I have the privilege of assembling our weekly CFO Moves column, so the finding of a new survey that the vast majority of finance chiefs haven't identified their successor doesn't really surprise me. I've seen a lot of press releases stating, "The company is considering both internal and external candidates to fill the position."

Still, the percentage of companies with no CFO succession plan is pretty staggering. The aforementioned poll of 1,400 CFOs by Robert Half Management Resources found that 83 percent have not identified a successor for their position.