Crisis Demands New CFO Skills

Operations backgrounds will become even more coveted to the extent the financial-markets turmoil lengthens and deepens, according to Korn/Ferry's Eldridge. In that scenario, companies will be pressed to make dramatic moves just to survive.

"If you have a CFO who, for instance, came in to take you public, and doesn't have the experience or appetite to divest businesses, cut staff, and turn the business around, you'll make a switch," Eldridge said.

But it's not just knowing how to push the operational buttons that's important. There's also having the vision to make a link between operations and strategy. "Financial executives who can not only drive cost reduction, but also provide broader insights on opportunities to improve margins, manage capital more efficiently, and identify business opportunities that result from changing economic conditions, will be in demand," Carrott said.

Indeed, if a company is de-emphasizing accounting in its mix of desired CFO traits, it's likely to want someone who can be a strategic force. It is not known how long the financial mess will last, but companies surely will look to their CFOs to be on the forefront of assessing the potential impacts on the company, and driving and implementing the strategies that follow, according to Carrott. In other words, companies want CFOs who can be leaders.

And not to be overlooked is the invariably high priority being placed on international experience — a trend that has been gaining force in recent years and shows no signs of abating. The headhunters said few CFO searches today come without that requirement.

On the Other Hand
There is a rather imposing caveat to this topic, however. Companies' wish lists for CFOs, taken in their entirety, sound about as fanciful as those posted on dating sites by singles seeking the perfect mate. Finding someone who fits all the criteria is not easy, and in some cases not possible.

Exacerbating that problem greatly is the lessened emphasis on financial reporting and accounting backgrounds, which until recently were a chief feeder of CFO candidates.

"Many CFOs and controllers are so much in the weeds with all the Sarbanes-Oxley, compliance, and risk requirements that in many cases they don't have an opportunity to demonstrate strategic abilities," said Christine Rivers, a vice president of Hay Group, a talent and leadership management consulting firm. "Some of them become very successful, but usually only if they've had developmental experiences that have allowed them to be at the table doing strategy formulation and helping to use financial data to make business decisions."

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