Leadership Styles, Transformation, and Success in the Business World

An organization’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) plays an essential part in an organization’s overall long-term success. Regardless of a business’s size, a CFO oversees audit preparation, accounting, reporting, and other financial-related business tasks. Should owners use an outsourced CFO or hire an in-house CFO? To assist in illustrating the pros and cons of both options, let us analyze Company Alpha, who hired a full-time, in-house CFO, and Company Beta, who hired a part-time, outsourced CFO. Benefits of An Outsourced CFO: Monetary Savings Company Alpha decided to hire an in-house CFO. In doing so, they failed to anticipate paying benefits and taxes in addition to the CFO’s salary. In contrast, Company Beta chose to outsource its CFO. In doing so, they bypassed having to pay benefits and taxes. Additionally, they only have to pay the outsourced CFO when she actually works. Time Savings Company Alpha’s full-time CFO often spends time participating in tasks that do not directly relate ...

Sonya Guffey fondly recalls the moment that the limited edition portrait of Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler came to grace the front parlor of Mountain Oaks Manor in Ooltewah, TN.  She remembers a woman barreling through the front door and exclaiming that she intended to give it to the manor as a gift.  When Ms. Guffey replied, “Wait a minute.  Are you sure you want to give this to me?”  the lady replied, “This was a gift from my ex-mother in law.  I am moving away.  Either you take it or I am putting this in your garbage!” Sonya hung the delicate portrait and upon further inspection, noticed something behind the framed picture. Tucked behind Scarlett and Rhett lay a beautiful lithograph of Scarlett’s lover Ashley Wilkes. Guffey could see the lithograph’s original intention as a playbill from many years ago Both of these pictures represent a great deal of symbology. The pillar behind Scarlett and Rhett is a symbol of their combined strength. Scarlett hersel...