Three Questions for Johns Manville CFO Mary Rhinehart

BF: Back to 2004, when you had just become CFO, did that trigger the beginning of a finance transformation process?
Rhinehart: Yes, it did. As I mentioned, when you come into a new job, it's a perfect time to take a clean slate and get input and feedback. We asked what was working well with the finance organization, what should be changed, what are the expectations of the finance organization, and other questions like that. Working as a finance leadership team, we distilled that information. We also did some benchmarking with the Hackett Group.

We looked at the finance organization from both an efficiency and an effectiveness standpoint. We broadened that beyond just finance. We looked at what we needed to do to become the most efficient and effective organization and what kind of finance organization we wanted to be. For most finance organizations and most functional organizations, the big thing is that they want to be business partners. But an important aspect is what exactly does this mean? For finance, you have to always keep in mind that the fundamentals are very important. You can never lose sight of that. Finance can never lose sight of controllership.

But finance can be much more than that. You truly can and should strive to be business partners, driving business results through tools, through analytics, and through insights. When I'm looking at a business leader, typically the ones with the financial background are very effective business leaders because they understand all aspects of how the different parts of the business integrate and impact the bottom line.

BF: When you started the transformation, what were your customers saying that they wanted finance to be? What were they asking for you to do differently?
Rhinehart: There were several things, but the major thing was to be more forward-focused more future-looking, rather than just historical reporters. And rather than spending so much time just on the transactions or the recording of what happened, they asked us to really take a more strategic role in providing insights into what can we do in the future to drive business results. Some asked for the tools and information that they need to make their business stronger and to make their business more profitable. They wanted help in looking out into where are we taking the business, what we are trying to accomplish and how we can get there. We worked to build financial acumen across the organization -- to have the business leaders ask for the numbers, to have a good pulse on the business-critical thinking, to turn data into information.
Rhinehart: That's right.

BF: How did you translate those requests into what your people did and what skills they needed?
Rhinehart: First, we focused on the types of skills necessary. It was a question of whether we have enough analytical and strategic skills. We were very good at handling the transactions. We were good at data mining and really looking at the historical picture. But you also need those individuals who are analytical and who, at the same time, have a more inquisitive nature. You need those who can work with and communicate with people across the business -- not just in financial or accounting types of ways. You need people who can lead up and down and sideways.

And, frankly, you want people who can meet with the customers, the suppliers, and the competitors. You want people who can understand the customers and understand the entire marketplace.