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Twenty years as CFO, David Brosma believes there are fundamental business principles that will help businesses thrive throughout the period of external challenges and market or regulatory changes. As a result, according to Brosma, CFOs need to keep the company's focus simple, even as the world becomes more and more complicated. Through positions in high-growth technology companies such as WP Engine and Rackspace, as well as publicly traded multinational companies including Valero Energy, Brosma has discovered that success often depends on two key factors. Customers and employees. Last December, Brosma was appointed CFO of Smarsh, a Portland, Oregon-based company, to…

The era of merciless corporate expansion has ended, and is revealed by rising interest rates and technological disruptions. This is a shift that undermines all the cost mentality that has shaped corporate America over the past decade. Survival now calls for businesses to relentlessly prioritize profitability, strategic focus and sustainable financial management over blind expansion, and change the rules of successful CEOs.For years, businesses were supported by cheap capital, paying some attention to financial health, and often prioritizing growth over profitability and cash flow. Venture capital and low interest rate loans have promoted a culture of relentless growth, which measured…

Conagra Brands CFO David Marberger says the past few months have been the most challenging period of his 22-year career as CFO, including Covid and Financial Crisis. why? An unprecedented level of uncertainty. Very sticky inflation in the food industry. Customs policy. “Food companies are taking a hit from so many different angles,” Marberger said. chief executive officer Editor Dan Big Man at the opening keynote speech at the CFO Leadership Conference held in Boston on Tuesday. For Conagra's industry, American food manufacturing – the stickiness of inflation has been a major headache. While Marberger calls this inflation a “supercycle,”…

Governance failures can be caused by opaque jargon and can be triggered with poor accountability and overt fraud. An example is the infamous, failed JP Morgan hedge strategy in 2012. This is called the “London Whale,” with the bank losing more than $6 billion and government fines exceeding $1 billion. A transparent, outspoken, unusually self-critical internal investigation conducted for the Board and a 2013 parliamentary investigation by the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committees identified a massive deal catastrophe that was not a deliberate managerial deception but was the result of a disruption in governance over terminology.On January 26, 2012,…

Recent changes in tariffs have business executives searching for how to best respond. Yet one potential solution has existed for over 90 years—and was adopted by Congress in the 1930s response to the last major trade war.  If you can qualify your business within a Foreign Trade Zone (“FTZ”) or utilize a service provider such as third party logistics provider that is located in an FTZ, you may qualify for deferred or reduced duty payments, while simultaneously making your supply chain more efficient materially reducing your U.S. Customs compliance costs, as well as a host of other benefits.What is a…

As AI changes the world around us, the big challenge that leaders face is to bring their organizations into one part of storms and tumultuousness. There is something paradox here because organizations need to change to survive in a changing world. If so, what will remain constant on that journey? What is it that unifies businesses and other organizations from time to time, every day, every year, and every year, and every year, and every day, with changing market conditions, physical exercise, staff turnover, and even changes in names and ownership? What currently means decisions that will affect the future…

The era of merciless corporate expansion has ended, and is revealed by rising interest rates and technological disruptions. This is a shift that undermines all the cost mentality that has shaped corporate America over the past decade. Survival now calls for businesses to relentlessly prioritize profitability, strategic focus and sustainable financial management over blind expansion, and change the rules of successful CEOs.For years, businesses were supported by cheap capital, paying some attention to financial health, and often prioritizing growth over profitability and cash flow. Venture capital and low interest rate loans have promoted a culture of relentless growth, which measured…

Editor's Note: For most CEOs and CFOs of middle market companies, landing a seat on a public or private board is a great career move and a lucrative and exciting way to get decades of experience to work in a whole new way. But will you make that happen? It's not easy. To help, we are launching a new occasional series with practical tips and ideas. And if you're serious about trying to get on the board, I recommend looking at the Sister Publications of CFO Leadership. Corporate board members, This offers a high-value online learning program to give you…

About half of the small, micro-companies Godaddy recently voted for predicted that the US economy will be weak over the next six months. However, less than 10% of the company expects a decline in revenue. The confidence and resilience of those business owners, and their craving for digital tools to make their organizations more visible and efficient, is what makes GoDaddy CFO Mark McCaffrey exudes confidence in what's going forward. Once known as the Domain Name Registry, GoDaddy is a publicly-grossing company with nearly $5 billion in revenue and currently offers website building, marketing, e-commerce and payment solutions to 20…

In pursuit of better governance, the board increasingly relies on old argument tactics assigning devil defenders. The idea is simple. Not because some people disagree, but because structured acts of objection can reveal weaknesses in reasoning and improve decision-making.However, while the intention is good, execution is important.”It's important that you're not the same person every time,” said Paul Denikola, of the PWC's Governance Insights Centre. “You certainly don't want that person to become known like a chronic opponent.”Instead, turning roles and linking them to specific strategic debates, such as major pivots and controversial investments, can help normalize disagreements as a…