What would your company do if the chief financial officer suddenly left? Eight in 10 have no clear successor in place and would have to scramble to find a replacement, an industry survey says.
According to Robert Half Management Resources, 83 percent of companies surveyed said they lack a succession plan for the chief financial officer, or CFO. Of those, 81 percent said their primary reason for not doing so was that they have no plans to leave their present companies in the near future.
Seven percent said there were no other qualified CFO candidates within the company. Another 6 percent said they were too busy with other concerns to focus on the issue, while 4 percent said it wouldn’t be a priority because they would no longer work there.
That kind of apathy within a company is a mistake, said Robert Half Executive Director Paul McDonald.
“Identifying and developing future leaders is crucial for businesses, and succession planning is a necessary step in that process,” McDonald said. “Nurturing a talent pool and promoting from within are valuable strategies for retaining top performers and ensuring smoother transitions when passing on the management reins.”
Half said an independent research firm did the survey that includes responses from 1,400 CFOs from U.S. companies with 20 or more employees.
