CFO Studio Magazine - CFO Innovation Award Winners

32 WWW.CFOSTUDIO.COM 2nd QUARTER 2015 A t a recent CFO Executive Dinner, finance executives gathered to discuss how they achieve success at a subsidiary of a foreign parent company. The dinner was sponsored by accounting and advisory firm Friedman LLP, and hosted by Real Estate Strategies Corporation. William Flynn, of electronics manufacturer Sharp Electronics Corporation, led the evening’s discussion on the topic of “Managing Financial Performance and Global Business Culture in an American Subsidiary.” Mr. Flynn began by sharing what attracted him to his current role was “the challenge of working with different cultures and different people. I like the added complexity of having to understand what is happening with the consolidated results, but also understand what is happening globally. It adds an interesting dimension to the job.” He then asked the group to discuss their experiences of the decision-making process with foreign parent companies. The U.S. business environment is very dynamic and fast-moving; however in many other countries, decisions are not made quickly. John Breeman, CFO of mobile targeting and delivery company Voltari Corporation, worked for a large German company earlier in his career in which the CEO and CFO had to approve any significant action before it was taken. If the two disagreed, the decision would be escalated to the parent company. Elizabeth Miller, vice president and CFO of industrial packaging company Mauser USA, LLC, described a very different process with her German parent company: While she reports to the U.S. CEO, she also connects with the global CFO in Europe. Ron Tassello, CFO of table linen merchant Bardwil Industries Inc. agreed that the relationship of the parent CEO and CFO “has to be a symbiotic relationship.” Albert Caamic, CFO of food product distributor Mitsui Foods, added that this could present challenges when the parent company frequently rotates senior leaders — his company has seen four different Japanese CEOs in six years. “Socialization is a critical part of the decision-making process, especially from a CFO role,” added Barry Lederman, CFO of Eisai Inc., pharmaceutical subsidiary of a Japanese company, adding that even on financial decisions it’s critical to “get everybody on board.” Lisa Strassman, director of financial services and corporate controller of air- conditioning company Daikin America, Inc., elaborated that “in the Japanese business culture, an idea should be up for discussion in a private socialization session to give the other person a chance to exchange ideas,” said Ms. Strassman. “If you do this process wrong, it can really set you back.” Michael Cohen, partner of Friedman LLP, is part of his firm’s China practice group where he says it also holds true that, “when you communicate your ideas, you can’t be perceived as dictating them.” In several European countries, decision- making is centralized within the parent company. Walter Cirillo, vice president and treasurer of footwear manufacturer AeroGroup International, previously worked for an Italian company where “after spending about 10 months working on a business case, we found out that the ultimate decision was already made by headquarters in Milan.” “In my company it’s so much different,” said Vincent Tuzzio, CFO of technology solutions company Samaserve LLC. “There’s only about six guys [so] we don’t have communication issues.” Embracing Expats Also discussed was how to create a productive relationship with expatriot executives from the parent company. “The role of executives who come from the parent company is to serve as communicators back to the parent,” said Sandra Clarke, CFO of pharmaceutical subsidiary Daiichi Sankyo, Inc. “If you have open conversations with them, they will share with you what they are Decision-Making Across Cultures Managing global business in an American subsidiary CFO STUDIO EXECUTIVE DINNER SERIES 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, Real Estate Strategies Corporation, and/or its promotional partners. L. to R.: Curt Allen, William Flynn PROMOTIONAL PARTNER: