4 ms·

If someone doesn't have time to make sure the company has a legally compliant options policy, they don't have time to be the CEO.

by bfe 13y ago

jsonne 13y ago
I pretty adamantly disagree. A CEO is a specialized role just like any other. I wouldn't expect a developer to know the ins and outs of financial compliance, and the same holds for a CEO and specific compliance rules.
- bfe 13y ago
  Elon Musk said accounting rules are the easy part of being a tech CEO. [1] Anyone smart enough to be a technical CEO is smart enough to get on top of the non-technological core functions of a company; and having the CEO on top of them will be better for the company. 1. From memory; it was on video and I can't find a text reference now; in reference to SpaceX already using strict enough accounting controls to be Sarbanes-Oxley compliant even though it's a private company, IIRC.
  - auctiontheory 13y ago
    It's not a question of "being smart enough." It's a question of focus and "having enough time." The CEO's job is to lead and delegate and manage, and to trust that the CFO and GC are on top of the details. Also, while Tesla and SpaceX are great, I'm not sure I'd unquestioningly accept every word Elon Musk says as absolute fact.
- ZachPruckowski 13y ago
  Fundamentally you as CEO are quite literally signing your name to a heck of a lot of policies and financial statements. You don't need to know the exact details of a situation to want to get a second opinion before signing your name on something official and legal that you're mailing into DC.
  - jsonne 13y ago
    Which is why you delegate to people you trust like the article spoke about.
- rmrfrmrf 13y ago
  Yikes.
EpicEng 13y ago
Except they can't, which is why other people are hired to fulfill those roles. I can extend your argument and say that the CEO should be involved in every detail of the company because, after all, "if the CEO doesn't have time to make sure the company [is doing X properly], hey don't have time to be the CEO."
- ZachPruckowski 13y ago
  The CEO in the linked piece didn't need to get down into the weeds of the accounting laws, he just needs to know to get a second (outside/unbiased) opinion on anything that smells even faintly and remotely fishy that he's signing off on, and he needs to keep a general eye on principal/agent problems or conflicts of interest in the people he manages.
  - derekp7 13y ago
    And he needs to know that the outside opinion is actually the same opinion that would be shared by a potential prosecutor / judge / jury. And he needs to have enough intuition to know that something smells fishy. And that it is a bad fishy smell, not a good fishy smell.
    - einhverfr 13y ago
      A lot of this comes down to two things: 1. Having a good grounding in accounting basics, and 2. Having enough accounting knowledge beyond the basics to have a discussion with accountants and lawyers regarding best accounting practices.

If someone doesn't have time to make sure the company has a legally compliant options policy, they don't have time to be the CEO.

by bfe 13y ago

If someone doesn't have time to make sure the company has a legally compliant options policy, they don't have time to be the CEO.

jsonne 13y ago

I pretty adamantly disagree. A CEO is a specialized role just like any other. I wouldn't expect a developer to know the ins and outs of financial compliance, and the same holds for a CEO and specific compliance rules.

bfe 13y ago
Elon Musk said accounting rules are the easy part of being a tech CEO. [1] Anyone smart enough to be a technical CEO is smart enough to get on top of the non-technological core functions of a company; and having the CEO on top of them will be better for the company. 1. From memory; it was on video and I can't find a text reference now; in reference to SpaceX already using strict enough accounting controls to be Sarbanes-Oxley compliant even though it's a private company, IIRC.
- auctiontheory 13y ago
  It's not a question of "being smart enough." It's a question of focus and "having enough time." The CEO's job is to lead and delegate and manage, and to trust that the CFO and GC are on top of the details. Also, while Tesla and SpaceX are great, I'm not sure I'd unquestioningly accept every word Elon Musk says as absolute fact.
ZachPruckowski 13y ago
Fundamentally you as CEO are quite literally signing your name to a heck of a lot of policies and financial statements. You don't need to know the exact details of a situation to want to get a second opinion before signing your name on something official and legal that you're mailing into DC.
- jsonne 13y ago
  Which is why you delegate to people you trust like the article spoke about.
rmrfrmrf 13y ago
Yikes.

EpicEng 13y ago

Except they can't, which is why other people are hired to fulfill those roles. I can extend your argument and say that the CEO should be involved in every detail of the company because, after all, "if the CEO doesn't have time to make sure the company [is doing X properly], hey don't have time to be the CEO."

ZachPruckowski 13y ago
The CEO in the linked piece didn't need to get down into the weeds of the accounting laws, he just needs to know to get a second (outside/unbiased) opinion on anything that smells even faintly and remotely fishy that he's signing off on, and he needs to keep a general eye on principal/agent problems or conflicts of interest in the people he manages.
- derekp7 13y ago
  And he needs to know that the outside opinion is actually the same opinion that would be shared by a potential prosecutor / judge / jury. And he needs to have enough intuition to know that something smells fishy. And that it is a bad fishy smell, not a good fishy smell.
  - einhverfr 13y ago
    A lot of this comes down to two things: 1. Having a good grounding in accounting basics, and 2. Having enough accounting knowledge beyond the basics to have a discussion with accountants and lawyers regarding best accounting practices.