Q4
“ It ' s so important that the issuers , the ideas , the momentum in society is fueled by the right investment , by the right investors through a technology meeting place ”
DONNA DE WINTER CFO & COO , Q4
four years in the COO role . Last June , I took on both the interim and then , eventually permanent , CFO seat as well .”
She also believes that more companies should consider the dual-role route , especially within the technology space , because creating balance can make or break a company .
“ In these kinds of markets , you ' re attaining that balance of the right amount of investment without forfeiture of client excellence or employee excellence , and that teetertotter , that balancing , is so critical . Having spent three and a half years close to the clients , and with a large number of the employees in my direct reporting line , it allowed me to say , ‘ These are the right places to continue the investment , and these are the places I believe we can pause investment until we see a different market ’.”
Ultimately , because financials offset operations , de Winter has a solid grasp of what money goes where across the board .
Generally , the role of the CFO has also changed over the past decade , evolving from a strictly financial perspective to one that also involves partnership decision-making . de Winter says that when she first started out , the job was mainly about the production of financials , around GAAP accounting .
Today , however , far more BI tools are available , as well as insights for rolling forecast , forecasting planning and analysis , meaning that she describes the role as : “ GAAP accounting from today and backwards , while the financial planning – the FP & A – is today and forward , though leveraging the trends of the past . The ability to model the future is addictive .”
Balancing the decision-making process The financial markets have always fluctuated , but , currently , the environment is very difficult to predict . It ’ s essential not to overreact to movement – and it ' s also important to remember that stock can go up or down on any given day without a business reason . de Winter views the use of accurate data and communication as a critical part of supporting clients . “ It is allowing them to see through the noise , to retain their strategies , to retain their communication plans . And , in some cases , it is to pursue different investors who are more aligned with the duration or for the term of the strategy .”
If it ' s a two or three-year strategy , then you need investors who are available for that duration and not those with a short term investment mandate .
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