Juergen H. Daum, Management- and CFO-advisor, expert on finance and performance management and thought leader in sustainable enterprise management, leadership and business innovation has been named one of Top 100 Throught Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior in Europe and the Middle East - together with 99 other individuals including chairmans, CEOs and other key persons from well-known business, academic and non-profit organizations, such as:

• Laurent Abadie, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Panasonic Europe
• Abdalla, Chief Executive Officer, PepsiCo Europe
• Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO, L’Oreal
• Nils Smedegaard Andersen, Group CEO and Partner, Maersk, and Member of Executive Board A.P. Møller - Mærsk A/S
• Mark Bradley, Director CR & Public Affairs, TNT
• Richard Branson, CEO and founder, Virgin
• Pierre Cachet, President, European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM)
• Delphine Couzi, Operations Director, Eurostar
• Anders Dahlvig, President & CEO, IKEA
• Stephen Elop, President & CEO, Nokia
• Thomas Enders, President and Chief Executive Officer, Airbus
• Daniel Franklin, Executive Editor, The Economist
• César Alierta Izuel, Chairman, Telefonica
• Dennis Jönsson, CEO & President, Tetra Pak
• Alissa Koldertsova, Corporate Affairs Division, OECD
• Bruno Lafont, Director, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, LaFarge
• Bertrand Lebel, Executive Vice President for organization and sustainable development, Air France-KLM
• Ernst Ligteringen, CEO, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
• Dr. Klaus Maier, executive Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Cars
• Jan Muehlfeit, Chairman, Europe, Microsoft
• Lars Olofsson, CEO and Board member, Carrefour Group
• Sir John Parker, Chairman, National Grid
• Stefano Pessina, Executive Chairman, Boots
• Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever
• Joel Roxburgh, Head of Sustainability - Performance, Reporting & Engagement, Vodafone Group
• Ulrike Sapiro, CR Director – Environment, Coca-Cola Europe

The list of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Europe and the Middle East recognizes individuals representing the private sector, academia and non-profit entities who are making outstanding contributions in championing business, social and environmental change, in a transparent and justifiable way. It is the outcome of an extensive research by CSE and Trust Across America™ that had as objective to identify and the most trustworthy individuals and organisations, learning from them through benchmarking and creating opportunities to emulate best practices.

The Top 100 Thought Leaders represents the culmination of research exploring personal efforts and accomplishments within the framework of social, environmental and economic sustainability. TAA and CSE sought the counsel of and requested nominations for this honor from professionals across the world. The list was narrowed through an extensive vetting process.

Nikos Avlonas, President of CSE said: “I am truly honored to be involved in an initiative which recognizes individuals who attempt to bring change in a constructive and sustainable way, especially today where the financial and social crises in Europe and Middle East have a significant impact on the economy and society”.

According to Barbara Kimmel, Executive Director at Trust Across America, “These individuals are inspiring organizations to look more closely at their higher purpose…to create greater value for, and trust from, all of their stakeholders. We congratulate all of the honorees whose work is shining a spotlight on the importance of trustworthy business behavior and providing a model for others to emulate.”

Links:

The full list of honorees

TAA/CSE press prelease

Related news:

Interview with Juergen H. Daum: "Sustainability and KPIs - a New Job Profile for CFOs?"

Podiumsdiskussion: „Was heißt gutes Management heute? – Unternehmerperspektiven für eine Welt im Wandel“ (in German)

Shaping The Future – Thriving In A Changing World. European CFO Roundtable, July 1-2, 2010, Frankfurt a.M./Germany

"Nachhaltigkeit beginnt für Unternehmen mit wirtschaftlicher Nachhaltigkeit" - sagt Jürgen H. Daum, befragt von der Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V.

Podiumsdiskussion: „Erfolgsfaktoren einer nachhaltigen Unternehmensführung“ (in German)

Sustainable Enterprise Management in Turbulent Times, European CFO Roundtable, July 9-10, 2009, Lubljana/Slovenia

Interview with Juergen H. Daum: „Sustainability as Objective of Enterprise Management and Control“

Professional profile of Juergen H. Daum:

http://www.juergendaum.com/jd-Dateien/cv_jdaum_e.pdf

Daum: Before companies can identify metrics, they need a sustainability strategy that clearly defines what they want to achieve in which spheres, and how this will impact the bottom line, as ultimately that is what matters to all commercial enterprises. The purpose of KPIs is to measure results, of course. You can only do that if you have defined objectives beforehand.

In my view, there is a clear sequence: For enterprises, meaning commercial organizations, the priority must always be economic sustainability, so sustainable economic success and the long-term survival of the company. If entrepreneurs and top executives seriously pursue this objective, the objectives for the economic, social, and environmental spheres will follow, depending on the business model, company culture, industry, situation, and so on.

As an example, let us take a typical leader of a niche market in, say, mechanical engineering: Staying competitive is vital if the company is to survive long-term in the niche market. You need the right business strategy, and you have to plan the right activities, for example, continuous investment in research and development, strengthening innovation across all parts of the company, but also in the wider ecosystem, and cutting the time-to-market, and so on. Only once these things are in place can you define your objectives in the social sphere (such as activities that benefit society and at the same time build your employer brand among highly-qualified potential employees, and activities for employee development, and so on) and the environmental sphere (activities that not only make the company greener but also boost its reputation and gain it access to important markets, business partners, etc). These objectives not only make sense but they strengthen and complement the business strategy and also lend weight to the issue of sustainability in the company itself. 

By this I don’t mean that companies should just take their business strategy as the starting point for defining their sustainability strategy. You can also start at the other end with social and environmental issues and generate ideas and suggestions. But before any decisions are taken, these ideas and suggestions need to be aligned with the company’s business strategy and long-term business objectives. Else you run the risk that your strategy, activities, and budget for sustainability do not survive the next economic downturn because there is no business logic to them. This is where having a suitable system of metrics can help.

What is the situation in Germany and in the rest of the world? Are certain industries or companies leading the way as regards best practices?

Daum: In my opinion, as far as sustainability management and controlling (using KPIs) are concerned, we are only at the beginning. In the mid to late 1990s there were some pioneers abroad who led the way in sustainable business. I’m thinking of Shell, for example, which in its Shell Report 1997 was one of the first companies to report on its own social and environmental performance. As far as I know, this report was even audited.

It took a good few years for the idea to catch on. Nowadays, almost all large companies, including German companies, produce a sustainability report, which is usually based on the concept promoted by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). In some companies, and I can think of an example from Scandinavia, it’s the CFO’s job to ensure that the sustainability figures in the sustainability report are accurate. In the past, in most companies, the CFO did not oversee sustainability.

More recently, sustainability and sustainability accounting have gained momentum, and also CFOs are starting to take a closer look. The two most important drivers are reduction in carbon emissions, and reduction in energy consumption. CFOs now realize that the right activities not only help the environment but they can also lead to significant and lasting cost savings. In light of the financial and economic crisis, sustainability has become more important to CEOs also, as consumer attitudes changed during the crisis, and sustainability in general terms has seen a revival and is gaining more and more influence on consumer’s and customer’s buying decisions.

What about carbon footprinting? Is it at all realistic to try to calculate the ecological footprint along the entire value chain inside and outside a company? If so, how can software be used to do this, say as part of financial planning and management accounting directly in an ERP system?

Daum: Reducing the carbon footprint and reducing energy consumption have grown in importance generally. A lot of companies have introduced or are introducing concepts to include sustainability KPIs in their performance management and controlling processes. SAP provides integrated solutions for this, which, for example, enable operators at a chemical plant to monitor how much electricity and steam is being used by the units they are responsible for, and control energy consumption in line with defined targets. This doesn’t just reduce energy costs, but carbon emissions as well. Another example is a customer in the consumer products industry who has just implemented one of SAP’s solutions: It calculates the carbon impact of every product in the entire product range each month and compares it with the ambitious targets for energy and carbon reduction. This company measures the carbon impact regularly and uses the results in decision-making processes to help reduce its carbon footprint by 30% within three years. This saves the company money. But it is also responding to consumer awareness about, and demand for, sustainable products, so it improves the company’s competitiveness.

CFOs have not really been involved in sustainability before. Is this likely to change? What factors will lead to “sustainable” CFOs?

Daum: Increasingly, the job of the CFO nowadays has two main aspects or subroles: One aspect is the role of the financier. The other aspect involves ensuring fact-based decision making across the company as a whole and the necessary discipline in decision processes - both in terms of risk, and in terms of opportunity.

I’ve been working for a number of years with CFOs, especially in Europe - at SAP for example, as part of the Executive Value Network, where, since 2004, we have been bringing CFOs together to share their experiences on finance in general, finance transformation and other CFO matters. For many years sustainability wasn’t something that CFOs had to focus on.  But this is now starting to change. Once companies start treating sustainability not just as a marketing tool, but start moving it forward within the company to achieve a real impact from the perspective of customers, consumers and other stakeholders, then at this point their management accounting, performance management and decision-making systems must reflect this and they must start to integrate sustainability in their performance model. So it's highly likely that CFOs will become more involved with sustainability and sustainability accounting in the future, and that it will become part of their job.

What will CFOs actually have to do if they have to sign off sustainability reports, besides reviewing the company’s past performance and comparing it against specific criteria?

Daum: Reviewing the company’s performance will still be important for sustainability as well.  This is the only way companies can demonstrate what they have done and achieved, or not achieved. Once companies seriously pursue their sustainability strategies, include them in their business strategies, and communicate these objectives outside of the company, as they do their financial targets, CFOs will have to make sure not only that audited data on sustainability is collected properly, which some companies already do, but they will also have to ensure that they have the controlling systems they need to break down and track the targets internally they have communicated externally.

This leads us to planning: if they have given a commitment to meet objectives to stakeholders outside of the company, as part of their strategic and operational planning, companies have to be able to set internal objectives, plan the activities required, and track these activities.

And anyway: CFOs are going to have to look at planning, budgeting and forecasting in a completely new way. The financial crisis taught many CFOs that flexibility and better planning and forecasting have to go hand in hand, and that the tools they use have to be improved or redesigned. Above all, we need to be able to plan and manage more flexibly. We can only do this if we considerably improve transparency regarding risks and opportunities, by using scenario analysis, for example. If companies decide to seriously pursue a sustainability strategy, as many are already doing, then clearly the overhaul of the planning, budgeting, forecasting, and performance management systems has to encompass sustainability and sustainability controlling.

Put another way: Between ecological paradigms and economic considerations, how could companies benefit from using sustainability KPIs?

Daum: Investing in sustainability has to pay off for companies, either through cost savings or by generating more business and therefore more revenue. To actually achieve this, companies have to define targets for each activity, and plan and track the activities. And this takes the right KPIs. Using KPIs in sustainability accounting can be not only a key success factor in reaching sustainability objectives, but also for reaping financial rewards.

To sum up, how should companies organize their management team beyond managers’ own comfort zones and personal preferences so that sustainability becomes an integral part of enterprise philosophy, or more precisely, of its strategy and planning?

Daum: Whether sustainability becomes an integral part of company philosophy, strategy, and planning, has not so much to do with how the management board is organized, but whether the top executives and shareholder representatives actually want it, and whether management can demonstrate and communicate both internally and externally the company’s business logic and economics for sustainability. Ultimately it depends on whether the company has the will.

This is why it is less important how areas of responsibilities are allocated in the management team and at board level, as the objectives for each area and the necessary activities can be derived from the corporate and business strategy that has been agreed and that encompasses the sustainability objectives.

About Juergen H. Daum (professional profile)

"Erst kommt der Wettbewerb, dann die Umwelt" (Kurzversion des Interviews veröffentlicht in: Produktion, 10.02.2011, Nr. 6 (in German)

“CO2-Reporting” (Kurzversion des Interviews veröffentlicht in: Monitor - Das Magazin für Informationstechnologie, April/2011(in German)

Related news:

„Nachhaltigkeit beginnt mit wirtschaftlicher Nachhaltigkeit“, sagt Jürgen H. Daum, befragt vom Arbeitskreis Nachhaltige Unternehmensführung (AKNU) der Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft für Betriebswirtschaft e.V.

Shaping the Future - Thriving in A Changing World. Presentation at SAP's European CFO Roundtable

Podiumsdiskussion: Erfolgsfaktoren einer nachhaltigen Unternehmensführung (in German)

Interview with Juergen H. Daum: "Sustainability as Objecive for Enterprise Management and Control"

Interview mit Jürgen H. Daum: "Sustainability Management: Nachhaltigkeit als Ziel für Unternehmensführung und -steuerung" (in German)

Die Teilnehmer (im Bild von links nach rechts):

• Jürgen H. Daum, SAP und IIOE (Leitung und Moderation)
• Gerhard Jahn, Leiter Bildungsmanagement & Corporate College, Lufthansa AG 
• Dr. Hans Spielmann, Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter, Welde Brauerei
• Michael Kleinemeier, Managing Director, SAP Deutschland AG & Co KG

Das Thema der Podiumsdiskussion:

Nach einer Studie der Marktforschungsgesellschaft GfK zum Vertrauen der Bürger in verschiedene Berufsgruppen vom Juni 2010 rangieren Manager international auf dem drittletzten Platz - in Deutschland sogar auf dem vorletzten Platz, vor den Politikern.

Andererseits kommt dem gerade einmal etwa hundert Jahre alten Beruf des Managers in unserer heutigen hochkomplexen Wirtschaftswelt eine hohe Bedeutung nicht nur für den Erfolg der Unternehmen selbst, sondern für das Wohlergehen der Gesellschaft insgesamt zu, die ja auf eine funktionsfähige und produktive Wirtschaft angewiesen ist.

Gutes Management ist somit ein Schlüsselerfolgsfaktor: Mitarbeiterumfragen belegen, welch hohe Bedeutung die Qualität der Führung für die Mitarbeitermotivation spielt. Unbestritten ist auch, dass es das Können des Managements ist, das über eine erfolgreiche strategische (Neu)Ausrichtung eines Unternehmens und damit über dessen Zukunftsfähigkeit entscheidet. Und Peter Drucker hatte bereits vor Jahrzehnten definiert, dass die extern bei Kunden und anderen Stakeholdern angekommenen und wahrgenommenen „Ergebnisse“ des Unternehmens die ureigenste Verantwortung und Aufgabe des Managements sind.

Manager müssen dafür über eine Reihe sehr verschiedener Eigenschaften verfügen: z.B. müssen sie gute ‚Business Administrators‘ sein und die betriebswirtschaftliche Steuerung des Unternehmens sicherstellen, aber auch Experten in der Führung, die Menschen begeistern und bewegen können, als auch wahre Unternehmer, die das Unternehmen in einer Welt im Wandel erfolgreich positionieren und voranbringen. Es sollen folgende Fragen diskutiert werden

Bei der Podiumsdiskussion wurden folgende Fragen mit den Teilnehmern diskutiert werden:

• Was heißt für Sie gutes Management bzw. gute (Unternehmens-)Führung?
• Durch welche persönlichen Eigenschaften zeichnet sich ein guter Manager aus?
• Welche Rahmenbedingungen im Unternehmen (organisatorisch, Kultur/Werte, etc.) sind Voraussetzung für ein ‚gutes Management‘
  - auch im Mittelmanagement?
• Welchen Herausforderungen der Zukunft müssen sich Manager vor allem stellen?

Einführungsvortrag von Jürgen H. Daum (pdf)

Podiumsdiskussion "Erfolgsfaktoren einer nachhaltigen Unternehmensführung" beim 3. Wissenstransfertag, 18.09.2009 in Mannheim

Website des Wissenstransfertags der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar

To master successfully these challenges requires - as in every fundamental upheaval - active change and innovation. Therefore it’s time now to look ahead and to start shaping the future and to prepare the enterprise for thriving in a changing world.

But what does this mean?

Juergen H. Daum, who moderated the second day and who was in charge of the conception and event programming of this CFO roundtable, adressed this topic in his traditional "Food for Thought" key note:

Shaping The Future – Thriving In A Changing World:

• A Changing World? (understanding that the world is changing - why and how)
• Shaping the Future (what does it really mean to 'shape the future')
• Role of Finance (what are the strategic key task of the CFO in such a context?)

Download J.H. Daums presentation (pdf)

Program and agenda of the 13th European SAP CFO Roundtable

The biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression is changing the economic order – of the global economy and of many industries. Most likely, the world won’t be the same after the crisis. The ‘new normal’ will bring us probably lower economic growth rates, more pressure on prices and margins, changing consumer and customer buying patterns, consolidation of industries, more regulation, and more difficulties in assuring the financing of the enterprise – just to name a few of the expected changes.

But change represents also an opportunity – for those companies that are able to act and adapt in time. Therefore it’s time now to look ahead, beyond the near-term survival agenda of the past year, and to start shaping the future of the enterprise in a changing world.

And the CFO and finance have to be prepared to help to drive the transformation of the business. Efficient finance operations that are providing basic high quality financial services to the business and that ensure compliance and good governance are a solid foundation. But what it really takes to thrive and win in the ‘new normal’ is a shift in finance effectiveness: towards the role of a true business partner and co-pilot that helps to innovate and to drive business performance and competitiveness in a time of uncertainty and change.

Under the theme "Upgrade Finance Effectiveness - Drive Business Performance", Juergen H. Daum moderated recently two SAP events for Finance executives in Europe, of which he was in charge of topic selection, conception and event programming:

SAP's 12th European CFO Roundtable, 3-4 December 2009 in Bruges/Belgium, including his traditional "Food for Thought Presentation" on the theme of the event on day 2 and a panel discussion with:
- Sten Daugaard,CFO and member of Corporate Management, LEGO Group, Billund/Denmark
- Mag. Dr. Wolfgang Henle,VP Opportunity and Risk Management, Austrian Airlines Group, Vienna/Austria
- Vince Nicoletti, Chief Financial Officer of Commercial Operations of BHP Billiton, The Hague/Netherlands

SAP's 18th Finance Best Practice Workshop for Controllers and Senior Finance Professionals on 4-5 February in Barcelona/Spain - including a presentation track and disucussion round on "Upgrading Enterprise Performance Management"

Program and agenda of the 12th SAP European CFO Roundtable

Agenda of the 18th SAP Finance Best Practice Workshop

J.H. Daum's presentation "Upgrade Finance Effectiveness - Drive Business Performance" (pdf)

J.H. Daum's presentation"Upgrade Enterprise Performance Management Effectiveness" (pdf)

Bedeutende Führungspersönlichkeiten und Mitglieder des AKNU haben bereits Stellung zu diesem sehr aktuellen Thema bezogen und haben "Klartext" gesprochen.

Auch Jürgen H. Daum hat sich zur nachhaltigen Unternehmensführung bekannt und auf der Website des Arbeitskreises Nachhaltige Unternehmensführung in der Schmalenbachgesellschaft e.V. (AKNU) sein Verständniss von nachhaltiger Unternehmensführung in einem "Klartext" Statement dokumentiert.

Hier das "Klartext"-Statement von Jürgen H. Daum (zum "Klartext"-Statement von Jürgen H. Daum auf der AKNU Website):

„Nachhaltigkeit beginnt mit wirtschaftlicher Nachhaltigkeit“:

"Nachhaltigkeit in der Unternehmenswelt beginnt meiner Meinung nach mit wirtschaftlicher Nachhaltigkeit. Die beiden übrigen Aspekte, soziale und ökologische Nachhaltigkeit folgen automatisch, wenn Sie die wirtschaftliche Unternehmensführung und –steuerung heute ernsthaft mit einer nachhaltigen Perspektive betreiben. Erst so wird ein Schuh daraus. Geht man anders herum an das Thema heran, besteht die Gefahr, dass die ‚Corporate Social Responsibility‘-Bemühungen zum Marketing-Feigenblatt werden und nur aufgesetzt wirken, und das wird heute von Kunden, Geschäftspartnern, Mitarbeitern, Investoren und von der Öffentlichkeit schnell durchschaut.

Und die Fähigkeit zum nachhaltigen Wirtschaften und damit zur Nachhaltigkeit des Unternehmens selbst basiert im Wesentlichen auf der Fähigkeit zur organischen Mehrwertgenerierung für Kunden und Unternehmens-Stakeholder, also auf der Fähigkeit, für diese einen nachhaltigen Unterschied machen zu können und zu diesen stabile Beziehungen zu unterhalten. Ich nenne dies die Fähigkeit zur unternehmerischen Nachhaltigkeit. Erst diese kann dauerhafte Wettbewerbsstärke schaffen.

Gerade die jüngsten Erfahrungen in der aktuellen Finanz- und Wirtschaftskrise haben das Verständnis dafür geschärft, dass in Zukunft der Fokus der Unternehmensleitungen, aber auch der betriebswirtschaftlichen Wissenschaft und der Berater darauf liegen muss, diese Fähigkeit der Unternehmen zur unternehmerischer Nachhaltigkeit zu stärken und Schritt für Schritt auszubauen.

Dies zu tun ist mehr kontinuierliches Bemühen, als ein kurzfristiges Programm. Es beginnt bei der strategischen Ausrichtung und dem Geschäftsmodell eines Unternehmens, umfasst aber auch die Führungs- und Unternehmenskultur, die Aufbau- und Ablauforganisation, das Marketing und die externe Kommunikation sowie adäquate Reporting- und Controlling-Ansätze.

Bei letzterem geht es darum, nicht nur die finanzielle Steuerungs- und Optimierungsfähigkeit zu sichern, sondern alle Aspekte eines nachhaltigen Wirtschaftens in die Unternehmenssteuerung, also auch die nicht-finanziellen Erfolgsfaktoren und die immateriellen Werte und Potentiale, zu integrieren, um falsche Anreize und Signale und suboptimale Entscheidungen im Tagesgeschäft zu vermeiden, die längerfristig die Nachhaltigkeit des Wirtschaftens gefährden können."

PDF-Version des AKNU "Klartext"-Statements von Jürgen H. Daum

Weitere "Klartext"-Statements:

Hier eine Auswahl von Statements bekannter Persönlichkeiten, die im "Klartext"-Portal des AKNU zum Thema Nachhaltige Unternehmensführung Stellung bezogen haben (mit Link zum entsprechenden Statement): 

Rosely Schweizer, Vorsitzende des Beirats und Gesellschafterin der Dr. August Oetker KG,

Dr. h.c. Helmut Maucher, Ehrenpräsident der Nestlé AG,

Prof. Dr. Claus Hipp, Geschäftsführender Gesellschafter, HiPP-Unternehmensgruppe

Dr. Jürgen Großmann, Vorstandsvorsitzender der RWE AG,

Frank-J. Weise, Vorsitzender des Vorstandes der Bundesagentur für Arbeit

Dr. Paul Achleitner, Mitglied des Vorstands der Allianz SE, Finance

Dr. Rüdiger Grube, Vorstandsvorsitzender, Deutsche Bahn AG

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, Co-Chair, International Panel for Sustainable Resource Management

und viele weitere herausragende Persönlichkeiten haben Klartext gesprochen und sich deutlich für eine Nachhaltige Unternehmensführung ausgesprochen.

Das folgende Interview ist als Einleitung ins Schwerpunkt-Thema der "SAP im Fokus" Ausgabe Oktober 2009, erschienen - dem Kundennewsletter der SAP Deutschland AG&Co. KG.:

SAP im Fokus: Das Wissen um die eigenen Finanzen ist für Unternehmen fundamental. Doch Finanzwesen und Controlling müssen heute mehr können, als lediglich Finanzzahlen bereitzustellen. Wie genau sehen die neuen Aufgaben aus?

Jürgen H. Daum: Der grundlegende Auftrag des Finanzbereichs ist natürlich, durch aussagekräftige Kennzahlen faktenbasierten Durchblick zu schaffen – im Hinblick auf Kosten, Ergebnis und Liquidität, aber auch zu Risiken und Chancen. Transparenz ist jedoch kein Selbstzweck. Vielmehr muss sie auch zu Entscheidungen führen. Das ist in vielen Unternehmen bei weitem nicht selbstverständlich. Dabei ist Disziplin im Managementprozess gerade in Zeiten des Umbruchs überlebenswichtig – von der Strategieentwicklung und Zieldefinition über Reporting, Prognose und Anpassungs-Entscheidung bis zur Kontrolle der Umsetzung. Hier sind CFO und Finanzbereich gefordert: Sie sollen für diese Disziplin sorgen und die notwendigen Entscheidungen vorantreiben. Die Rolle des Finanzbereichs wandelt sich so vom reinen Zahlenlieferanten zum Gestalter des Managementprozesses – mit dem CFO als Navigator, der sich aktiv in die Weiterentwicklung des Unternehmens einbringt.

SAP im Fokus: Welche Voraussetzungen müssen dafür erfüllt sein?

Daum: Entscheidend sind erst einmal straffe Finanzprozesse, die nahtlos in die Geschäftsabläufe integriert sind. Nur sie stellen eine klare Sicht auf das Unternehmen sicher. Effektive Liquiditätsplanung ist zum Beispiel ohne die Verknüpfung mit den operativen Prozessen im Vertrieb und Auftragseingang nicht möglich. Zudem verfügen die Mitarbeiter in Finanzen und Controlling erst durch optimierte Prozesse über die notwendigen Freiräume, um ihre neuen Aufgaben im Bereich Entscheidungsunterstützung zu erfüllen.

Eine wirklich leistungsfähige Finanzinfrastruktur umfasst aber auch eine effektive Organisation. So schaffen viele Unternehmen zentrale Shared-Services-Center und Center of Expertise, um Prozesse zu konsolidieren und Aufgaben zu bündeln. Dies senkt die Kosten und erhöht gleichzeitig die Qualität: Wenn etwa alle Daten für einen Abschluss zentral zusammenlaufen und von den besten Experten im Konzern nach einheitlichen Kriterien verarbeitet werden, beschleunigt das nicht nur den Abschlussprozess. Auch die Zuverlässigkeit steigt, und gesetzliche Vorgaben lassen sich einfacher einhalten.

SAP im Fokus: Welchen Beitrag leistet hier die IT?

Daum:  IT schafft die Voraussetzungen für standardisierte, automatisierte Prozesse und den wirtschaftlichen Betrieb von Shared-Services-Centern – mit ERP-Software, die möglichst zentral betrieben wird. Darauf setzen Lösungen für Analyse und Entscheidungsunterstützung auf: Sie versorgen Entscheidungsträger direkt per Self-Service mit Business Intelligence-Werkzeugen und allen notwendigen Informationen. Hier geht es, im Gegensatz zur Standardisierung von Abläufen, auch darum, zu individualisieren. Schließlich sollen Inhalte und Darstellungsformen dem Arbeitsstil des Anwenders entsprechen und genau zu den Anforderungen im jeweiligen Entscheidungsprozess passen.

SAP im Fokus: Welche konkreten Vorteile erzielen Unternehmen mit einer leistungsfähigen Finanzinfrastruktur?

Daum: Zunächst einmal erhöhen sie ihren finanziellen Gestaltungsspielraum. Liquidität ist hier derzeit das zentrale Thema: Wer dank klarer Daten den künftigen Cashflow richtig einschätzt, kann bei veränderten Rahmenbedingungen schneller gegensteuern. Im Ergebnis bedeutet dies weniger Abhängigkeit von Fremdfinanzierung. Andererseits kommt das Unternehmen so auch in die Lage, freie Mittel rascher zu verwenden und Geschäftschancen besser zu nutzen.

Zeitnahe Transparenz ist aber auch über finanzielle Kennzahlen hinaus wichtig für eine erfolgsorientierte Geschäftssteuerung. Welche Faktoren beeinflussen das Finanzergebnis? Wie lassen sie sich diese Ergebnistreiber kurz-, mittel- und langfristig am besten beeinflussen? Das sind entscheidende Fragen. Droht ein Rückgang des Auftragseingangs um fünf oder zehn Prozent? Dann muss das Management die finanziellen Auswirkungen durchspielen können, um rechtzeitig zu reagieren. Eine leistungsfähige Finanzinfrastruktur liefert hier Klarheit und ermöglicht so erst die richtigen operativen und strategischen Entscheidungen. Damit wird der Finanzbereich zum echter Partner bei der Weiterentwicklung des Unternehmens.

Interview im Orginal (pdf)

Zum gleichen Thema siehe auch:

Gastvorlesung von Jürgen H. Daum an der Universität Mannheim ""Finance&Controlling als Business Partner: Ziel, Konzept, Umsetzungsbeispiele. Ein Praxisbericht aus europäischen Unternehmen" am 4.3.2009

Artikel: Daum, J.H., Die Entwicklung der Rolle des CFO in europäischen Unternehmen
(Zeitschrift für Controlling & Management, 6/2009)

Artikel: Jürgen H. Daum im Gespräch mit Dr. Carlo Mackrodt, Henkel KGaA "Wir haben bei Henkel international eine einheitliche Arbeitsweise im Finanzbereich geschaffen" (Zeitschrfit für Controlling & Management, 5/2008)

IIOE News, 10.7.2009: "Sustainable Enterprise Management in Turbulent Times"

IIOE News, 30.5.2009: "Der CFO als Business Partner und Business Navigator: Gefordert ist ein komplett neues Selbstverständnis - und etwas Schizophrenie"

Die Teilnehmer (im Bild von links nach rechts):

• Jürgen H. Daum, SAP und IIOE (Leitung und Moderation)
• Dr. Alexander Selent, Stellvertretender Vorsitzender des Vorstands und Finanzvorstand, Fuchs Petrolub AG
• Joachim Goldbeck, Geschäftsführer Goldbeck Solar GmbH, Goldbeckbau
• Hans Michael Hölz, Group Sustainability Officer/ Managing Director, Deutsche Bank AG
• Florian Nehm, Leiter des Referats Nachhaltigkeit, Axel Springer AG

Das Thema der Podiumsdiskussion:

Die Sicherung des langfristigen (wirtschaftlichen) Überlebens eines Unternehmens (also der „Nachhaltigkeit des Unternehmens als Unternehmen“) war schon immer ein Kernelement guter Unternehmensführung.

Im Laufe der letzten Jahre hat die „Corporate (Social)l Responsibility“-Bewegung also auch die „grüne“ Bewegung eine weitere Perspektive auf die Bedeutung von „Nachhaltigkeit“ von Unternehmen eröffnet: eine nachhaltige Unternehmensführung soll nicht nur die wirtschaftlichen Aspekte, sondern auch die sozialen und ökologischen Auswirkungen der Unternehmenstätigkeit berücksichtigen – eine Sichtweise, die in weiten Teilen inzwischen Eingang in die öffentlichen Meinung gefunden hat. Und gerade in der aktuellen Wirtschaftkrise wird der Ruf nach einer nachhaltigen Unternehmensführung lauter.

Es stellt sich die Frage, was „Nachhaltigkeit“ für Unternehmen heute genau bedeutet, welche Konsequenzen sich daraus für die Handelnden im Unternehmen ableiten lassen, wie sich die Bedeutung einer nachhaltigen Unternehmensführung zukünftig weiter entwickelt, und welche Rahmenbedingungen dies z.B. auch von Seiten der Politik, aber auch von Konsumenten, Anlegern und anderen Unternehmens-Stakeholdern erfordert.

Bei der Podiumsdiskussion wurden folgende Fragen mit den Teilnehmern diskutiert werden:

• Was bedeutet „Nachhaltigkeit“ und eine nachhaltige Unternehmensführung heute für Unternehmen?
• Welches sind die Herausforderungen, Erfolgsfaktoren und wesentlichen Bausteine für die Umsetzung einer nachhaltigen Unternehmensführung?
• Welche Zukunfts-Perspektive hat das Thema „nachhaltige Unternehmensführung“ und welche Rahmenbedingungen sind erforderlich?

Einführungsvortrag von Jürgen H. Daum (pdf)

Website des Wissenstransfertags der Metropolregion Rhein-Neckar

Videoaufzeichnung der Podiumsdiskussion:

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This has created a lot of questions for corporate managers and CFOs: not only how to master the crisis itself, but - more importanly - how to manage for sustainable enterprise development in the future.

Juergen H. Daum, who moderated the second day and who was in charge of the conception and event programming of this CFO roundtable, adressed this topic in his traditional "Food for Thought" key note:

Sustainable Enterprise Management in Turbulent Times:

• Origin and purpose of 'sustainable management'
• What means sustainable enterprise managment?
• The current financial and economic crisis and the future of "sustainable enterprise management"

Download J.H. Daums presentation (pdf)

Program and agenda of the 11th European SAP CFO Roundtable

It is a structural imbalance in the world economy. That imbalance was already due to cause a major downturn a few years ago, but has been hidden for another couple of years by ‘financial engineering’. It became finally visible when the banking sector wasn’t any more able to cover it: the so called financial crisis was born - another, final symptom of that structural imbalance in the world economy.

One part of the imbalance has been the systematic overconsumption of the U.S. economy. George P. Shultz, former finance and foreign minister of the U.S. government described it with: “We have consumed more than we have produced. [...] America has lived beyond its means.” (quoted from an interview published in German in “DIE ZEIT”, issue from 19.02.2009)

The second part of the imbalance has been the reaction of the Non-US-economies to the overconsumption of the Americans: first the overproduction and the built up of overcapacities in other parts of the world, namely in the so called ‘export nations’ such as China and Germany, then the overfinancing of that overconsumtion in the U.S. by the same (export) nations.

What are the perspectives for the future?

Again George Shultz: “We [in America, after consuming too much,] have to go back to the ethics of saving. [… But others have to change as well]. The wealth of many countries has been based on that they have exported more than they have imported. The buyer of these exports have been the U.S.. When we are starting to bring our house in order and readjust our international trade and payment balance, then a lot of other people have to adjust as well.” (“DIE ZEIT”, issue from 19.02.2009).

In summary, if the engine of growth of the past years will stall because the overconsuming consumers in the U.S. start to save more and spend less, we will see a major structural change in the world economy happen in the future, with much lower growth for a long period – even after the bank balance sheets have been brought in order and the overcapacities in many industry sectors have been reduced. And we can add: Companies and nations that still want to base their business model on exports need to be very, very good, if not unique with their offerings.

I participated last week at an SAP executive event in Germany that I have conceived and moderated and where about 20 senior executives (CEOs, COOs, CFOs, and Chief HR Officers) of German companies discussed the causes and consequences of the current financial and economic crisis. The outcome of the discussion was another proof that we are facing not just a simple downturn, but a paradigm shift in economic development and thus in enterprise management.  Here some of the statements made at the event:

“Growth in the past years was mostly artificial. We now have to face the reality for the future: lower growth not for the next three years, but for the next 20 years. As a consequence, companies require new strategies. In an environment of low growth or even contraction, creating and disposing of a visible, relative competitive advantage is key for survival. A second consequence is, that sustaining price levels will become more important than defending sales volume.”

“We, as export business, do not expect any major growth at least for the next five years. We have to re-focus on our core competencies – value creation through German engineering based on a highly educated workforce – to improve our relative competitive strength on the world market. That requires courage and money. We have to be smart in deciding were we have to save costs and were to invest. As a consequence, we have to become much more flexibile.”

“We have to focus in the future much more on qualitative than on quantitative growth. The heavy focus on volume and size in the past years was wrong. All my competitors that expanded abroad just for the reason to become bigger went bankrupt and seized to exist as a company. We have to re-focus on our strength: competitive advantage through high quality products. And we have to move back to a more organic growth model.”

Consequences for businesses and enterprise management: 'The Seven Fields of Reorientation and of Action for Renewal in Enterprise Management'

What does this mean for businesses and for enterprise management? How can entrepreneurs, companies and their executives and managers prepare themselves and their organisations for this new reality?

At the IIOE we have identified "Seven Fields of Reorientation and of Action for Renewal in Enterprise Management' on which we will focus our research, training and advisory activities in the future:

1. Strategic enterprise management:

The focus will shift from: “How can we become bigger and dominate our markets? to: “How can we improve our relative competitive strength and remain a player in the market”?

We will see a reorientation on the capability of an enterprise to create original, visible organic value-add for its customers. stakeholders and investors and to maintain that capabilities over market cycles through strategic innovation and flexibility.

• How do we manage for strategic competitive advantage and strategic renewal & flexibility?

2. Innovation management

The focus will shift from: “What is the next product innovation we have to deal with?” to “What is the appropriate business model for us in the future and how do we get there”?

We will see a new focus on the capability of a business to renew its business model in shorter time intervals to leverage technology and market developments in order to make a difference not only in what it sells, but in how it does business. A critical piece will be the identification, management and continuous improvement of the underlying platform of capabilities, intellectual capital and potential yield, as well as the systematic evaluation of technologies and stakeholder markets.

• How do we organise for continuous innovation and renewal that makes a difference?

3. Operations management:

The focus will shift from: “Operational excellence (today widely understood as ‘operational efficiency’)” to “Operational effectiveness in customer value creation”.

We will see a new focus on the capability of the operations to not only operate in an efficient way but to create superior value-add for customers and stakeholders and to constantly optimize both and to adapt the current business model in time. That requires an approach that moves beyond the process perspective and includes the identification, management and continuous improvement of the underlying platform of capabilities, intellectual capital and potential yield, as well as the continous monitoring of possible changes of demand.

• How do we design operations for effectiveness, agility and responsiveness? 

4. Finance and control:

In finance the focus will shift from: “Net earnings” to “Financial flexibility (i.e. cash flow and working capital)”. In controlling the focus will shift from “Where and how do we earn money?” to: “Why are customers buying and how can we stay in business?”

We will see a re-newed focus on the capability of finance to provide the liquidity to stay in business and the funds to invest in innovations and critical capabilities required for the future. We also will see a new focus on the capability of controlling to provide the tools and concepts to not only manage profitability (price/cost) but to monitor and manage as well relative customer value-add (value/price), i.e. competitive advantage, and to thus enable managers to make better trade-off decisions between short term profitability, customer value-add and investments required to create the foundation of future success.

• How do we create enough financial flexibility? How do we control performance in a more holistic way?

5. Leadership, organisation and people management:

The focus will shift from: “Command and control organisation & leadership model” to: “Sense and response organisation and leadership model”

We will see a reorientation in the leadership model of enterprises: away from an organisation that can easily be managed by ‘orders’ from the management hierarchy, to an organisation, where people are empowered to respond to changes in the market environment and customer demand without involving management all the time - in other words: to a more reactive and a more intelligent organisation. That requires the right team structures, an organisation that works more like a network than a hierarchy, and appropriate leadership and people management programmes.

• How do we organise for high performance?

6. External communication and marketing

The focus will shift from: “Reporting” and “Attracting” to “Relationship” and “Engaging”

We will see a reorientatation to communicate the true value-add story of the enterprise by personal and community experience, rather than by self-created marketing ‘messages’ that are pushed at external audiences. That requires more than the traditional one-way corporate and marketing communication, but new relationship, network and engagements models that involve customers, stakeholders and investors personally.

• How do we engage effectively with customers, the public, with stakeholders and investors?

7. Values

We will see a new focus on the true “corporate values” of enterprises and "personal values" of managers.

Customers, stakeholders, shareholders and employees will be more interested in the future how sustainable an enterprise is operating and how sustainable its managers are managing, i.e. if it is stable enough to still exist in ten years and how it deals with the interest of others (such as of the communities in which it operates, of its business partners and employees etc.) - than just knowing a company's product offerings and last quarter's profitability. Therefore they want to know why a company is in business (what its values and its mission are) and what the personal values of its key personell are. And another reason exist, why values will be more important in the future: Only when a company has decided what its core values are, it can decide what can be given up, i.e. only then true innovation, the engine of competitive advantage and of new growth can happen.

• For what are we in business? What are our core values? What will always stay?

Join us!

In the coming months we will continue to describe in more detail 'The Seven Fields of Reorientation and of Action for Renewal in Enterprise Management'. 

We will also start to offer a newsletter and plan to organize workshops (organised on demand).

If you are interested to contribute with your input to our reserach programme or if your are interested to receive our newsletter about this initiative or to participate in one of the workshops please contact us

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Related article:

Interview with Juergen H. Daum: "Sustainability as Objective for Enterprise Management and Control"