June 2017
Evaluating Alternative Diversification Options
Ethanol plants need to go beyond calculating return on investment to consider risks and net present value when considering diversification strategies. This contribution appears in the May print edition of Ethanol Producer Magazine.

By Rob Sauer, Partner - CFO Systems
It still makes me laugh, since I first heard it in that large auditorium for Econ 101 at the U (that's Iowa State University): excess profits. In business, there is no such thing, right? Maybe that's true within the pages of the economics textbook, but in practice, we know better (see Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg).
How do you attain excess profits? You invest in a good thing: your time, talents and finances. While surveying the current ethanol landscape, there are numerous avenues available to pitch a road to riches. Let's get started on a plan for evaluating those investment options.  Read more here...

Emotional Intelligence Is The Real Secret To Getting Promoted Faster
Y our technical skills probably won't secure you that management role, but these seven habits might. 

There was a time not too long ago when the person with the most technical knowledge got promoted fastest. But that's often no longer the case.

Once someone gets promoted, technical skills become less necessary, and interpersonal ones become more critical in their place. You've probably already heard that emotional intelligence is a top factor in companies' hiring decisions, but it plays a major role in how employers choose to promote their team members, too.   Read more here...

Prime Advice From the Master of Day 1

The 20th Amazon shareholders letter written by Jeff Bezos is an annual business must-read. 
One of the themes that Bezos has continued to hit on year after year is the difference between a Day 1 and a Day 2 operating philosophy. This is really the distinction between a form of humility and a form of egocentrism. Day 2 is what happens as the freshness and clarity and passion begins to wear off. "Day 2 is stasis. Followed by irrelevance. Followed by excruciating, painful decline. Followed by death. And that is why it is always Day 1."  Read more here...

CFO Systems provides CFO, Controller, HR, and operational leadership to middle-market companies throughout the United States. We serve our clients as interim and timeshare executives, providing the expertise and experience they need on their schedule.