Credentials, abilities, experience, and a sequential guide to the highest finance executive position.
Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a leader in the field of finance and be a CFO? CFOs are not only number-crunchers, but also are strategic partners, risk managers, and decision-makers who are defining the direction of their firms.
Recent findings from Deloitte indicate that more than 65% of finance professionals consider the CFO role the most powerful in an organization. Yet, very few accountants and finance managers ever reach this level.
It is not only a prestigious job, but a very heavy burden of responsibility that the CFO position presents. CFOs are in a position to lead on every key business decision, whether it concerns company strategy and capital management or investor direction and the avoidance of economic uncertainty.
In the current technology, data analytics, and market dynamics, contemporary CFOs have to integrate conventional financial reputation with leadership, strategic insights, and digital capabilities.
This is the guide that would assist potential leaders in finance in plotting their course to the CFO chair. To begin with, we will unpack the CFO’s actual job and consider the most important roles, issues, and expectations.
Then we will define the educational background, licenses, and skills you need, and provide practical steps to jump-start your career. Lastly, we will give you a roadmap for making strategic career decisions, so that you can position yourself as a competent and progressive finance executive capable of leading the financial future of a company into the reins.
The last thing that you will realize by the end of this guide is what it takes to be a CFO, and how to plan your steps strategically to become one of the most sought-after job positions in the current competitive business world.
What is a Chief Financial Officer (CFO)?
CFO is short for Chief Financial Officer. It is one of the three major C-suite roles that serve as the top brass of an organization. The CFO oversees the organization’s finances and financial decisions (Investopedia). They manage all financial operations in the organization and act as the controller.
A CFO serves four important roles in the business.
- The CFO shapes the business’s future by providing strategic financial advice. Every business decision relies on money, and the CFO is best equipped to provide the needed insights.
- The CFO has a duty to preserve the business’s financial integrity and minimize financial risk.
- The CFO is responsible for everything from regulatory compliance to error control.
- Nothing major happens in the accounting department without the CFO’s approval.
The CFO is charged with running the business’s daily accounting. Budgeting and financial planning are major responsibilities that only the CFO can address (Investopedia). Beyond that, the CFO manages all financial operations, their optimization, and their workings.
The CFO is a driver of change. They provide a financial perspective to every decision. Their job is to maximize the business’s earnings, and they are best equipped to advise on what changes are needed for growth.
The Responsibilities and Duties of a CFO
As the highest level of accounting professional, the CFO is tasked with an organization’s most challenging and important financial operations. Before trying to become a CFO, it is paramount that you understand what you are undertaking.
The life of a CFO is filled with hardship and stress, with 81% reporting more intensive daily routines than other executives (Oracle NetSuite). Every decision they make can make or break the company. Below, we briefly list the major responsibilities you will be tasked with as a CFO.
This is not an exhaustive list; many businesses demand even more from the CFO. The crown comes with a heavy burden, and you must be prepared to bear it.
Financial Planning
As CFO, you must chart the business’s financial future. You need to be an expert data analyst who can leverage financial information to determine the business’s future direction. Financial planning includes everything from resource management to growth investments.
The CFO makes all of these decisions. The CFO also plays a major role in dictating business goals. As the business is connected to the broader economic landscape, the CFO is responsible for whether the business prioritizes stability or growth.
For example, during highly inflationary times, the CFO may prioritize savings and consistency over risky growth investments. Only the CFO can make these calls, and their opinion carries heavy weight in the boardroom.
Risk Management
The CFO is also the business’s financial guardian. When you sit in the CFO chair, you become responsible for every risk the company takes (Oracle NetSuite). Whether it be capital investment or regulatory compliance, it is your job to do the due diligence. You are the one everyone will turn to when the question of risk comes up. Risk management also involves mitigating damage and harm to the business.
As CFO, you will audit the business to ensure the books are clean and transparent. You will also monitor and control all financial activities and eliminate errors or financial blunders before they spiral out of control. You are the wall that stops the business from rolling off a cliff.
Vendor and Supplier Relationship Management
The CFO is the bridge between business-to-business collaboration. In your capacity as CFO, you will be managing negotiations and deals with vendors and suppliers. Every relationship the business has with another entity will be under your purview.
Whether it be talking to the bank for loans or talking down insurance premiums with insurance companies, it’s all the CFO’s job.
Managing the Accounting Department
The CFO is the head of the finance team. After you become a CFO, you are now the boss of many different accountants (Oracle NetSuite). It is up to you to foster an inclusive team culture and manage group politics. You will be the one they come to for problem-solving, and your decisions will reflect on your team.
Trend Analysis and Financial Forecasting
As CFO, you will analyze market trends and compare them to the business’s performance. You must forecast the business’s future financial performance based on historical data and external factors. This is a delicate job, and one wrong prediction can result in a domino effect of bad decisions.
Dealing with Uncle Sam
The US government is no joke. Businesses must file taxes with the IRS promptly and deal with all regulatory requirements. This also falls to the CFO. Once you reach that level, you will be talking about complex tax laws and regulations with incredibly important people.
In large multinational corporations, the CFO often engages with tax and regulatory authorities in many different countries. Juggling these delicate relationships is the most difficult part of being CFO.
What it Takes to Become a CFO?
Education
A relevant bachelor’s degree is the most basic requirement to become a CFO. Typically, employers favor degrees in accounting and economics (Grow CFO). This, however, is not nearly enough to become a CFO. For that, you would need higher education. A Master’s or PhD-level degree speaks volumes on a CFO-aspirant’s resume. Typically, a Master’s in finance or business administration is the most sought-after graduate degree.
Certifications
Education will not get you that far on its own. You need to pair a good college education with industry-relevant certifications to begin your CFO journey. The major certifications that are almost mandatory to become a CFO include:
- Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
- Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
Skills
A CFO is a leadership role (Grow CFO). You need to develop skills geared towards what the job demands. This includes but is not limited to:
- A keen financial acumen
- Logical problem-solving
- Strategizing and planning
- Time management
- People management
- Communication
These skills are not learned in a day. It takes years of trial and error for an accountant to develop the qualities needed to become a CFO. You can give yourself a head start by proactively seeking learning opportunities.
Connect with others in the CFO space and observe how they operate. Ask if you can shadow the CFO at your workplace. Sign up for workshops and start practicing personal discipline. Many of the skills needed are direct results of individual focus and self-discipline.
Experience
Just having certificates, degrees, or even skills is not enough to get you over the finish line. To become a CFO for startups, you must throw yourself into the deep end. Work hard as an accounting professional for good companies. Stay on the move and keep looking for better opportunities (Grow CFO). Try starting your accounting firm and taking on clients. Shift your mindset from that of a bookkeeper to that of an advisor.
Always remember that a CFO is valued for the ideas and concepts they offer. Not for how many bookkeeping entries they can fill in an hour. After working for a few years in the industry and establishing yourself as a solid part of the accounting space, you can start your journey to the summit.
The road will be slow, and your career will not jump from accountant to CFO overnight. Instead, your career progression will likely see you transition from accountant to consultant, then to a Finance VP or Director. Usually, it will take between 5 and 10 years to reach that level. Once you’ve made it, however, nothing stands between you and that CFO position. With education, skills, certifications, and experience, your chances of grabbing that CFO role are quite good.
Connection Building
During your journey to collect experience, building industry connections is also incredibly important (Grow CFO). The best way to find new roles is via connections. You can attract many great employers by making friends in the industry and growing your reputation. Your industry colleagues will also send work your way, and you will be part of a mutually beneficial ecosystem that supports everyone.
The Step-by-Step CFO Career Roadmap:
1.Develop an Excellent Accounting Foundation.
Specialization: Specialized in accounting and finance.
Key Actions:
- Begin as an accountant, junior financial analyst, or auditor.
- Learn accounting core principles, GAAP/IFRSs standards, and reporting.
- Know how to prepare financial statements, balance sheets, and cash flows.
Industry Case Study: Ruth Porat (Alphabet/Google) is just one of many CFOs who began their careers in the accounting or auditing department of a leading firm and later transitioned into strategic finance (ACCA Global).
Pro-Tip: Early accounting or audit experience is essential. Ninety-six percent of CFOs surveyed in 2024 by Robert Half said that they gained their career experience through accounting experience.
2.Moving to Financial Analysis and Planning:
Specialization: Learn to think analytically and strategically.
Key Actions:
- Graduate to a financial analyst, FP&A, or treasury.
- Study budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and scenario modeling.
- Get acquainted with business performance metrics and KPIs.
Industry Case: Sheryl Sandberg, though a marketer, had early experience in financial analysis at McKinsey and Google to understand business metrics and decision-making.
Pro Tip: Begin to appreciate how financial knowledge can be used to make operational decisions- this is the distinction between a future leader and a number cruncher.
3.Experience in Management:
Specialisation: Head teams and control financial procedures (ACCA Global).
Key Actions:
- Become a controller, finance manager, or senior FP&A.
- Know how to manage teams, budgets, and reporting cycles.
- Learn cross-departmental collaboration, which involves cooperating with sales, operations, and marketing.
Industry Case Study: The CFOs of mid-sized technology companies tend to start as controllers or finance directors before becoming CFOs, which gives them experience in process management and leadership development.
Pro Tip: It is essential to have leadership experience. With effective team management, you have shown that you can scale processes and people, a requirement for CFO positions.
4.Strategic Areas Specialization:
Specialisation: Master high-impact areas of finance.
Key Actions:
- Have capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, investor relations, risk management or international finance experience.
- Earns such certifications as CFA, CPA, CMA, or CA.
- Operate on high-profile projects, e.g., fundraising, IPO,s or big investments.
Industry Case Study: The CFOs who came before Satya Nadella at Microsoft have a long history of experience in strategic finance and are usually the head of major investments or acquisitions.
Pro Tip: The difference between a CFO candidate and other senior finance managers is strategic experience; these are the jobs where you find out how finance influences business strategy.
5.Broader Business Exposure Seeking:
Specialisation: Learn the non-financial aspects of the business.
Key Actions:
- Rotate in operations, sales, or strategy functions.
- Get to know how finance interacts with all aspects of the business.
- Establish good stakeholder relations with the executive teams and boards.
The Industry Case: CFOs such as Amy Hood of Microsoft do possess cross-functional experience, which allows them to shape decisions in the entire organization rather than only in the finance department.
Pro Tip: A CFO should perform as a business partner, not just a finance leader. Working in various departments creates credibility and strategic awareness.
6.Accept a Fractional or Interim CFO:
Specialisation: Experience at the executive level without making a long-term commitment as CFO.
Key Actions:
- Provide CFO services on an interim or fractional basis to start-ups or mid-sized companies.
- Board reporting, shareholder management, and planning.
- Establish a history of provision of financial intelligence that influences growth.
Industry Case Study: Several tech start-up CFOs start their careers as fractional or interim CFOs and use this experience to become full-time executive CFOs.
Pro Tip: Fractional CFOs are perfect for high-stakes decision-making in a low-risk setting.
7.Obtaining a Full-Time CFO:
Specialisation: Become a complete financial leader of an organization (ACCA Global).
Key Actions:
- Prepare to be a CFO with startups, SMEs, or large companies.
- Financial strategy leadership, fundraising, risk management, and corporate governance.
- Be a confidant to the CEO and the board, shaping the company’s direction.
Industry Case Study: The CFOs of recent and high-growth firms, such as Zoom and Shopify, frequently advance from FP&A, strategic finance, and fractional CFO roles before assuming full CFO duties.
Pro Tip: To secure your first full-time CFO position, it is essential to demonstrate quantifiable results in prior roles, whether through cost savings, revenue growth, or fundraising.
8.Life-long Education and Networking:
Specialisation: Be on the leading edge of finance trends, regulations, and technologies (ACCA Global).
Key Actions:
- A new generation of AI-based finance products, regulatory shifts, and market dynamics.
- Develop a support network of colleagues, counselors, and industry networks.
- Participate in CFO summits, workshops, and industrial conferences.
Industry Case Study: Ruth Porat (Alphabet) and Amy Hood (Microsoft) are two of the most prominent CFOs who are both active in industry networks and leaders in the newest digital finance technologies.
Pro Tip: The CFO of today must integrate technical skills, leadership, and a vision for the company’s future. This is because you will always be competitive and influential through continuous learning.
Conclusion
The road to becoming a CFO is paved with hardship. Nevertheless, aspiring CFOs should stick to their goals and give it their all. We hope we played our part in supporting the CFOs of tomorrow with this detailed guide to the CFO role. Fortunately, thanks to the internet, many new opportunities have opened up for aspiring CFOs. Outsourced CFO services are a booming industry, with many hiring opportunities to capitalize on.
Fractional CFOs are also growing in popularity, especially among small businesses. Right now is the ideal time to start climbing the CFO ladder. With hard work and some luck, you will reach that coveted CFO seat in no time!
