Q: Is being a chief financial officer a good job?

Yes, being a chief financial officer is a good job. CFOs seem to think so, anyway. A 2021 PayScale survey reported CFOs rated their job satisfaction, on average, 4.26 out of 5 stars. The role of a chief financial officer can be stressful, with increasing workloads, ethical responsibilities, and pressure to produce results. A 2021 Deloitte survey of CFOs found that more than half reported greater demands from leadership post-pandemic.

Question 1

How long does it take to become a Chief Finance Officer?

Accepted Answer

It takes 13 years of professional experience to become a chief finance officer. That is the time it takes to learn specific chief finance officer skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 16 to 18 years years to become a chief finance officer.

Question 2

How many years does it take to become a chief financial officer?

Accepted Answer

It typically takes 10-15 years to become a chief financial officer (CFO). While a bachelor's degree and financial and management experience are required, it takes years to earn the skills necessary to secure and succeed in the position of CFO.

Question 3

Is CEO higher than CFO?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the chief executive officer (CEO) is higher than the chief financial officer (CFO). While the CEO is responsible for overseeing and managing all the organization's operations -- including its financial operations -- the CFO oversees and manages only its financial operations.

Question 4

Is a CFO an officer of a company?

Accepted Answer

Yes, a chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization. Officers are responsible for the management of an organization and generally consist of a: chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO), and chief financial officer (CFO).

Question 5

Is being a chief financial officer a good job?

Accepted Answer

Yes, being a chief financial officer is a good job. CFOs seem to think so, anyway. A 2021 PayScale survey reported CFOs rated their job satisfaction, on average, 4.26 out of 5 stars.

The role of a chief financial officer can be stressful, with increasing workloads, ethical responsibilities, and pressure to produce results. A 2021 Deloitte survey of CFOs found that more than half reported greater demands from leadership post-pandemic.

Question 6

What is the career path for a CFO?

Accepted Answer

The career path for a chief financial advisor (CFO) includes jobs as an accountant, finance manager, and chief financial officer. Before beginning work, chief financial advisors generally complete at least a bachelor's degree in finance or a related field. Additional education is required as they move up their career path.

Question 7

What qualifications do you need to be a chief financial officer?

Accepted Answer

A bachelor's degree and extensive financial and management experience are required to be a chief financial officer (CFO), although many CFOs also earned their master's degrees.

The first requirement to be a chief financial officer is a bachelor's degree. Most CFOs earn their degrees in business or accounting, but a degree in another field will not necessarily disqualify you from a career as a CFO if paired with applicable experience.

Question 8

What skills should a CFO have?

Accepted Answer

Chief financial officers (CFOs) should have extensive financial knowledge in addition to strengths in technology and leadership and various other soft skills.

A chief financial officer is the highest-ranking financial position in an organization. Accordingly, CFOs should have extensive knowledge and experience in financial management and accounting, with an emphasis on statistical modeling and an ability to relay important financial information in a digestible way.

Question 9

Chief Investment Officer vs. Chief Financial Officer

Accepted Answer

A chief investment officer is an executive at a company who is in charge of investments, while a chief financial officer is an executive at a company who is in charge of finances.

A chief investment officer, or CIO, is a high-level executive who develops and communicates investment strategy, manages and develops the investment team, and supervises the investment process. They also help the investment process, ensure company policies are followed, and deal with asset allocation, selecting external managers, and risk management.

Question 10

What is a good starting salary for a Chief Finance Officer?

Accepted Answer

A good starting salary for a chief finance officer is $84,000 in the United States. That puts you in the 10th percentile of annual income for a chief finance officer in the U.S., which is about what you would expect if you were new to the field. The average salary for chief finance officers is $144,285, but that normally requires some level of experience to achieve. Furthermore, a good starting salary for a chief finance officer can vary by state.

Question 11

How much money does a CFO make?

Accepted Answer

A chief financial officer (CFO) makes an average annual salary in the low to mid-six figures, with further compensation in the form of stock options.

Reported average annual chief financial officer salaries vary greatly, depending on the source. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the 2020 average annual chief executive salary -- including all C-suite level employees -- at $197,840, with the bottom ten percent earning just over $60,000.

Question 12

Who gets paid more: CEO or CFO?

Accepted Answer

Chief executive officers (CEOs) typically get paid more in base pay than chief financial officers (CFOs), with CFO compensation largely based on variable pay. CEO and CFO salaries vary greatly, depending on organization location, size, and industry.

Question 13

Can a chief finance officer make 100k?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can make $100,000 per year as a chief finance officer. The chances of earning over $100k for a chief finance officer are actually pretty good because the highest-paid chief finance officer positions typically pay at least $245,000 per year. The average annual salary is $144,285 for chief finance officer jobs. For example, chief finance officers in Washington whose salaries are in the 90th percentile earn an average salary of $264,000.

Question 14

What is the job of a chief financial officer?

Accepted Answer

A chief financial officer (CFO) is a member of the executive-level C-suite, a strategic advisor to the chief executive officer (CEO), and the highest-ranking financial position in an organization.

Question 15

Who can be a chief financial officer?

Accepted Answer

Anyone with a bachelor's degree and relevant financial and management experience and expertise can be a chief financial officer (CFO). Chief financial officers (CFOs) generally have a long history and proven record of success within their organization or industry.

Question 16

What are the qualifications to be a CFO?

Accepted Answer

The qualifications for a CFO are generally a bachelor's degree in finance or a related field and 8 to 10 years of experience in a senior role. These qualifications will vary based on the company, industry, and location.

Question 17

What is a factoring company?

Accepted Answer

A factoring company is an organization that purchases a business' unpaid invoices in return for a factoring charge. The factoring charge, or fee, is then deducted once the full payment has been collected from the customer.

Factoring companies allow businesses to release funds by purchasing their invoices at a discounted rate. The majority of factoring companies operate under recourse arrangements, meaning that the customer is still responsible for any unrecoverable invoices.

Invoice factoring is when a company sells its invoice to a third-party company. It's a form of invoice finance and can give a business a good opportunity to improve its cash flow area.

The invoice factoring provider provides the credit control service to recover payment of an unpaid invoice. Invoice factoring companies allow companies to release cash from their unpaid invoices more quickly. The alternative is having to wait between 30 to 90 days, and sometimes up to 120 days for customers to pay a company.

Factoring companies provide credit control, enabling organizations to focus on other areas of their business instead of constantly following up on late payments.

Question 18

What percentage of Chief Finance Officers are female?

Accepted Answer

28.3% of chief finance officers are female in the United States. This is 2.5 percentage points higher than last year. Additionally, the percentage of female chief finance officers has increased by 5.7 percentage points since 2010. That means there are a total of 35,937 female chief finance officers in the U.S. and 91,050 male chief finance officers in the United States. Note that Zippia's estimate accounts only for the 126,987 people with the specific job title of chief finance officer and doesn't include grouping similar job titles, or people with potentially similar credentialing.

Question 19

How do you describe a CFO position on a resume?

Accepted Answer

You describe a CFO position on a resume differently than you would for lower-level positions. Because of the responsibilities and level of authority that come with this position, there is certain information that should be included as well as excluded when describing a CFO position on a resume.

Question 20

What are the job duties of a chief financial officer (CFO)?

Accepted Answer

The job duties of a chief financial officer (CFO) include tracking cash flow and financial planning. Additionally, their duties involve analyzing the company's financial strengths and weaknesses and proposing corrective actions.

Question 21

CEO vs. CFO

Accepted Answer

A CEO, or Chief Executive Officer, is the first in command at a company or corporation, while a CFO, or Chief Financial Officer, is an executive at a company or corporation that is in charge of finances.

Question 22

What does a CFO do on a daily basis?

Accepted Answer

CFOs analyze and prepare financial documents, meet with other people in management, and oversee investment activity on a daily basis.

Analyze and prepare financial documents. A huge part of the daily tasks of a CFO is taking meetings with other people in management positions. This could include meetings with other officers, like the CEO. It also includes financial managers. This helps to ensure the company is running efficiently with everyone on the same page.

Question 23

What is a conglomerate company?

Accepted Answer

A conglomerate company is a corporation that consists of several different independent business entities combined into one massive entity. In a conglomerate, one large company owns a controlling stake in various different smaller companies that conduct business independently from each other.

Frequently asked questions about chief finance officers

Questions about becoming a chief finance officer