Teaching: A new and Obvious Role for CFOs

CFO magazine [1] reports that CFOs are recognizing the need to educate others in the knowledge they have learned over the course of their careers.

Although only a small percentage of CFOs are actually leaving the profession to teach in the classroom, there are a number of other ways to communicate the knowledge learned. Areas of CFO expertise include subjects like Internet financial models, and compensation and benefits. CFOs also can bring value-added questions to shareholder meetings.

Why is this a trend now--all of a sudden? Over the years, the role of the finance officer has changed within the business marketplace, and the financial professional is now called upon to help in a variety of areas. This help has translated into the teaching function--and corporate America is waking up and realizing the immense amount of knowledge a finance professional can impart.

Experts advise that this group should be open to training opportunities, and begin to cross-market this knowledge to their employers and to external markets.