In March of 2015, General Motors announced the details of a newly-established capital allocation framework. This framework provided a target for return on invested capital, guidelines for capital structure choices, and policies related to payouts. Senior managers face questions about how these policies should be implemented and what impact they might have.

Scott Wagner has recently joined GoDaddy, a leading provider of cloud-based software and services that helped individuals and small businesses establish a web presence, in the dual role of chief operating officer and chief financial officer. One of his first tasks is to design a set of performance metrics that can be used to run the business. This case gives students the opportunity to develop a framework for thinking about GoDaddy's business and to design performance metrics that measure the health of the business and guide employee behavior.

This note profiles the role of the modern chief financial officer (CFO). It presents insights based on a variety of surveys and descriptions of HBS graduates who hold or have held the CFO role. Although the role varies significantly from one organization to another, CFOs are currently responsible for far more than tracking financial figures. The note provides basic information about the responsibilities CFOs face, the paths that lead to the CFO role, the characteristics of CFOs, the compensation of CFOs, and the kinds of things CFOs do when they leave the CFO role.