BUS 1010-503-Sp2021

Cally Simpson
April 20, 2021

Term Project Paper

Chief Financial Officer

Job Description

A Chief Financial Officer, or CFO has the executive responsibility in managing the

financial responsibilities of a company. Their duties include tracking cash flow, financial

planning, and analyzing a firm's financial strengths and weaknesses. The CFO also manages the

finance and accounting departments of a company to ensure correct and efficient data and

reporting. The CFO reports to the Chief Executive Officer, CEO and has significant insight and

input in the investments and structure of a company’s finances.

A rough breakdown of the day-to-day responsibilities of a CFO, according to (A Day in

The Life: CFO Responsibilities and Duties [UPDATED 2021]). Include starting your day with

communicating with your accounting staff and to aid in any issues that have arised or provide

advice. As a CFO you are also a leader to your staff and it’s important to stay present within the

company and with your staff.

With providing presence to staff and clients, other forms of communication begin to build

up, such as emails or voicemails. A good portion of a CFOs day will be setting aside time to

respond to these other branches of communication. After wrapping up emails, it's important to

spend time doing account analysis, drafting budgets, reviewing financial statements, and so on.

Many of these tasks do not need to be done daily, but many types of these tasks will be done

frequently.
 Toward the end of the day, it’s important for the CFO to look back at their day and ensure

their team achieved their goals then catch up with other correspondence that has come to do

during your afternoon. Although this is a very rough outlook to a CFOs day, it’s important to

establish a good work/life balance, to ensure you are present in both.

General Career Path

Branksi, Andrew. Interview. By Cally Simpson. 20 March 2021

While speaking with Andrew Branski, he had a lot of great points on how to seek a CFO

position, but also reminded me that every company looks for different education and experience

for their CFO’s and that it is mostly dependent on what passion in Finance you find the most

intriguing.

Pursue a degree in Business or in Finance and decide which route in Finance you would

like to pursue, things like Corporate Finance, Investments or Analysts and insure you are getting

the required certifications, like a CPA or CFA. During college begin networking and join clubs

that can get you involved with like minded peers. Once you have graduated, seek out positions or

internships in one of the Big 4 Accounting Firms, these companies are able to train you in

high-intensity courses to gain quick experience and can even offer to pay for future schooling,

like an MBA. From there you can decide which company/career you would like to begin gaining

experience in, based on your industry passion.

General Education Experience

On average, those that become CFOs have a Masters in Accounting, Investing, or

Finance, (Becoming a Chief Financial Officer). In addition to the Masters they also carry
certifications or licenses such as a CPA or CFA. Certified Public Accountant, CPA, is a financial

advisor who helps individuals, and businesses reach their financial goals. Certified Financial

Analyst, CFA, are more related to business than individuals, and help in wealth management,

credit analysis trading, and financial planning. Usually, people on this career path choose one

type of these certifications to first pursue, based on their industry goals. CFOs are also

encouraged to complete courses in things like Business Taxes, Applied Statistics, or Auditing.

Average Salary

The average salary for a CFO with 10-15 years of experience, according to (Salary.com),

is $395k. But there are contributing factors to the fluctuation of the salary (lowest average $215k

to highest average 600k) such as location, experience and certifications/education.

Career Outlook

According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in finance will continue to grow by

7%, but the role of a CFO will likely change surrounding the “rise of cybersecurity and the

advancement of technology.” (Investopedia, What's the Average Salary of a Chief Financial

Officer (CFO)? 2020). It’s also estimated that the demand for CFOs will rise as artificial

intelligence and data analytics becomes more regulatory in everyday tasks.

Bio of someone in the profession

Andrew pursued a Bachelor's degree of Accounting and Finance from the University of

Wisconsin. Out of college Andrew was fortunate enough to earn an internship with Deloitte as an

Auditor. This experience led him to the GE Financial Management Program, where Andrew

grew his experience with GE and stayed for 11 years, leaving as the CFO for their HCIT in US
and Canada and is now the CFO of Sunquest Information Systems. (Branksi, Andrew. Interview.

By Cally Simpson. 20 March 2021)

Pros and Cons

Advantages (Noodle)

● High compensation, based on the average base salary.

● High Responsibility, this position is the Gatekeeper of a business and is

responsible for not only making crucial decisions but also managing their

own team.

● Potential for continuous growth, you have the autonomy to pursue your

own growth within or outside of a company.

Disadvantages (Noodle)

● Long work days/weeks, it is not uncommon for CFOs to work long hours,

just as many other executives.

● Failure, and growth go head in head, having the autonomy for growth also

makes you vulnerable to the possibilities for failure.

● High turnover rate, due to needing the ability to grow and adapt quickly

and with changing industries.

Your “fit” with this career

I do believe I am well suited for this career path, working in Finance in my main focus,

and becoming a CFO is a position that I highly seek. However, I do know that as I progress in

my career I can find that working in a management setting isn’t right for me. But I know that I
am well-suited for a job in the Finance field because I have always been articulate, resourceful,

and meticulous with my personal finances and have always found the most interest in that field.

At the beginning of my college career I wanted to work in Business and I wasn’t exactly sure

which direction in Business I wanted to pursue. But somehow I found myself taking Personal

Finance, and Banking classes that I found a genuine interest in, which is why this career path is

my best fit.
 Sources

Grant, M. (2021, March 4). Chief Financial Officers: An Inside Look. Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cfo.asp#:~:text=A%20chief%20financial%20offic

er%20(CFO,weaknesses%20and%20proposing%20corrective%20actions.

Salary.com, S. built by: (n.d.). Salary.com Salary Wizard- Do you know what you're worth?:

Salary-Calculator. Salary.com.

https://www.salary.com/tools/salary-calculator/chief-financial-officer?yrs=12.

Branksi, Andrew. Interview. By Cally Simpson. 20 March 2021

Becoming a Chief Financial Officer. All Accounting Careers. (n.d.).

https://www.allaccountingcareers.com/chief-financial-officer/.

Investopedia. (2020, September 16). What's the Average Salary of a Chief Financial Officer

(CFO)? Investopedia.

https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/010915/whats-average-salary-chief-financial-

officer-cfo.asp.

Noodle. (n.d.).

https://www.noodle.com/articles/are-you-cfo-material-what-it-takes-to-become-a-chief-fi

nancial-officer.

A Day in The Life: CFO Responsibilities and Duties [UPDATED 2021]. (n.d.).

https://big4accountingfirms.org/role-of-a-cfo/.