The leaders of Finance are more and more becoming leaders of their companies. By no means are CFOs, controllers, or VPs of Finance taking over corporate leadership en masse. But they are increasingly being charged with being a part of that leadership, strategically and tactically. Internally, Finance as a department or group is responsible for the most critical aspects of any firm. Externally, Finance is the face of the firm to regulators, lenders, partners and, in many cases, the public at large. In severe economic situations, Finance has the responsibility for establishing, managing, or restoring public trust in a firm.
