The Man Who Would be King

Or woman.  I've got the sharpened stick out today to take pokes at CFOs.  The soon-to-be head of Advisory for KPMG International was recently quoted as calling the CFO "the closest confidant to the CEO" and the "clear number two to the CEO."  Of course, the quote was carried in CFO magazine, and maybe they thought no one else would be looking.

Certainly, control of the corporate purse does carry a lot of power (and potential for mis-use of same), and managing risk is a gig deal, particularly in globalized operations and markets.  But, in an era of aligned and collaborative senior management teams, and the burgeoning recognition that a stunning number of traditional companies are really supply chain enterprises at core, staking a claim to unique access and privilege in a hierarchy doesn't feel either right or in tune with 21st-century models.

I'm not suggesting that some other position ought to be number two; I am promoting a more positive view that all top executives are voices to be heard - and heeded - in planning and directing a business's present operations and future strategies.

There's an ugly reality to face for the CFO - and the COO, the CIO, the CLO, and any other member of the top management team.  Mere proximity to the seat of power, even when the monarch values one's unique strengths and contributions, is no indication of readiness - or capability - to move up when illness or defenestration create an opening.

And, clambering up onto the throne while the king is at the loo is both unattractive and unseemly.