Grant Thornton, Cardiff are asking this question ahead of the nomination deadline for the Finance Awards Wales.

The awards seek to find an outstanding CFO/FD for businesses with turnover up to £25m and above £25m.

Does your CFO/FD fit the bill?

A dynamic individual who operates at the core of the executive team in which they serve. Highly strategic and with deep judgement and influence, this person is known for their business acumen, strong results and inspiring leadership.

In today’s turbulent economy, businesses are facing a host of challenging times and the role of the CFO/FD is ever evolving to keep pace with the demands of commercial survival. Whilst technical competence is mandatory, just being the numbers person is no longer enough – commerciality and forward thinking now drive important skills required to be successful in this role. Strategy and planning, developing talent and business growth mean today’s CFO/FD is an all rounded business leader, a key player in the management team and the epitome of trust and integrity.

Longevity of any business needs a strong focus on cash flow – managing an organisation’s working capital and returns, together with understanding of what drives wealth creation and planning ahead to attain this. Today’s CFO/FD knows there will be difficult economic times but is adept at considering the facts, assessing the risks and advising the business on how to exploit competitor weaknesses and identify opportunities in the market place to invest for the future.

The ability to build relationships is another critical skill both externally with stakeholders and internally with board colleagues, operational managers and the company’s CEO. An effective CFO/FD is able to carefully balance such relationships, whilst often having to make tough decisions.

If you spot your CFO/FD here then please don’t keep them a secret. Recognise and reward them by sharing their success. You can nominate them at the Finance Awards Wales website here.