Business, Profits and Strategy

Andrew B. Zezas, SIOR
Relationship Manager,
Strategist, President
(908) 245-5999 x11
andrew.zezas@realstrat.com

The Dynamic CFO

Remember those green eye shades? No, not the eye make-up from your favorite 1970's disco movie...the shades worn by old time finance and accounting types. And, how about the armbands...remember those? Here's one...Ledger Books?! How's that for pages from the archives?

Gone are those old fashioned tools, along with the days when the head of accounting, treasury, or even finance only handled the in-flow and out-flow of cash and closed the books at month's end. Today's Chief Financial Officer is a dynamic executive who is one of the most diverse, crucial, and busiest members of the executive team. Read "Three Pronged Management - The Emerging Corporate Paradigm" The CFO is the critical connection between a company's operating units, senior managers, employees, vendors, business partners, investors, Board of Directors and other stakeholders. In many company's today, the CFO oversees or influences a vast array of departments and functions that are essential to the success of the enterprise. They include accounting and finance, of course, but also: strategic planning, investor relations, operations, human resources, facilities, information technology, and more. In many cases, CFOs go on sales calls, negotiate sales and service contracts, and stay involved in maintaining relationships with customers. Typically the smaller the company, the more responsibility that falls to the CFO.

And, that's also not to say that CFOs in large companies are uni-directional, work 5 hour days, or play golf 5 days a week...uh, uh! In large corporations, the diversity of the CFO's responsibilities may be a little less broad, but the challenges are often larger and just as intense!

The reality is that given the multitude of effort and diverse day-to-day requirements required of the CFO in today's small and mid-cap corporation, he/she has become the de facto COO in most companies Interestingly, the official application of both titles is rare, although growing in popularity.

Given the speed at which business moves today, the continued need for greater efficiencies, and the demand for diversity of skills in the office of the CFO, an accounting or finance background is no longer enough to stay ahead of the pack. A keen understanding and thorough knowledge base of a broad spectrum of business areas and the ability to create value on a multi-disciplined basis at the enterprise level is what sets the dynamic CFO apart from the rest of the pack...especially that guy with the green eye shades.

Andrew B. Zezas, SIOR, is Relationship Manager, Strategist, and President & CEO of Real Estate Strategies Corporation, Publisher of "Business, Profits and Strategy", a monthly online publication read by thousands of business, financial, and real estate executives nationally, and, is the author of two new real estate books, The CFO's Guide to Understanding Corporate Real Estate Transactions and The CFO's Guide to Hiring the "Right" Real Estate Service Provider, both of which will be available shortly at www.thecfosguide.com.

Mr. Zezas is well-known for his ease and informative style of public speaking, and has given talks, presentations, and has lead educational programs for business, professional, government, and trade associations, including the Building Owners and Managers Association, American Management Association, the U.S. Postal Service, RealComm, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR), and others. Andrew is National Chairman of the SIOR Tenant Representation Specialty Practice Board, and is a licensed real estate instructor in Texas and Indiana. He can be reached at 908 245 5999 or via email.

Real Estate Strategies Corporation, located in Kenilworth, New Jersey, and serving clients throughout the country, helps companies create and execute Business DRIVEN Real Estate Solutions...and Opportunities, faster and with less risk. Visit www.realstrat.com.

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