Name_______________________________________ Class______________________________

Audio scripts
PROGRESS TEST 4
Track 7
(I = Interviewer, LB = Lucy Bellman)
I When we think of business leaders, we often think of the person at the very top: the CEO. But
what about the CFO - the chief financial officer, or finance director !"# here with $ucy Bell#an,
chair#an of !nternational %ews and &edia. &s Bell#an, what can you tell us about what #akes a
'ood CFO
LB (he best CFOs are conservative. (he leader of the business, the CEO, should be sales-oriented
and also an opti#ist, but every positive CEO needs a CFO who worries about what could 'o
wron'.
I O). What sort of back'round or e*perience do you look for in a CFO
LB + CFO has to be a ,ualified accountant. +ccountants are tau'ht to be careful and use 'ood sense.
(his is really i#portant for preparin' bud'ets and accounts. !t"s so i#portant that they do this
work carefully.
I -i'ht. .o what skills do you e*pect a CFO to have What should a CFO be able to do
LB (he best CFOs really understand the details of financial state#ents. (hey have to be able to put
the# to'ether and they have to be able to analyse the#. But they also have to see the /bi'
picture". !f they"re too busy lookin' closely at the details, they #ay #iss #a0or proble#s. !t"s a
tou'h 0ob1
I What about co##unication skills. +re they i#portant
LB + 'ood CFO #ust be able to e*plain business finance in a way that every e*ecutive can
understand. Bad CFOs hide proble#s by usin' a lot of technical lan'ua'e. + really 'ood
accountant - and the best CFO - knows the co#pany"s books very well and is able to e*plain the#
clearly.
I +re there any other ,ualities that #ake a 'reat CFO
LB (hese days, a CFO needs to have a 'ood understandin' of !(. +#a2in'ly, there are still a lot of
finance professionals out there who don"t really understand or use accountin' software. !n
addition, CFOs need to know a lot about a co#pany"s secretarial affairs, they need to have so#e
understandin' of corporate law and also of insurance. + 'ood knowled'e of property - finance,
leases and so on - is also very i#portant.
PHOTOCOPIABE ! "#$# Pearso% o%&ma% ET
3
I What personal ,ualities #ake a CFO a 'ood leader
LB Well, a sense of hu#our is very i#portant. 4nderstandin' people and how to #ana'e the# is also
very, very helpful. But it"s even #ore i#portant for a CFO to be a hard worker. When proble#s
arise, a CFO usually can"t do the 0ob in a forty-hour week. !n a crisis, everyone has to work
to'ether and the CFO is the one who has to keep the #oney co#in' into the business and 'oin'
out of the business in the ri'ht way at e*actly the ri'ht ti#e. (hey have to follow forei'n
e*chan'e, deal with bankers, collect debts and so on. (his #ay #ean cancellin' a fa#ily holiday,
and that"s not easy.
I +ny other co##ents
LB CFOs #ay not look like /corporate superheroes" but no business can really succeed without the
work of a 'reat CFO.
PHOTOCOPIABE ! "#$# Pearso% o%&ma% ET
5