What does a CFO do?

Chief Financial Officer (CFO). It’s a coveted title and motiving career goal if you strive to bring influence, be a key decision maker, and enjoy a wide variety of perks and benefits within an organization.  But even when you know this position is a big deal, and you want to be a part of the C-suite, the one thing you may not know: What does a CFO do? 

Find out more about the CFO job description, day-to-day tasks, salary info, and how to become a CFO. 

What is a CFO? 

A CFO is a senior executive responsible for the financial management, reporting, and growth of a company. The role includes managing the accounting teams within the organization, as well as making predictions based on the market, budgets and spending optimizations. CFOs also tend to exert significant influence or have final say in all big decisions around the company’s finances.¹ 

CFO job description 

As leaders of all things finance, CFOs need to be experienced in specific tasks and roles and strong across multiple skillsets. 

CFO tasks

A CFO job description spans a range of tasks—from people management to reviewing reports to making decisions. When asking what does a CFO do¹ , examples of specific tasks and work will often include the following:

• Ensuring regulatory compliance 
• Creating budgets  
• Managing cash flow 
• Financial planning and analysis 
• Scenario modeling 
• Informing CEO and making important financial decisions 
• Capital budgeting 
• Planning for strategic organizational growth 
• Obtaining debt and equity financing 
• Handling investor relations 
• Creating and implementing overall financial strategy 
• Optimizing financial efficiency 
• Managing teams and effectively communicating 
   

CFO skills 

When considering what does a CFO do, we also need to understand the advanced skillsets needed to fulfill the CFO job description. These abilities span across accounting and finance areas, organization and industry-specific knowledge, and team management. 

To name a few, you’ll need exceptional skills and knowledge in:^{2  3} 

• Accounting and financial expertise 
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) 
• Risk management  
• Budgeting  
• Cash flow management 
• Financial planning 
• Investments  
• Underwriting
• Forecasting 
• Reporting 
• Strategic planning 
• Decision-making 
• Leadership & people management 
• Communication, influence, and persuasion 
• Industry- and market-specific expertise 
   

CFO credentials 

By the time you can fulfill a typical CFO job description, you’ll be experienced and advanced in your career—having likely earned at least one of these professional credentials. 

• Master’s degree in business management (MBA) 
  • An MBA has the title and training to grow in business leadership. Learn more about a CMA vs MBA to learn which is a better fit for you. 
• Certified Management Accountant (CMA) 
  • Becoming a CMA is the fast-track to a CFO position. Learn more about what is managerial accounting, CMA benefits, and is a CMA worth it. 
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) 
  • CPAs most often go into public accounting positions. However, becoming a CPA will also equip you with the accounting background needed to transition into private industry and, ultimately the role of CFO. 
     

CFO salary

It’s no secret: the CFO salary can be a huge draw as you’re planning your career goals. 

Along with the big responsibilities and tasks required in the CFO job description, CFOs earn a big paycheck to match. The average annual CFO salary in the United States is $456,739.⁴

CFOs can also earn much higher salaries, often in the seven-figure range, especially for large corporations. In essence, the better a company’s performance, the more that CFOs earn—without limit. The highest-paid CFO in the world makes about $52M annually!⁵ 

How to become a CFO 

The path to becoming a CFO is not short or easy, but there are many ways to get there. 

The most direct journey typically looks like:

1. Earn a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance
2. Start working on the finance team at an organization
3. Earn your CMA certification
4. Work in senior and team leadership finance positions 
5. Use continuing professional education to specialize your knowledge and skillsets 
6. Step into CFO position 

Here are a few example career paths that start with a degree and end with a CFO job description: 

These examples show potential paths to CFO, but they are by no means the only ways to get there. The key is planning a career path and using continuing professional education (CPE) to provide you with the experience, expertise, and certifications to equip you for the job. 

Set yourself up for CFO success 

Start gaining the knowledge and reputation for a CFO job description by earning your CMA certification. Becker helps you pass the CMA Exam on the first try—guaranteed!—with course content designed around the current exam, unmatched academic support, and study tools that are proven to bring exam-day success.

Learn more about the CMA Exam and how you can pass with Becker in our free CMA Exam Guide ebook. Then, try out our review course in our FREE 14-day CMA Exam Review trial. We can’t wait to help you achieve your career goals! 

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