CFO Studio Magazine with Robert Falzon, CFO, Prudential

Q2 2017 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 27 CFO Studio hosts the Executive Dinner Series, including World-Class Companies CFO Dinners and Middle Market Companies CFO Dinners quarterly in New Jersey, Manhattan, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, and other markets around the U.S. CFO Studio hosts the CFO Breakfast Learning Series in multiple markets, as well, and hosts online Diginars, CFO Studio Receptions, the annual CFO Innovation Conference and the CFO Innovation Awards. 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 and/or its promotional partners. Anthony Conte CFO, EPAM Systems, Inc. Discussion Leader Elaine Cheong SVP, Global Commercial Banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Steven Fahringer VP, Global Commercial Banking, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Pat DiNitto Director of Business Development, CFGI Matt Pantera Partner, CFGI Tony Juliano VP, Market Operations, JLL John Leubecker Vice President, JLL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS Gary Abrahams VP, Corporate Controller, EPAM Systems, Inc. Lauren Wainczak Director of Finance, Center for Supportive Schools Todd Pittman CFO, Anexinet Mary Finn CFO, Samaritan Healthcare & Hospice William Curnan CFO & COO, Advancing Opportunities Robert Moskovitz CFO, LEAF Commercial Capital, Inc. CFO GUESTS Dennis McGrath President and CFO, PhotoMedex Inc. When something does go awry, “Don’t focus too much on the wrong or the ‘why.’ Figure out how to fix it, and move on.” Mr. Conte said the emphasis must always be on propelling the business forward. “You want to learn from the past, but you don’t want to harp on the past.” He went on, “You want to understand why youmade the wrong decision, and discover what you were missing so that you don’t repeat history, but you need to look forward,” because, as he pointed out, “the company is going to keepmoving, regardless, so you need to patch things up and look ahead.” “To a certain extent, you need to be MacGyver,” Mr. Conte said, recalling the 1980s television series about a secret agent who solved complex problems with the use of everyday objects. “You have to be able to take a rubber band, some duct tape, and a few pencils and build a support structure. And then continue to reinforce that structure as the company gets bigger and bigger.” Keeping It All Together When it becomes clear that a wrong turn has been made, “It’s critical to remain calm, cool, rational, and focused. And very, very patient with those around you. “Everyone looks to the CFO to set the tone,” noted Mr. Conte. “Others followmy lead and react the way I do.” That resonated with Matt Pantera, Partner at CFGI, a finance and accounting consulting firm with offices in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, and a CFO Studio Business Development Partner. “So much falls to the CFO in terms of managing the challenges that come with hyper-expansion from both organic and inorganic growth.” He went on: “In the case of inorganic growth from an acquisition, it makes sense that a company with little or no trial balance or financial information is preferable in this environment, since there is less structure and process to be amended during integration.” Mr. Conte acknowledged that his biggest challenge is controlling the company’s global transactional liquidity. To which Elaine Cheong, Senior Vice President of Global Commercial Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and a CFO Studio Business Development Partner, pointed out: “The ability to manage global cash efficiently can substantially reduce working capital needs and funding costs. When you have global liquidity flows, centralizing FX [foreign exchange] management can further minimize foreign currency risk exposures.” Mr. Conte said that there are pros and cons to working at a company that is growing at the speed of sound, but he wouldn’t trade it for anything—not even for MacGyver’s prized Swiss Army knife. C MONEY BUSINESS The millennial generation puts people-centered values above values such as efficiency and “being the best business in our area of activity.” Millennials’ Values for Business Success Q What are the most important values you think a business should follow if it is to have long-term success? Millennials said: u Employee satisfaction, Loyalty, Fair treatment................................ 26% u Ethics, Trust, Integrity, Honesty.......................................................... 25% u Customer care, Focus..................................................................... 19% u Quality, Reliability............................................................................ 13% u Environmental impact (tied with) Corporate social responsibility...... 8% u Good products (tied with) Efficiency, Adaptable, Moves with the times..... 7% u Innovation (tied with) Respect.......................................................... 6% SOURCE: 2016 Study by Deloitte where 7,700 employed millennials in 29 countries responded