Birkman Personality Assessment to Aid in CFO Crisis.

HOUSTON -- The accelerating trend of CFO turnover and burnout leads one to ask: Is there any human capable of successfully filling the position of CFO in a U.S. public company today? According to a study by Liberum Research, 2,302 CFOs left their jobs in 2006 and that number will be higher in 2007. The trend is both a reflection of increased pressures from regulators, financial markets, audit committees and CEOs, as well as the traditional behavioral responses that CFOs typically use to deal with these pressures.

"CFOs traditionally take a direct management style to tasks," said Sharon Birkman-Fink, President and CEO of Birkman International, creators of the Birkman Method [R]. "They get very involved in doing the work or directly supervising and micro-managing the work. They are typically detail-oriented and analytical. Given the huge increase in tasks, they can be quickly overwhelmed."

86% of CFOs reported an increase in responsibility due to the changing nature of the CFO position during the past five years, showing the reason for the current crisis in hiring and retaining CFOs - a challenge Birkman International says could be solved by the application of personality assessment principles.

While CFOs are traditionally "hands on" leaders, the needs of the modern U.S. public company require that they learn to delegate and use outside resources, which, for the most part is contrary to their typical behavior.

"Every executive job is demanding and different," said Birkman-Fink. "CFOs need to heighten team collaboration. This means better communication, and building broader constituencies for support. In order to do this, they need to develop strong management and leadership skills, for which personality assessment can provide an effective road map."

Personality assessment can help a CFO determine weak points in leadership, and areas that can be improved. Additionally, it can reveal an individual's ideal work environment, stress triggers, and way in which they relate to others.

Birkman International specializes in providing advanced personality assessment to businesses seeking to increase leadership and management skills of valued corporate employees. The Birkman Method[R] facilitates team building, executive coaching, leadership development, career management and interpersonal conflict resolution.

For over 50 years, corporate human resources professionals, independent consultants, executive coaches, educational institutions and other not-for-profit organizations have used The Birkman Method with over 2.5 million individuals.

"The Birkman Method is a powerful means to gain critical answers to how we lead, learn, think, decide, and communicate with others," added Birkman-Fink. "Personality assessment can accelerate a CFO's development as a manager and leader, and allow him or her to be more open, approachable, and collaborative, thus encouraging the support among the varied constituencies that he or she is going to need to survive." www.Birkman.com