Financial Savvy
“Tell me about a time when your knowledge of
finance and business operations made a difference
in the company’s profits.”
■“The key staff members of the last company I worked for
all agreed and were committed to a goal of increasing
profits 20 percent by the end of the fiscal year. As the CFO I
met with the executive team, and we set very specific goals
to accomplish this. I was able to get the commitment of
individual team members, and we agreed they would
receive a percentage of profits at the end of the year if
things went as planned. I personally was committed and
held accountable to the board of directors. We worked as
a team to achieve a very successful campaign rollout.
The key was to keep our specific goals in mind and to
also keep in continuous communication with one another
on the progress of our projects. As it turned out, we
exceeded our goal, and every one of us benefited from
the team effort.”
■“One of the projects that I was most proud of at my
last company was the streamlining and enhancing of the
corporate budgeting process. I was able to analyze the
company’s needs and processes and to benchmark
activities. The realigning made the process the corner-
stone of the way the company’s operations are currently
measured.”
■“When I joined my current company, all the accounting
and payroll functions were outsourced. This was not only
cumbersome to manage, but also very expensive. By
developing and implementing appropriate internal
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