CFO Studio Magazine - Curt Allen, CFO, Subaru

1st QUARTER 2015 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 29 aircraft and parts in U.S. dollars and its P&L is in dollars as well. However, the French parent company’s P&L is in euros. Joseph Hajjar, CFO of The Weichert Companies, a real estate and financial services firm, asked why, if the parent company operates in euros, Draillard’s team P&L is in dollars. “[Ultimately], it doesn’t matter where their orders are coming in from, they just want to know that they could put their money in Bank of America Paris and get all their funds back to where they started from,” said Hajjar. “They are going to hedge their investment in the U.S. and anywhere else, but at the end of the day the money is going to come back to France. So, what is the strategy?” Draillard responded, “Two things: First, how do you go on growing the business knowing the company has zero debt and wants to remain at zero debt? Second, we’re truly conservative, so what we want to do is make sure we never have to sendmoney back.That means the volume of money we leave in the U.S.—and actually I’ve been doing the same thing withmy foreign subsidiaries— is very significant just because I’d rather take the risk of repatriation than the risk of going under in one country.” An important topic of discussion concerned ensuring clear communication of financial information when working with sales and supplies from all over the world. Many of the participants agreed that communication with other business functions—regardless of geography— is essential to putting the numbers into useful context. “The basic tool of accounting is a ledger. Why is it called a ledger?” askedDraillard. “Because it tells the story of the company; we’re booking everything that’s happening. If the finance team is not able to bring operational meaning to those numbers, who wants to read the story?” Craig Steeneck, executive vice president and CFO of Pinnacle Foods, a producer, marketer, and distributor of branded food products, added that this approach is also essential for forecasting. “It’s wonderful to report on the past, but where we add value is by looking ahead,” he said. “Telling a story about the past doesn’t help you improve the business performance.” Approaches to Financing Michael O’Brien, senior vice president and senior client manager for Bank of America The comments made by these guests are their own and may not reflect the opinions and/or policies of their companies or of CFO Studio, Real Estate Strategies Corporation, and/or its promotional partners. Neil Glasser Chief Financial Officer Michael J. Hennessy Associates Joseph Hajjar Chief Financial Officer The Weichert Companies Russ Lopinto Senior Vice President, Senior Client Manager Bank of America Merrill Lynch Arthur Lorenz Treasurer/ Head of North America Planning Hunter Douglas Discussion Leader Meeting Participants Claude Draillard Vice President, Finance - CFO, Dassault Falcon Jet Corporation Ron Dubin Chief Financial Officer Jack Daniels Motors Michael Algranati Treasurer and Chief Procurement Officer United Water Resources Vincent Durante Executive Vice President, Secretary- Treasurer Interchem Corporation Marc O’Casal Assistant Treasurer Curtiss-Wright Corporation Andrew Savadelis Chief Financial Officer Angion Biomedica James Smith Chief Financial Officer Quick Chek Food Stores David Solomon Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer Edison Properties, LLC Eric Wukitsch Chief Financial Officer Vantage Custom Classics David Wyshner Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Avis Budget Group, Inc. Robert Weingartz Vice President of Finance Arrow Fastener Craig Steeneck Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Pinnacle Foods Inc. Daniel Prevoznak Senior Vice President, Senior Client Manager - Global Commercial Banking Bank of America Merrill Lynch Peter Dontas NJ Market Executive Bank of America Merrill Lynch Michael O’Brien Senior Vice President, Senior Client Manager Bank of America Merrill Lynch Harry Jakubowitz Vice President and Treasurer Curtiss-Wright Corporation Promotional Partners