Collaboration, Trust and Financial Excellence Empowering CFOs

By Fred Boyle, SVP & CFO, Pepco Holdings

Fred Boyle, SVP & CFO, Pepco Holdings

In order for a CFO and the financial branch to effectively optimize their value to an organization, other leaders in the company must view the team as critical thought leaders at the decision-making table. We want other executives to understand and value our inclusion enough that they proactively seek our counsel and input before beginning enterprise initiatives. The initial challenge is getting to the point where peers seek out the CFO’s team vs. the team having to insert itself into the process.

To achieve this goal, the CFO’s team must understand what drives the business commercially. I want each of my team members to understand how what they do affects other areas of the organization.

"As our peers outside of finance learn that we understand what they are trying to achieve, they will view our team as trusted partners who are striving for the same goals"

I encourage collaboration and communication, and, when making financial decisions, we must foresee impacts beyond our function. At a minimum, we make sure we effectively communicate directly with those teams.

As our peers outside of finance learn that we understand what they are trying to achieve, they will view our team as trusted partners who are striving for the same goals. Inevitably these interactions build trust and a reliance on our input when they are making decisions and planning for the future. I believe another priority is optimizing the contribution of the financial organization by developing talent. The company supports the traditional methods such as internal and external training sessions and generous tuition reimbursement benefits for continuing education. I encourage bringing junior associates to meetings where their analysis is a key element of the topic being discussed. Giving junior teammates this recognition and exposing them to other senior members of the organization is easy to do and provides them important feedback and perspective. This perspective can be eye opening and motivating and can lead to a higher level of performance and contribution from the associates. They can see how their work is used and gain a better understanding of how it fits into the decision-making process.

I am confident that we will successfully meet all challenges through a combination of teamwork, communication, collaboration , financial excellence and our continued investment in our workforce.