scopes of responsibilities. CFO Techniques is equally useful for those charting their functions and tasks for the first time, as well as for those who have been in their positions for some time and want to make sure that nothing is amiss. Table of ContentsIntroduction: What It Takes to Succeed, or How Long Is Your Hat Rack? * What's So Special About Smaller Businesses? * Titles vs. Job Description * CFO's Mission and Aspirations * The Eight Balls You Cannot Afford to Drop * Essential Knowledge Prerequisites * Commercial and Financial Policies * Procedures Development and Documentation * Internal Controls * The Weakest Link * Budgeting as a Control Mechanism * Commercial Control * Variety and Nature of Capital Resources * Business Type vs. Financial Resources * Soliciting Lenders and Investors * Nurturing Financial Relationships * Essence of Treasury Function * Cash Flow Projections * Cash Position Reports * Receivables and Payables Management * Cash Management Services * Information Technology Needs and Decisions * Data Processing and Quality Control * Performance Analytics and Executive Reports * The Importance of Segmental Analysis * Ad-hoc Reporting * Find Your Applicable GAAP, FASB, SFAS, and SOP * Accounting Cycles Identification * The Most Important Statement: Cash Flow * Choose Your Auditors Wisely and Educate Them * What Guarantees Fast and Painless Audits * Insured Risks * Commercial Risks * Tax and Regulations Compliance * Strategic Planning * Practical Forecasting and Scenario Modeling * New Ventures * Exit Strategies * Human Resources Management * Hiring and Outsourcing * The Importance of Behavioral Assessment