BY JULIE BARKER
with additional reporting by Martin Daks
24
2nd QUARTER 2014
A
ccountants and lawyers, those who
become Chief Financial Officers
(CFOs) and General Counsels (GCs),
have different mindsets and training.
The accountant learns to attack the problem and
find the solution. The legal practitioner learns
to argue both sides of an issue. For accountants,
“the bottom line is the bottom line,” says Sam J.
Germana, vice president and general counsel,
Trinitas Regional Medical Center, in Elizabeth,
NJ. It follows that CFOs often have a black-and-
white way of looking at things. “The numbers
work, or they don’t.” Lawyers, though, see the
world in shades of gray. Some might perceive a
problem in that. But not Germana.
When CFOs and GCs come together on the
management team, it’s generally the CFOwho’d
say, “This is too speculative.” And that’s fine,
says Germana, “because you do want to have a
balance— the conservative, strategic-thinking
finance exec taking a hard look at the numbers,
balanced with the risk-taking, strategic view of
the CEO. I’ve found that the GC is often the
pivot point in providing advice to balance these
two perspectives.”
Nestlé Nutrition’s Kevin Goldberg, vice
president and GC, says that in 1999 when he
was in law school, there was a distinct separation
between business and law, but now young
lawyers are given training to fill the role of
business partner in corporations and large, global
organizations. The focus of lawyers at Nestlé
“is how do we add value?” and if a lawyer hasn’t
absorbed lessons from business as well as from
In the best of
worlds, both
CFO and GC
cooperate in
creating the
framework for
an organization’s
strategic
direction
The CFO-General
Counsel Relationship
INTERACTING
WITH THE
CFO
Introducing Our
New Section
“Interacting with the CFO”
