How do you become vice president of a company?

To become a vice president of a company, you need to gain the necessary education, experience, and leadership skills. This is a senior-level position and typically takes significant work experience and knowledge to achieve.

How long does it take to become a vice president of finance?

It typically takes at least ten years of work experience to become a vice president of finance. To become a vice president of a company, a person needs to gain the necessary education, experience, and leadership skills. This is a senior-level position and typically takes significant work experience and knowledge to achieve.

How much does a financial vice president make?

A financial vice president makes around $150,000 a year, on average. As an experienced and critical member of the executive team, a VP of Finance can expect to make between $90,000 and $200,000 per year. In addition, the compensation package will often include bonuses or profit-sharing as a perk of the executive position.

What is the difference between a CFO and a VP of Finance?

The difference between a CFO and a VP of finance is that VPs often have a hands-on role in managing a company's finances, while CFOs are more involved in the strategic financial future of a firm. These roles are fairly similar but have different day-to-day tasks and levels of strategic involvement.

What is a finance vice president and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted Expert

Brian Meehan

A finance vice president is a senior executive responsible for overseeing all financial activities within an organization. They work closely with other top-level executives to develop financial strategies and ensure the financial health of the company. The role involves managing financial planning and analysis, budgeting, accounting, tax, treasury, and risk management. They need to have strong leadership skills, business acumen, and the ability to communicate complex financial concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

What general advice would you give to a Finance Vice President?

Brian Meehan

Assistant Professor of Economics, Campbell School of Business, Berry College

My advice would be to apply broadly for jobs and take advantage of the robust set of career opportunities a degree in economics provides. It also gives you a better gauge of the opportunity cost (next best alternative) of accepting a job. Try to determine what that best alternative is. Additional training can also be a good option. Those individuals interested in graduate schools, professional schools, law schools, MBAs, etc. should look into these opportunities. Improving your human capital stock (via training and education), while weathering a recession, and then capitalizing on a healthier job market at the end of this training, is a pretty good route (assuming the recession is short).

ScoreFinance Vice PresidentUS Average

Salary

8.8

Avg. Salary $147,603

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.8

Growth Rate 17%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.34%

Asian 10.14%

Black or African American 7.56%

Hispanic or Latino 14.48%

Unknown 4.10%

White 63.38%

Gender

female 26.28%

male 73.72%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

7.8

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

9.2

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.6

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a Finance Vice President?

Pros

High salary and compensation package
Opportunities for career advancement and growth
Chance to work with and lead a team of professionals
Exposure to strategic decision-making processes
Opportunity to contribute to the success of the organization

Cons

Long working hours and high levels of stress
High level of responsibility and accountability
Constant pressure to meet financial targets
Potential for conflicts with other departments within the company
Risk of making costly mistakes or errors in judgment

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Key steps to become a finance vice president

Explore finance vice president education requirements

Most common finance vice president degrees

Bachelor's

75.0 %

Master's

19.8 %

Associate

2.8 %

Start to develop specific finance vice president skills

Skills	Percentages
CPA	5.74%
Financial Analysis	5.06%
Oversight	4.87%
Risk Management	4.51%
Due Diligence	3.03%

Research finance vice president duties and responsibilities

Manage day-to-day operation of cash function, as part of earlier treasury department responsibilities, originally heading general accounting responsibilities.
Key functions manage included cash management, treasury operations, corporate finance, financial/commodity hedging, credit and international trade finance.
Lead implementation of new worldwide consolidation system, Hyperion, significantly reducing closing time and improving controls over the consolidation process.
Implement new policy and procedures for PFS department.

Get finance vice president experience

Generally, it takes 6-8 years to become a finance vice president. The most common roles before becoming a finance vice president include controller, chief finance officer team lead and finance director.

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