CFO Insights: Delivering High Performance - Hardcover

Michael R. Sutcliff; Michael Donnellan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0470026960 ISBN 13: 9780470026960

Publisher: Wiley, 2006

Synopsis

CFO Insights: Delivering High Performance explores the implications of Accenture’s high performance finance research and interprets the link between high performance business and the role of the CFO in delivering this. Written from the perspective of the Chief Financial Officer, the book provides real-world, relevant examples, including flagship interviews with CFOs of high performing businesses. The book also includes industry analyses prepared by the Accenture Strategy and Business Architecture Practice, case studies, and chapters dedicated to the CFO and financial practices of Japan, China, Latin America, and Eastern Europe.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

“A transformation is taking place in the role of the CFO. CFOs have started to figure out that their role is changing. They need to adapt their personal behavior, time allocation and skills in their organization to deliver more broadly based services to their organizations.”

A high-performance business must effectively balance today’s needs and tomorrow’s opportunities, consistently outperforming its peers over time, across business cycles, industry disruptions and changes in CEO leadership.

Much has been written about the CFO’s expanded role, but less is said about the capability gap this creates within the finance organization due to organization models, business processes, information systems, and decision support tools failing to keeping pace.

Accenture’s research explores that gap and presents a new operating model that sets the finance function of high-performance businesses apart from their peers.   This research uncovers five common characteristics among companies that are “Masters of Finance”:

• A value-centered culture
• An enterprise performance management system
• Shared services operations
• Strong capital stewardship
• Broad and unique views of enterprise risk management

This high-performance finance framework has been tested through the lens of the global CFO through interviews with over 250 senior finance executives.  It includes metrics and insights from The Hackett Group, whose benchmarking methodology and database are the gold standard for defining and measuring how finance cost structures and leading practices change over time.

From the Back Cover

Results from recent Accenture research reveal that high-performance businesses and government embrace entirely new ways of thinking about finance and performance management.  These are the organizations that create the greatest value. 

Supported by metrics and insights from The Hackett Group, this book presents research results, case studies, summary insights, and extended interviews with CFOs of high-performance businesses to help executives understand what these companies do differently, how they do it and how to emulate them.  

Discover how CFOs of companies like Best Buy, Caterpillar Inc, UnitedHealth Group and SAP AG are set apart from their peers.  Additionally, take a closer look at what high performance means in the public sector and dynamic parts of the world such as Eastern Europe, Latin America, Japan and China.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0470026960
• ISBN 13: 9780470026960
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416