Monday, September 24, 2012

Goldman Sachs: Analysts Aren’t Sweating CFO Switch

Goldman Sachs (GS) CFO David Viniar has been in his position for 12 years, so his decision to retire isn’t exactly a shock. Nonetheless, a change in the executive suites at the still-recovering firm was bound to raise eyebrows.

Viniar’s replacement,� Harvey Schwartz, has less experience in accounting, but analysts don’t appear too concerned. Schwartz has been the co-head of the Securities Division.

“The new CFO has experience in a few areas that can help as CFO, including risk, management, and regulatory committees and functions, though one issue is the CFO’s greater background in sales versus risk oversight,” wrote CLSA analyst Mike Mayo.

Sandler O’Neill analyst Jeffrey Harte likewise thinks Goldman has a strong enough team behind Schwartz to account for any inexperience.

“What he may lack in treasury management and accounting experience should be more than made up for by the depth and experience of the team supporting him,” Harte wrote. “Importantly, on last night�s conference call management stated that no other financial management changes are expected as a result of the transition.”

Goldman shares were recently down 0.4%.

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