CFO Job Description Sample & Template 

CFO reviewing financial report with accountant.

CFOs are integral to your company’s financial growth.

Table of contents

  1. Future Job Prospects for CFOs
  2. CFO Salary and Benefits
  3. Education and Training Requirements
  4. CFO Job Description Sample – Free Download

1. Future Job Prospects for CFOs

2. CFO Salary and Benefits

  • Payscale states the current median is $129,000 annually in the United States.
  • They are typically given bonuses that vary depending upon the overall financial performance of an organization.
  • These are full-time roles with benefits.

3. Education and Training Requirements

  • BA in Accounting or Finance.
  • MBA or other advanced degrees.
  • CPA designation.
Tip
CFOs ensure top financial performance your company. Look for highly successful candidates with strong experience in managing accounting departments and proven acumen in handling large sets of financial data.

4. CFO Job Description Sample

Download This Job Description Template

We are seeking a Chief Financial Officer to provide fiscal leadership for our company. The CFO role has oversight over the department of finance, including analysts, accounting, and taxes. You will be ultimately responsible for the accurate reporting of profit and loss information that will inform corporate business decisions. In this role, you will report directly to the CEO.

You will oversee the workflow of various financial departments including accounts payable/receivable, collections, and credit management. You will develop the internal controls and external reporting that will guide the organization’s fiscal health. You will prepare and present financial statements and projections, business activity reporting, annual budgets or other reporting as required by internal or external stakeholders or government regulatory agencies.

Your role will require excellent business savvy leadership, planning expertise, and an overall conservative approach toward budget projections. You will ensure compliance with all internal and external financial and administrative policies and procedures. You must have strong knowledge of G.A.A.P. accounting principles, strong knowledge of internal accounting controls, and demonstrated leadership skills. An MBA and CPA certification are required.

In this position, you will leverage existing financial data to project trends and suggest a course of action that will keep our organization moving forward. You must have a demonstrated track record of utilizing salary and benefit models, competitor research, pricing and sales data to calculate an implementation plan that will yield substantive ROI for the organization long-term.

Responsibilities

  • Establish company financial objectives, policies and procedures, and best practices to ensure healthy financial performance.
  • Responsible for the overall financial performance of an organization.
  • Prepare accurate financial reports in a timely manner and report findings to upper management.
  • Deliver excellent treasurer duties and capital accountability including decision-making related to investing existing corporate profits.
  • Ensure a healthy capital structure by balancing risk and liquidity.
  • Deliver expert economic forecasting and financial modeling.
  • Perform financial research and have a complete understanding of tax laws.
  • Understand company’s business model for generating revenue and translate customer value into actionable metrics.
  • Maintain company budget via comparing actual performance against forecasted amounts.

Required Skills

Educational

  • MBA or other advanced degrees.
  • CPA designation.

Technical

  • Demonstrated track record of efficient fiscal performance in business.
  • Budget and forecasting.
  • Provide high-level decision support for CEO and Board of Trustees.
  • Savvy economic advisor, with strong ability to build realistic financial models.
  • Able to provide sound financial advice based on actionable analytics, business intelligence, and other data.
  • Able to read and understand P&L or other financial reporting, spreadsheets, or other proprietary or business software such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) tools.
  • Understanding of the overall market with the ability to handle fluctuations and formulate a response plan to improve the financial performance of an organization.
  • Public speaking, phone, and computer skills are required.
  • Understanding of tax and financial reporting rules.
  • Tenacious and effective financial leadership under considerable pressure to perform.

Communication/Organizational

  • Excellent communicator able to understand and share financial performance information with a variety of stakeholders within or without an organization.
  • Able to shoulder the responsibility for the overall financial success or failure of an organization.
  • Able to spot fiscal trends and create actionable plans to divert losses or sustain growth.
  • Strategic planner and thought leader.
  • Ability to pinpoint internal workflow changes to streamline an organization.
  • Able to suggest a course of action to respond to market trends.
  • Strong leadership skills with the ability to handle the stress of market downturns, a changing regulatory climate, or other challenges to the organization’s financial health.

Benefits

  • Full-time with benefits.

How to Apply

  • Apply by forwarding your resume along with a cover letter.