How to Become a Chief Financial Officer (CFO)?

Working as a Chief Financial Officer or CFO is the dream of many people who start a career in the financial profession. The CFO has a big responsibility as the person who ensures and maintains the positive financial prospects of the company. No single company operates without a CFO, even though it has a different form and name but every company must have a Corporate Treasurer.

The importance of this position correlates with the high income/salary of a CFO. CFO is not an easy position, but it has a big responsibility to ensure the survival of the company, control expenses and ensure cash flow goes well. To achieve this position requires hard work and years of experience as well as high loyalty to the company.

What is Chief Financial Officer, CFO?

The position of the CFO is as the holder of the highest financial authority of the company so that it has a very important position. CFOs must be able to think strategically and be able to carry out financial strategies perfectly. In addition, it must also have tactical awareness and be sensitive to market changes. Another important thing that must be owned is being able to adapt to various financial disturbances, income uncertainty, knowing when to invest in something new to increase profitability.

Because Chief Financial Officers hold positions of great influence, they are often on the board of directors (BOD) of a company.

What are the main responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer?

CFO is port or call The highest level for all financial decision making in an organization or company and is expected to be able to assume leadership responsibilities in the financial sector. They are responsible for managing the departments involved in purchasing, pricing, investing, taxes, debt management, and accounts payable.

As the Chief Financial Officer, you will be responsible for overseeing the transactions made by this department, recording them in books or database systems and reporting them to upper management or presenting records to external auditors.

The CFO is also responsible for ensuring financial compliance management or SOPs in finance and accounting are met by the organization or company and all structures under it. To achieve this, a CFO needs to research and audit all departments to ensure they are following laws, government regulations at both national and local level (perda).

The day-to-day duties of a CFO include:

• Whole company financial management
• Company-wide transaction recording
• Expenditure and forecast reporting
• Ensure financial compliance management
• Conduct internal audit

The main responsibilities of a CFO can focus on the following three main financial areas:

Managerial Finance

• Understand and use essential financial frameworks and software in a modern business environment
• Create accurate forecasts and budgets – to optimize business operations and profitability
• Make informed decisions with financial insight and analytical techniques

Financial company strategy

• Understand how business strategy will affect the future of companies and organizations
• Have the ability to make better strategic business decisions by leveraging a strategic framework

Financial innovation

• Have the expertise to design, strategize, and develop appropriate technological innovations
• Gain knowledge about the future of money, markets and transactions, and possible future trends in fintech, regtech, and proptech as well as blockchain

What is the career path for Chief Financial Officer?

The Chief Financial Officer is highly demanded to not only serve as CFO, but also to fill positions on the company's board of directors. According to a study of 800 CFOs by Ernst & Young, 79% of CFOs agree their financial expertise and experience has increased their role in decision-making at the board level.

You can take many different paths to becoming a CFO. The roles associated with the Chief Financial Officer include financial management, people/HR management, and having the right balance of technical expertise, theoretical knowledge and leadership.

Managers and directors in the following sectors/departments are potential candidates to fill the CFO position. Directly or indirectly, the following positions are related to a career as CFO.

• Finance Manager
• Operational manager
• General manager
• business manager
• director of Operations
• Finance Director
• Administration Director

What is the potential salary for a Chief Financial Officer?

As a CFO, your salary will depend heavily on the income earned by the company you work for, and therefore will be directly related to the size and success of the company you work for.

For example, the highest-paid CFO in 2015 was David Wehner of Facebook, taking home $16,8 million for the year. CFO at startup Unicorn Indonesia also has fantastic numbers. In several major Indonesian Marketplaces, the salary of a CFO can be above 100 million.

Chief Financial Officers are executive members of their respective companies, and their salaries are among the highest in the company, and will increase as the business and company grows. Some CFOs can also play a larger role in both the official and ad hoc structures.

Capabilities that allow CFOs to earn more money include:

• Strategic planning
• Financial Modeling
• Risk management
• Financial Compliance Management

What are the education and training requirements for Chief Financial Officers?
Because CFOs are present in many different industries and types of organizations, educational requirements vary widely. The most common level of education required to become a CFO is a bachelor's degree, and of course the main thing is to have a good track record and a lot of experience.

A popular qualification for CFOs is a master's degree in business administration, with 54% of Fortune 100 CFOs holding an MBA. Skills development, taking courses and certifications in finance, accounting, taxation as well as other certifications and training in finance and business management are surefire ways to prepare for the role.

Bachelor's degree: Earning a bachelor's degree in a finance-related field will give you the foundational knowledge needed to begin your journey to become a Chief Financial Officer. Popular finance bachelor's degrees are Finance and Accounting.

a: Due to the leadership and management responsibilities that fall within the CFO role, you will need to take an MBA course/education, this is one surefire way to enhance your skills and prepare yourself for the role. Get ready to study for an MBA and use your newly acquired technical skills to make better business decisions.

Courses and certifications: Chief Financial Officers are required to wear many hats in their organization, which means they need to know a little bit about a lot of things. Consistent skill development is required to keep up with the fast-paced world of business.

The path to CFO can also be by studying various trainings and certifications in the following fields: Compliance Management, Operations Management, Import and Export Management, Business Risk Management, Strategic Business Management, Taxation etc.

Those are some outlines and descriptions of the profession of a Chief Financial Officer in a company, are you interested?