Questions to ask before becoming a CFO

When I last spoke with Frank D’Amelio in July, we talked about his plans to retire at the end of the year from his position of EVP and CFO at Pfizer, Inc., where he was finance chief for 15 years. D’Amelio has served a total of 20 years in CFO roles, and he’s had more than 20 mentees that have gone on to CFO or CEO roles. Yes, 20. Now in his retirement, this month he started serving as “CFO-in-residence” and independent senior advisor for Deloitte’s U.S. CFO Program providing his strategic guidance on the finance function.

I recently chatted with D’Amelio, who shared with me questions to ask yourself and test if you have what it takes to be a CFO.

Have I been properly prepared?

In Part 1 of our series, we talked about what degrees and skill sets a future CFO needs. And that includes leadership DNA, strong financial acumen, and strategic knowledge of industry trends, to name a few.

Can I do the job, and do it well?

“I’m one of those folks that’s never arrogant,” D’Amelio says. “But I’d like to think I have some confidence,” he quipped. You have to be honest with yourself about what you think you can accomplish, he says. It’s also helpful to get feedback from people who’ve followed and supported your career throughout the years.

Do I really want the job?

“Before I became the CFO at Lucent Technologies, I really liked being the president of the business unit,” D’Amelio explains. “When I got asked about taking the CFO job, I had to ask myself, do I want to do this? I hit a fork in the road. Was I going to go back into finance and probably stay in finance? Or am I going to stay on an operational path in senior leadership?” He eventually decided to accept the role. “The CFO job is perpetually demanding,” D’Amelio explains. “And it takes some sacrifice. But, quite frankly, I loved every minute of being a CFO.” 

What would be some of the tailwinds and headwinds about the job I’m going into?

When seeking a CFO role at your current company, a few tailwinds include knowing a lot of the people you’ll be working with, and familiarity with the value-drivers and culture of the company, D’Amelio says. 

Regarding headwinds, he offered an example of his move from group president at Lucent, an operational role, to the CFO position. No one in the investment community, nor sell-side analysts and portfolio managers knew him, he says. “I only had minimal exposure to the…