The Guide to Making Strategic Transformations in Your Company - Introduction - How the 80/20 CFO framework explains focus

Sep 29, 2026

Strategic transformation guidance built around the 80/20 CFO idea, explaining how the Pareto Principle can help financial leaders focus on the small set of actions that produce the majority of outcomes. The introduction clarifies why the book is authored by finance leaders and how the concept applies across client work, networking, closing books, and reporting. It positions CFO decision-making as isolation-prone while describing invitation-only peer groups that deliver unbiased perspectives to keep leaders aligned with key initiatives.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages82

Reading Time3 h 27 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

What's Critical in the First 90 Days

Helping the Board be an Effective Coach

Inspiring the Talent on Your Team

Getting Comfortable with the Financial

Initiating Change in Your Organization

Successful Fundraising

Creating and Maintaining a Partnership with the CEO

Selling and Leading Change

Working Internationally

Quantifying and Reducing Your Risk

The Risk Management Assessmen

Here's How to Make Strategic Transformations in Your Company

About the Authors

# The Guide to Making StrategicTransformations in Your Company Suzy Taherian and Janice Berthold # Jon The 80/20 CFOHow to Make StrategicTransformations in YourCompany Janice Berthold &Suzy Taherian The 80/20 CFO Independently Published Copyright ◎2018,Jan Berthold &Suzy Taherian Published in the United States of America 180620-01122-1-2 ISBN:13:978-1790707874 No parts of this publication may be reproduced without correct attributionto the author of this book. For more information on 90-Minute Books including finding out how you can publish your own book,visit 90minutebooks.com or call(863)318-0464 Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2021 with funding fromKahle/Austin Foundation Here's What's Inside.. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………1 What's Critical in the First 90 Days……………………4 Helping the Board be an Effective Coach..13 Inspiring the Talent on Your Team…………………18 Getting Comfortable with the Financial………24 Initiating Change in Your Organization………33 Successful Fundraising…………………………………………………38 Creating and Maintaining a Partnership with the CEO………………………………………………………………………42 Selling and Leading Change…………………………………47 Working Internationally…………………………………………51 Quantifying and Reducing Your Risk……………56 The Risk Management Assessmen……………………60 Here's How to Make Strategic Transformations in Your Company…………………63 About the Authors…………………………………………………………65 # Introduction The 80/20 CFO! You may be asking yourself why this book istitled The 80/20 CFO and why it is co-written bysomeone who is not a CFO. Allow me to explain.The 80/20 rule was formulated in the late 19th century by the Italianeconomist Vilfredo Pareto.The "ParetoPrinciple"came from his observation that roughly 80%of the effects come from 20%of thecauses. Likewise,only 20%of the work creates 80%ofthe outcome.While the numbers may not be spoton,the theory holds true in pretty mucheverything we do.This principle can applywhether you are working with a client, networking with potential investors,closing thebooks,or putting together a reporting package. As the financial leader of your company,it'simportant to know,not only,what work results in bigger and better outcomes;but what worktakes up the most time without providing thehighest results.Our goal with this book is toprovide the "Cliff Notes"to efficiently move theneedle toward the biggest results for yourbusiness. As mentioned earlier,I am not a CFO,but I haveworked with many over the last 30 years.I havealso started,and co-moderated four invitation-only CFO groups to improve resultsperformance. The CFO's job is one of the loneliest on theplanet. Our invitation-only groups help CFOs makebetter decisions,in part by,relieving the isolation they may feel when making importantdecisions.This process gives us the uniqueopportunity to provide them with unbiasedopinions,so they stay focused on their keyinitiatives. Lastly,I'm thrilled to be partnering with an amazing CFO,Suzy Taherian,an experienced CFOand adjunct professor of International Businessat the University of California at Davis.I'veobserved her work with three different companies and witnessed the incredible resultsshe gets. Suzy is going to share her insights on importanttopics like,how to interact with the Board,how

FAQs

Why is the book titled The 80/20 CFO and who co-authored it?

The book explains the 80/20 CFO concept and why the authorship includes someone who is not a CFO. It introduces the principle and the authors' backgrounds in finance leadership and CFO collaboration.

What does the 80/20 rule (Pareto Principle) mean in this book’s context?

The text states that roughly 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, and only 20% of work drives 80% of outcomes. It is used to help leaders identify high-impact work and avoid time-consuming activities with weaker results.

How does peer support help CFOs make better decisions?

The introduction describes the CFO role as isolating and highlights invitation-only groups that provide unbiased opinions. This support helps CFOs stay focused on key initiatives while improving decision quality.

Sep 29, 2026

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