Whether you are on the lookout for a CFO job interview for yourself or simply curious what financial consulting can perform in the company, it is essential to know their tasks and responsibilities. Knowing their position in the company’s hierarchy can even provide you with an idea of what they’re liable for and who they report back to.
This guide will cover all of them CFO duties in addition to their place in the hierarchy of the company to present you a greater idea of who they’re and what they do.
Who is the CFO?
The CFO of an organization is someone who is a senior manager who manages all the financial points of the company. They mainly concentrate on financial planning and money flow. In addition they take a look at the company’s strengths and weaknesses on the subject of funds and check out to develop motion plans where the company can improve.
Also they are liable for the accounting department, and employees of the accounting department will report back to the CFO. Also they are liable for ensuring that every one financial statements are accurate and timely.
Inside an organization, the CFO is the highest financial position an individual can hold and is the third highest position in the company. Which means they’re a vital part of the company in most departments, not only finance.
Company hierarchy and CFO
Should you’ve heard of the term ‘C category’, the CFO is part of that point. C-suite members include the chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO) and chief information officer (CIO), in addition to the chief financial officer.
Before someone can turn out to be a CFO, they should have extensive experience in the financial sector. They need to even have experience in leading a team of people. Usually, the CFO has a master’s degree and has studied economics or finance extensively.
They often have experience in many alternative financial fields, including investment banking, statistics, or accounting.
Though the CFO is the foremost leader of the company, he must report back to the CEO, who is the head of everyone and all the things in the company. If the CFO works for a finance company, he could also be the top person, but in corporations which are purely financial, he is the third-highest position in the company, behind the CEO and COO.
The CFO also works with all senior managers, but they would not have to report back to them. Nevertheless, teamwork is still essential, so that they must get together with all senior managers to maintain the company running easily.
The CFO also works closely with other departments, including marketing. They will even work with the team on campaigns to see if the budget is in order.
CFOs vs. Accountants
Keep in mind that CFOs and accountants will not be the same. Accountants only cope with tasks resembling tax filing and bookkeeping. The CFO is liable for the funds of the entire company, including the company’s financial future and financial projections for budgets and other parts of the company.
Turn out to be a CFO
Before you turn out to be a CFO, you could be an experienced manager who can prove that you could have experience in many alternative areas and tasks related to finance. You furthermore mght need a school degree in finance or you could be a chartered financial analyst.
The CFO is one of the company’s top managers, so it often takes years of experience to get to this position. It is a prestigious position and there are sometimes many candidates for the position, all believing they’re qualified to get the job.
CEOs and CFOs
We mentioned earlier that the CFO reports to the CEO. It isn’t the same as having a CEO higher up in an organization. Nevertheless, each positions are involved in high-level decision-making.
On the subject of finance, the CFO generally makes decisions on his own, but when a choice could affect the entire company, he needs to debate all the things with the CEO before taking a large leap.
Who reports to the CFO?
There are lots of employees in the company reporting to the CFO who must report back to him. These include positions resembling:
- financial directors
- Head of Finance
- Vice President of Finance
- Controllers
- Treasury
- Payroll managers
- FP&A managers
- Billing specialists
- Accountants
- Treasury
Principally, everyone on the finance team reports to the CFO as they’re the leader of the finance department.
Finance Director and Vice President for Finance
The vice chairman of finance reports to the chief financial officer, although many individuals mistakenly imagine they’re in the same position. Since the CFO is the top member of the CFO team, everyone in the CFO reports to him, including the CFO.
Nevertheless, in smaller corporations, the CFO could also be more hands-on and will perform more of the tasks that could appear to him. Nevertheless, in larger corporations, the CFO only performs managerial tasks and can host more networking conferences in addition to speaking at events to boost awareness of the company.
The vice chairman of finance still manages many individuals in the finance department, but they lead a smaller team, often consisting only of auditors, accountants, and financial analysts.
Usually, an organization will only have a vice chairman of finance if it also has a vice chairman of marketing, vice chairman of human resources, or other vice chairman positions.
Final thoughts
In the company hierarchy, the CFO is often the third highest position overall, the highest position on the subject of the finance department. They’re liable for all financial points of the company, including making a budget and ensuring the company is doing the best it will probably with the money and resources they’ve.
CFO is an important position and you could have to work hard to earn this prestigious title.