The Relationship between the CEO and the CFO

In this article John Duffy, CEO, Finsbury Food Group, Gerard Keenan, CFO, CitySprint, Amanda Nelson

CEO, Vodafone Malta and Shatish Dasani, CFO, Forterra discuss some ways to ensure that a company’s

most important relationship has the right blend of dynamism and productivity.

Some of the key points include:

- The need for a CEO to build a partnership with the CFO rather than a reporting relationship.

- CFOs must not be just number crunchers. They need to be part of the overall strategy by suggesting ideas and helping to assist the growth of the business.

- Ensuring that a CFO keeps an eye on the risks and the trends, but is also an enabler who looks for

positive outcomes and does not just close things down.

- The benefit of starting with a completely blank sheet of paper, meaning that there are no sacred cows or hidden agendas and instead undiluted openness.

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