Tui - Fin 301 Mod 1- Case

TUI UNIVERSITY

David E. Hill

Module 1 Case Assignment

FIN 301: Principles of Finance

Dr. Daniel Morvey

16 February 2011

Finance Departments and Future CEOs

The question posed is whether or not I feel that the finance department of an organization is the best place to train a future Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company. The CEO of a company may come from anywhere; the finance department, marketing, outside of the company’s footprint or even from the production line itself. There is not a specific set of skills that will make a CEO successful; they must possess a broad spectrum of abilities. These skills are not limited to the technical sets that are company specific. They must also include such things as a strong leadership ability that can build various strong teams, the ability to delegate authority, strong inter-personal skills that allow for excellent communication to employees as well as share holders and an ability to make decisions based upon intuition rather than solely upon facts. A successful CEO is dependent upon his personal skill just as much as the skills that are strictly business related.

If the question was changed to read, “Do I think the finance department is a good place to train future CEOs,” then we would have to look into the job comparisons between the CEO and the Chief Finance Officer (CFO).

The CEO is responsible for managing the financial, tax, risk and facilities of an organization and recommends the yearly budget for board approval. He manages the organization’s resources within the budget guidelines according to current laws and regulations. In these areas, the CFO is in an excellent stepping stone position for CEO, as he is responsible for planning, implementing, managing and controlling all financial activities for the company. His work with all of the finance moves that occur within the company would put him well ahead in the job race towards the CEO position.

The CEO is also responsible for ensuring...