Here’s what CFOs and Logan Roy have in common: They’re scrupulous, dedicated to their work, and maybe a little intimidating in board meetings.

Here’s what they don’t have in common: a succession plan.

A whopping 25% of CFOs lack a formal succession plan, according to the latest CFO Signals survey from Deloitte, which is only made more surprising given that the survey concerned businesses earning more than $1 billion in annual revenue. It’s even worse the higher you go: 28% of respondents with companies bringing in $10 billion or more in revenue said they had no succession plan.

That’s…not great. But the great thing about starting at zero is that it doesn’t take much to get to Step 1: starting.

For advice on that, we turned to Jenna Fisher, a CFO practice leader for Russell Reynolds Associates who has recruited more than 700 CFOs and audit committee members to companies around the world, and knows a thing or two about finding a qualified, potential CFO.

While CFOs have long thought about mentoring direct reports and providing opportunities to practice skills that would be valuable if they ever took over the top finance seat, Fisher told CFO Brew that from her observations “there wasn’t as much formalized succession planning until really a couple of years ago,” as more people realized the intense business disruption that could come from CFO turnover.

For more on planning for CFO succession, click here.—NP

We’ve officially hit the midpoint of 2024. If that means you’re looking to gain an edge in the year’s second half, Oracle NetSuite has some ideas.

Their white paper, CFO Midyear Update, reveals 24 smart, fresh ideas to consider as you shape your agenda for the rest of 2024. They range from highly tactical to big picture, all with the goal of setting your org up for success.

Take a look to get insight on topics like experimenting with AI and staying ahead of emerging regulations. There are even tips on empowering your team to be more efficient and leveraging creativity for growth.

Set yourself up for a successful H2. Get your copy of NetSuite’s white paper.

Olympic athletes weren’t the only ones diving in unison last week; tech stocks put in quite a performance as well. The Nasdaq Composite index was down 10% on Friday from an all-time high just a few weeks ago, Reuters reported. Part of that was investors getting antsy about returns on AI investments—and also, they have this little worry about the economy maybe heading into a recession.

CFO Brew may not be as fun as Snoop Dogg narrating Olympic badminton, but we’ll do our best to break down the results.

Solid form. Despite the sell-off in equities broadly and tech specifically, nearly all the biggest tech companies that reported earnings last week exceeded analyst forecasts. Microsoft’s earnings per share came in higher than expected. Meta, Apple, Amazon? Beat, beat, beat. Same with chipmakers AMD and Qualcomm.

“Just one note…” Don’t get them wrong: Investors still love the promise of AI. They just wish the companies (a) would make money sooner and (b) didn’t have to spend so much to grow their businesses.

Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager with Synovus Trust, summed up its investors’ concerns to Bloomberg. As companies spend huge amounts of money to ramp up their AI capabilities, will they “capture enough incremental increase in profit growth from their investments?”

Click here to keep reading about investor impatience over AI.—GD

Imagine a game where the objective is to create $1 billion in new value at a large corporation. EY says it has the cheat code: internal venture building.

But a major impediment to company’s creating their next unicorn, according to a new report from the firm’s strategy consulting arm, EY-Parthenon, is that many approach venture building with the wrong mindset.

Interest in corporate venture building is growing, according to the report, which found that “22% of [survey] respondents dedicated at least one-fifth of their operating budget to venture building” last year, a “five-fold increase” YoY. Nearly 8 in 10 respondents said their new business turned a profit in three to four years, but the same number also noted their new venture “did not significantly impact the mid- to long-term growth of the parent organization.”

One of the major reasons why, according to EY, is a lack of growth mindset.

Big corporations have massive budgets dedicated to executing pricey mergers and acquisitions, when they could instead spend a fraction of that capital to build a new venture and deliver similar value creation in a handful of years, Praveen Arivazhagan, EY-Parthenon Americas venture building leader, said.

For more on where your next unicorn might come from, click here.—AZ

Steer your startup. When up-and-comers don’t set out with a strong financial roadmap, the path can get dicey. Wanna learn how to nail navigation? Ramp’s hosting a virtual discussion with experts from Donnelly-Boland and Associates and Attivo on how to establish a lasting financial foundation. PS: A CPE credit is available. Save your spot.

Are you integrating tech into your finance operations? You may be wondering if leaning on automation is a good thing or if it could create headaches. Join us to discuss corporate expense management and how your corporate card could help make a positive difference (like offering uncapped cash back on qualifying rewards, for starters). Learn more by tuning in. Register now.