Why CFO candidates aren't lining up outside Google's offices

When Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) announced in August that CFO George Reyes would be retiring from the company, one would have thought potential CFO candidates would have been sending in resumes to Google's headhunters within minutes. After all, Google enjoys about as much brand cachet as Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) in the tech world, which is no small feat. Also, the company is leading the internet search market by a long shot and is making Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) quake in its boots for the first time in a long time. Add that with one of the most enviable corporate cultures in the world and you'd think anyone in tech would want to work there.

So, why doesn't the search leader have any replacement for the CFO? No CFO successors have been identified and Reyes is tilling on until one is found. With its stock hovering around the $700 recently, do potential CFO candidates not see the stock option form of compensation as very valuable or something? Is is because Google's CFO most decidedly plays second fiddle to the triumvirate of founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin along with CEO Eric Schmidt? Both of the above are probably true along with some other reasons. Reyes sure does not come off as a right-hand man to Schmidt, which is typically the very visible role of any Fortune 500 CFO. Not at Google, though.

Is Google just taking a little longer than normal to interview CFO candidates and make the best decision? Possibly. A major CFO decision like the one Google faces doesn't take a month or two. With the company's burgeoning markets in several internet areas (as well as TV, radio and other markets), the incoming CFO has quite a task to perform, as Reyes knows. Add in Google's very non-traditional culture where risk-taking is almost preferred over a scripted financial decision-making process, and most bean counter lifers probably see the opportunity as turn-off. Anyone know a CPA who isn't anal about number tracking and decisions based on spreadsheets? There you have it. It may work for computer programmers, but not for accountants.