CFO Responsibilities

The chief financial officer, or CFO, of any business is a position that requires exceptional leadership qualities. Not only do they need to crunch numbers as their title implies, but they also have to have strong communication skills and attention to planning, process, and details. They are responsible for developing the annual financial plan and providing internal and external financial reporting. Although they may not be doing the accounting themselves, they need to be able to read and understand the balance and income statements and be able to report the business's cash flow situation to the chief executive officer, or CEO, and industry analysts. Some other responsibilities the CFO has are as follows:

• Technical expert on profit and loss, balance sheets issues, and capital growth
• Provide projections and forecasts
• Use due diligence related to mergers and acquisitions
• Assist in tax efficient structuring of a sale or acquisition
• Budgeting and reporting duties
• Taking care of the loan process should the business need one
• Technology needs analysis
• Screening candidates for accounting positions
• Tax planning for the business and the principals
• Assistance in buying or leasing decisions
• Selecting tax entities for new ventures
• Fraud investigation within the business

In addition to being in charge of all financial planning and growth of the company, the CFO of today is taking on more responsibility and becoming the right hand of the CEO in most businesses. They have taken on several roles that a traditional CFO never had to.

CFO: Execution Excellence

During normal market and operating conditions, the CFO helps the company in striving for operational excellence. They create and instill in the company the values and discipline that enables the company to do more with less. The CFO has to help the company perform better than internal forecasts and Wall Street have predicted. They fine tune the execution of the company so they can out perform the competition. Eventually they seek execution excellence from the capital markets.

CFO: Turnaround Revolution

When a company is failing, they turn to their CFO to revolutionize the company and get them back on track to financial health. The CFO has to step out and make difficult decisions in the turnaround revolution that will in the long run and in the short term keep the company from going under. They must make the changes where the business is failing and produce acceptable returns. The CFO must clean up the balance sheet, restructure debt, reduce working capital and sell assets where appropriate. Even when the business gets back on track, the CFO isn't done. They have to help the company transition from crisis mode back to a more collaborative decision-making process.

CFO: Growth Instigation

The CFO that is the growth instigator works closely with the CEO to develop aggressive plans to achieve profitable growth. These plans come from both in the company and through acquisition. The challenges the CFO faces are combing the company's portfolio and identifying the greatest sources of growth, heading projects to capture value from the company's acquisitions, and sponsoring and funding projects for growth in new markets.

CFO: Operating Model Overhaul

When business is slow and may slip into crisis mode, the CFO knows it is time for an operating model overhaul. They must recognize opportunities for business strategy innovation and take advantage of them. They must define peak performance and mobilize the company to achieve it. Often, they must realign decision rights, evaluate performance measures, and restructure rewards and the business structure. They must set the company on a path of achieving their operation goals, both internally and on Wall Street.

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