Q: Why would company executives want their general counsel to report to the CFO?

A: The GC reporting structure is one of the most talked about topics among in-house lawyers today. And there is no shortage of opinions on the matter. Much of the talk involves the appropriateness of the GC-CFO reporting structure as opposed to the different reasons company executives may choose this reporting structure in the first place. And while the pendulum has swung back further toward the GC-CEO report, there are company executives who still desire their CFOs to manage their legal leaders.

The default opinion for many lawyers when they encounter a scenario where the GC reports to the CFO is that the executives don't value the legal function. While this is undoubtedly true in some cases, it is not true in all of them. There are other reasons that drive the decision including: