Learning Lessons From A ‘CFO Of The Future’

Bonten Media Group CEO Randy Bongarten described William “Scott” Moody, the company’s SVP and CFO as a “CFO of the future” when he nominated Scott to be one of MFM’s “People to Watch” in 2012.

When the editorial board for MFM’s The Financial Manager magazine took a closer look into Scott’s profile, it unanimously agreed with Bongarten’s assessment. Scott not only stands out as a person to watch in the coming year, he also embodies the qualities that will be required of our industry’s financial leaders in 2012 and beyond.

Said Bongarten: “Scott has shown that he is a CFO of the future by significantly improving not only the finance function, but also the integration and overall leadership role of finance within our organization.”

It’s pretty clear that the skills Moody has developed will be required by any station group executive. His outlook for 2012 provides insights on not only why he’s a person to watch but also on the things we’ll need to address at our stations and companies to ensure their success in the coming year.

Bonten owns and operates TV stations in eight markets and manages a handful of Fox affiliates owned by Esteem Broadcasting. It’s also looking to expand its holdings and Scott is a key member of the team on the hunt for new acquisitions.

“This is a really important experience for me. It’s my first opportunity to be a CFO of a stand-alone company,” said Moody, who came to Bonten in 2008 from CBS, where he was a VP of development. Before that, he was a CFO of NBC Universal’s digital media group.

“Scott has brought a significant amount of operating discipline and key finance talent into the company, and the improvement in their financial processes reflects that,” said William Drewry, managing director of RBC Capital Markets, which serves as a Bonten investment banker.

David Wittels, senior managing director of Diamond Castle Holdings, which is an equity partner in Bonten, alongside Bongarten, recognized Scott for his role in implementing new technology that has improved the cycle time of financial processes, and for “elevating the profile” of the finance team within Bonten. 

Now, “market controllers [at Bonten stations] are thought leaders and key operating partners to the general managers, not simply finance professionals,” Wittels said. “I think the company is poised for growth, and this is enabled by the operating foundation that Scott has helped build over the last few years.”

Bongarten says that Scott is a rarity among CFOs because he comprehends the linkage between operations and finance.

That’s also something that Bongarten believes is important for himself and other CEOs. “I’ve been trying to develop a broad perspective, one where I’m equally comfortable bridging a conversation between creative types, financial types, operations, legal, IT. I’m trying to develop a broad skill set from a finance base of expertise,” he said.

Moody’s personality has clearly helped him in developing those skills. “When you think of finance folks, you don’t think of them as having great people skills. But Scott is the opposite. He’s a calm, cool leader that never gets rattled,” said John Buergler, SVP and CFO of Univision Local Media, who worked with Scott at NBC Universal.

“He was one of those guys who if I wasn’t living up to his standards, it was communicated in a very respectful way. He’s one of those guys you want to kill yourself for,” added Buergler.

It’s also clear that Moody advanced to his posts at NBC and CBS because of a longstanding commitment to developing these skills. “His insights are really, really powerful and were early on in his career,” said Timothy Clyne, who is a former CFO of RHI Entertainment and Hallmark Entertainment.  

Clyne came to appreciate these qualities when Hallmark Cards bought RHI.  Scott served as Clyne’s “right-hand man” during the sales process and Clyne says he was impressed by Moody’s ability to convey what the buyer needed to know during the due diligence.

“Those attributes remain very important to Moody and Bonten as he focuses on growing the company. “We believe we have an operating method that’s very rigorous and research that’s based around our news products that lends themselves well to expanding,” said Moody. “We’re building a platform here on the news side, and also the finance and operation side, that we believe is going to be amenable to consolidation and acquisitions. That’s certainly our goal.”

Moody added that he’ll also be focusing on implementing the company’s new budgeting software this year. The company is using a software solution called Solver, which integrates general ledger and budget data, an important requirement for improving the accuracy and efficiency of forecasting.

Moody is also going to be further adjusting some of the human processes and reorganizing some of the workflows this year. Investments in training and on improving skill sets at both the local and corporate level are key to that outcome, he believes.

Underlying these tasks is the importance of adopting standards and best practices across the enterprise, Moody said. “My point of view … is we have the resources and skills to operate more or less in the same mode as NBC or CBS, certainly in terms of closing cycles and quality of product. I’ve brought in that expectation for starters, and people have begun to share that.”

This last point will ring as true for any station group as it does for Bonten. With “doing more for less” an important ingredient in optimizing financial performance these days, stations and station groups literally can’t afford to spend time and money to re-invent the wheel. 

That’s one of the reasons why we created a special section in the January-February edition of MFM’s The Financial Manager  to recognize our 2012 “People to Watch” honorees.

The magazine is widely regarded as the leading business management resource for the industry and I encourage you to visit our website and read the profiles of Scott Moody and his three co-honorees, Valerie Blackburn, market controller for CBS Radio’s Los Angeles stations; Lacey Lewis, SVP, finance for Cox Enterprises; and Patrick Walsh, EVP-COO and CFO of Emmis Communications.

I think you will find their stories not only demonstrate that MFM’s “People To Watch” are worthy of our recognition, they also serve as great role models.  When it comes to the importance of standardization and best practices, following their examples is a great way to advance the quality of management at every media company.

I would also like to take a minute to acknowledge the members of MFM’s Editorial Advisory Board, who selected this year’s honorees: Pam D’Elia, director, credit & collection for Cox Broadcasting Representatives; Michael Denson, VP, network credit & collection for Katz Media Group and a member of the MFM board; Peter Housman, EVP, ZGS Broadcast Group; Chad Richardson, director of financial planning for Cox Enterprises; Robert Rollins, corporate credit and collections manager for Raycom Media Inc.; Dawn Sciarrino, managing member, Sciarrino & Shubert; Meredith Senter, principal member, Lerman Senter; C. Robin Szabo, president, Szabo Associates; and Thomas Twedt, a member of Dow Lohnes.

The profiles of MFM’s “People To Watch” were written by our editor, Janet Stilson, who has served as editor for a number of leading industry magazines. In addition to her role as editor of TFM, Janet currently writes about financial and advertising developments for several trade journals and national magazines, including TVNewsCheck. Steeped in her understanding of the industry, Janet’s profiles of our 2012 “People to Watch” honorees truly highlight what makes them deserving of our recognition and emulation.

By following their lead, we can make 2012 a memorable and successful year for us all.

Mary M. Collins is president & CEO of the Media Financial Management Association and its BCCA subsidiary. Her column appears in TVNewsCheck every other week. You can read her earlier columns here.