2007年3月9日 首席财务官不满首席执行官的乐观

一项最新调查发现，首席财务官(CFO)的日子是越来越不好过了。对其中许多人而言，原因之一是他们必须遏制首席执行官们(CEO)天生的乐观主义。

Life as a chief financial officer is getting harder, according to a new survey, and one reason for many is that they have to rein in the natural optimism of their chief executives.

这项对欧洲、美国和亚洲的741名CFO进行的调查发现，他们正以前所未有的速度离职。他们抱怨称，自己正承受着越来越大的改善业绩压力，与此同时，而满足监管机构不断增加的要求也令人厌烦无比。

The survey of 741 CFOs in Europe, the US and Asia found they were leaving their jobs at a faster rate than ever, blaming increasing pressure to deliver improved results and the tedium of meeting the mounting demands of regulators.

他们还表示，CEO和CFO任期缩短，导致投资眼光短浅——89%的CFO表示，这或多或少会使得高层管理人士放弃或修改那些将在他们离任后见成效的项目。

They also said the shorter tenure of CEOs and CFOs was leading to shorter investment horizons – 89 per cent saying this sometimes or often led top executives to avoid or change projects that would pay off after they had left their jobs.

在这项调查中，CFO天生的悲观主义展露无余：有45%的人表示，他们的CEO比他们乐观。只有5%的人认为自己的CEO不如自己乐观，而44%的人表示，CEO的乐观程度与他们相同。

The natural pessimism of the bean-counter was reflected in the finding that 45 per cent said their chief executive was more optimistic than they were. Only 5 per cent saw their CEO as less optimistic, while 44 per cent said the chief executive’s optimism level was the same as theirs.

在回答CEO们为什么会极度乐观的问题时，CFO们认为，这是担任最高职务所需的一项资质：38%的人表示这是他们的天性，而29%的人表示，这是客户和雇员对他们的期待。

When asked to account for the excessive optimism of their bosses, the CFOs saw it as a qualification for the top job: 38 per cent said it was in their nature, while 29 per cent said it was expected of them by customers and employees.

然而，12%的人表示，CEO过于乐观的原因是他们“无知者无畏”，因为他们对业务的了解比CFO少。有6%的人给出了其它原因，其中一个人说：“CEO是个白痴”。

However, 12 per cent said it was ignorance that made the chief executive overly optimistic, since they knew less about the business than their finance chief. And among the 6 per cent who gave other reasons, one said “CEO is a moron”.

另一位来自美国的CFO表示：“CEO缺乏战略设想或长远眼，却充满率希望和盲目的乐观主义。”

Another from the US said: “The CEO lacks strategic imagination or long-term vision; substitutes hope and blind optimism.”


这项调查是由《CFO Europe》杂志、鹿特丹管理学院 (RSM Erasmus University)和北卡罗来纳州杜克大学(Duke University)合作进行的。调查发现，美国的CFO们最可能因为合规要求太多而离职。相反，欧洲人则表示，换工作的动因是跳槽机会很多。

The survey, by CFO Europe magazine, RSM Erasmus University in Rotterdam and Duke University, North Carolina, found US chief financial officers were most likely to blame excessive compliance demands as a reason for leaving the job. The Europeans, in contrast, said job-changing was encouraged by the multitude of opportunities to move to other companies.


逾四分之一的人将他们的不安分归咎于来自CEO和董事会的压力，而8%的人表示，他们不断上涨的薪金使其有可能考虑退休或换工作。

More than a quarter cited pressure from the chief executive and the board for their restlessness, while 8 per cent said their rising pay had made it possible to contemplate retirement or changing jobs altogether.


一位美国CFO表示，任期变短的原因是精力被“耗尽”了，而另一个人则抱怨自己受到“造假账的压力”。

One US CFO said the reason for shorter tenure was “burn-out”, while another blamed “pressure to cook the books”.


该调查还发现，与上个季度相比，多数CFO对自己公司的前景更乐观了，但他们最大的担忧是劳动力成本。

The survey also found that most CFOs were more optimistic about their firm’s prospects compared with the previous quarter, but that their biggest concern was the cost of labour.