The CFO and the CPO: One World, Two Worldviews

REPORT AUTHOR: Andrew Bartolini, Chief Research Officer (17 pages)
In business, our experience and job role help form our perspectives. And, from these perspectives, most decisions are made. From any perspective, the relationship between the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) and the Chief Procurement Officer (“CPO”) remains one of the most difficult and challenging within business today; at the same time, it remains one of the most promising. This report, which draws from the experience and strategies of more than two dozen C-level executives and looks at the opportunities and challenges facing these two C-Level leaders and their departments and makes a series of actionable recommendations that can help improve enterprise performance in the near-term and help build a foundation for a productive and thriving, long-term finance-procurement partnership. The report is organized into the following chapters:
Chapter One – One World: This chapter reviews the relatively recent phenomenon of the CFOs and CPOs and their respective departments actively seeking and gaining responsibility, influence and accountability and the convergence of finance and procurement around a common set of financial and business goals and objectives
Chapter Two – Two Worldviews: This chapter analyzes the fundamental differences that exist between the average CFO and the CPO in their perspective and their approach to procurement performance and procurement value. Specifically, this chapter tackles the issues of savings and savings calculations, cash management, and procurement performance measurement and uses tangible case studies and executive points of view to distill the issues with an entirely fresh perspective.
Chapter Three – Recommendations: This chapter offers actionable recommendations for CFOs and CPOs seeking to improve communication, cooperation, and results. It also introduces the Ardent Partners’ CPO Scorecard^™.
This report is a must-read for current and aspiring procurement and finance executives and those focused on improving the way that these two departments engage and collaborate.