Multiple roles - letters to the editor - Letter to the Editor

I WAS SOMEWHAT INTRIGUED BY Dominick Furlano's letter (October) responding to the article "Roads Less Traveled" (Your Move, August), on the placement of nontraditional CFOs. I have an accounting degree, and also received an MBA with a concentration in organization and human behavior (kind of like being a veterinarian and a taxidermist at the same time).

I spent the first half of my career in the primary automotive business, including stints in production management, and as an industrial-engineering manager (along with many of the traditional finance roles). In my current position at a high-tech, privately held organization, a pure CPA, banker, or treasurer would be hard-pressed to become the business partner, mentor, coach, and change agent that I am.

I know of several success stories going both to and from the accounting bench and the operations/manufacturing/sales genre. To say that such an approach is viable only in the context of a larger organization is shortsighted, and doesn't take into account the environment and dynamics smaller businesses can provide.

Kurt J. Andrews

Chief Financial Officer

X-Ray Industries Inc.

Troy, Michigan

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