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CFO Job Description

Stephen Rampur
The main objective of a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is to manage the financial budget of the company appropriately. Read on to know more about this profile's role.
All types of companies have management executives and top officers. And the position of a chief financial officer is one of the most prominent. Their job consists of all tasks that are related to handling the finances of the company.
Those working in this top management position are proficient in financial planning, budgeting, and allocating monetary resources appropriately. Their services are usually required in banks, financial institutions, companies, and other large business entities.

Duties and Responsibilities

All tasks undertaken by the CFO are supposed to be reported directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) of the company.
As almost every department is dependent on finances, he participates in all types of management activities. He has to attend meetings with the top management, and suggest and develop growth plans for the organization. This primarily involves increasing the profit levels and reducing costs.
In order to execute fiscal matters, he has to work with and assist the finance manager. In a small business, the tasks could be more practical due to less members in the team.
In a nonprofit organization, his primary responsibility is to keep a detailed record of the funds, which are usually borrowed and their use needs to be reported. He has to handle all formalities regarding official reporting and taxation to appropriate government authorities.
He has to deal in documents and records related to income and expenditure, salary and payroll, cash flow, budgets, cost control, and bookkeeping. He does not create the documents himself though, but executes the approval procedures.
In the banking sector, the broad duties may include developing and incorporating significant procedures with respect to finances, billing, auditing, accounting, reporting, and similar others.
He is the one who makes sure the accounting systems are suitable for auditing standards. He may even work with the administration department to provide the best services in a prescribed budget.
Keeping the company's overall targets in mind, he develops and implements departmental goals. Most importantly, he oversees tax formalities with the appropriate authorities. While starting a business, it is the CFO who looks into registrations and obtaining the license.

Salary Range

Being from the top management of the company, the average salary is recorded to be somewhere around USD 129,000 per year. The state of New York is reported to have the highest pay, ranging from USD 97,990 to USD 354,000 annually. Whereas the pay scale in Ohio is observed to be the lowest, between USD 71,100 and USD 264,130 per year.
The salary also varies as per the industry of employment. In financial and manufacturing and distribution services, the median salary is around USD 124,120 per year. On the other hand, in technical and enterprise industries; it is around USD 147,040 per annum.
As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics data, employment growth for top executives including CFOs is expected to grow by 19% till 2026. However, there is strong competition expected for such jobs.