Part 2, Manufacturing Perspective on Asset Management with Catherine Dacules

In part 1, Catherine Dacules told us about her path to becoming a CFO and shared her experiences on how Asset Managers can help CFOs in the manufacturing sector.

In Part 2,  Catherine shares how the CFO role has changed and her next objectives.

Catherine Dacules, CFO

How has the role of CFO changed over the years?  The length of tenure becomes shorter as CFOs move from permanent postings to interim assignments. This is a predictable phenomenon given the availability of sophisticated ERP systems and flexible, cross-functional IT platforms.  A good CFO has its mind focused on a short turnaround period.  You can’t possibly be going in and out of the ICU with the same diagnosis, can you?  A good CFO bridges the gap to enable the company to proceed to the next performing level.  I look at prospective employers as project assignments – there’s an inception and mutually-set goals culminating upon reaching the desired results.  It’s not an all-seasons engagement for me.  That’s why I go for client companies who really need help.  It could be in any aspect of their financial management, as long as the company is open to the idea of a properly executed turnaround, close to 50% of my job is already considered done.  Based on my experience, the company who admitted to needing real help, benefited the most in the shortest possible time with the turnaround procedures that I instituted for their financial management system.

How do you see it changing in the future?  I seriously believe that the CFO status is pivotal for any finance professional like me.  It is equated to the collective trust that one has gathered from past employers – whether they get to realize it on time or not. 

Second to a bailout, having a good CFO is the next best or worst thing that could happen to you as an owner.  We can paint the picture that you want to see hanging on your wall. Or, you can’t paint the picture as it subject exists. You either lose the company (including the CFO) and pocket a handsome profit or keep it (including the CFO) with just enough to get by.

So it’s no surprise that most CFOs fall out of the corporate finance wagon to build their own.  With a good grasp of their numbers, most finance professionals team with maverick sales & marketing people to transform their visions into reality.  Nowadays there is a current market glut for full-time CFOs, especially in the manufacturing industry.  From the corporate finance industry comes the next breed of CEOs – who knows their costs under different scenarios and are very IT-conscious.

Apart from your current involvement with Kratos Consulting firm based in Calgary, what other activities keep you busy career-wise? Well, as I always say, at some point one learns the trick of the trade.  I’m hinting at driving a company from the top by becoming its CEO. I think that is the natural progression from the CFO status. Unleashing my entrepreneurial spirit was by far one of the most challenging if not the riskiest undertaking I have taken so far.  But it was timed properly when I came across a product I believe would truly sell to a larger market across many countries. So when I had the chance to make a go for it, I did with utmost enthusiasm! 

Typical apprehensions were there; however, I had a reasonable level of confidence that I’m equipped to read market analytics and its financial impact on my undertaking.  My company Quartz-R-Us is involved in a projected 100,000 liters/day sustainable spring water distribution with its initial product offering addresses aging related health issues namely Osteoporosis, Arthritis, Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Atherosclerosis, Diabetes and to some degree Psoriasis and Ehler-Danlos Syndrome (EDS).  

A large part of our Twitter followers are athletes and sports nutritionists, so that is worth looking into as well.  In 2015, we plan to exhibit at an A4M event launching QuartzWater as the first anti-aging bottled water in the world.  Currently, we have a serious market base in the US mainland and these are from the healthcare, sports and wellness industries.