What does it take for a
We asked this question to CFOs in January 2013 and had over 150 responses to this question.
The responses shown in the graph give a good indication why CFOs leave.
What I found more interesting (and personal) was the detailed reasons given below.
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- Board decided they wanted a different profile CFO
- Corporate consolidation/restructuring
- Board forced new CFO, CEO resisted then succumbed, I was hired as new CFO, CEO made life tough for me, I offered resignation after 2 years.
- No more personal growth potential
- I resigned due to a desire to relocate to another state
- I was with my former employer for twelve years as their CFO. Owner’s son got married and needed a job. The owner decided to give my job to his son.
- Company changed direction in terms of exit strategy.
- unsustainable business model
- It was apparent that the foreign founders wanted to re-domicile the company to their country of residence, so I began evaluating other opportunities.
- Disagreement over revenue recognition policy
-
moved
management positions to a different city - After selling controlling interest to PE I did not adapt fast enough to PE requirements vs. family owned prior to sale.
- Left to start a consulting practice.
- Retired
- Sold the Company
- No opportunity for equity
- Company moved HO to another country.
- Internal restructuring, consolidation of back office functions
- Lead the restructuring process with CEO, which transformed the company to service a specific market, eliminated all C-Level positions.
- Get bored quickly
- Was resigning regardless of another opportunity.
- It’s complicated – but in essence, I was no longer effective as CFO there.
- I did the restructuring and elected to leave due to lack of opportunity and company prospects.
- Poor fit
- Disagreement with CEOs strategy or lack of it…
- New CEO (2 responses)
- The wife of the president was involved in the company. she often disagreed with the president’s decision
- Controlling interest taken by Venture Capital Firm who in turn brought in new BOD and New Executive Team
- One of the partners was creating major issues as he wanted to significantly modify the business model. His disagreements were also with our lender, which was creating cash flow issues.
- Various reasons not listed above. No longer felt like it was a fit for me professionally.
- Under resourced
- Interim CFO role
Interesting food for thought, isn’t it?
What do you think about the results of this survey?