CFO

CFO - Chief Financial Officer, CFO - är ett yrke inom "ekonomijobb". Som CFO arbetar man ofta i "internationella sammanhang" och arbetsspråket är allt som oftast engelska. 

CFO play a vital role in influencing companies strategies.

A chief financial officer (CFO) is the senior executive responsible for managing the financial actions of a company. The CFO's duties include tracking cash flow and financial planning as well as analyzing the company's financial strengths and weaknesses and proposing corrective actions. The CFO is similar to a treasurer or controller because he or she is responsible for managing the finance and accounting divisions and for ensuring that the company’s financial reports are accurate and completed in a timely manner.

The CFO reports to the chief executive officer (CEO) but has significant input in the company's investments, capital structure and how the company manages its income and expenses. The CFO works with other senior managers and plays a key role in a company's overall success, especially in the long run. Pursuing a career as a CFO requires considerable financial management experience as well as educational training in accounting or finance.

For example, when the marketing department wants to launch a new campaign, the CFO may help to ensure the campaign is feasible or give input on the funds available for the campaign.

The CFO may assist the CEO with forecasting, cost–benefit analysis and obtaining funding for various initiatives. In the financial industry, a CFO is the highest-ranking position and in other industries, it is usually the 3-highest position in a company (a CFO can become a CEO, chief operating officer or president of a company).

The CFO must report accurate information because many decisions are based on the data he provides. The CFO is responsible for managing the fiscal activities of a company and adhering to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) established by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulatory entities. CFO's must also adhere to regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that include provisions such as fraud prevention and disclosing financial information.

Local, state and federal governments hire CFO's to oversee taxation issues. Usually, the CFO is the liaison between local residents and elected officials on accounting and other spending matters. The CFO sets financial policy and is responsible for managing government funds.

The CFO role has emerged from focusing on compliance and quality control to business planning and process changes and he or she is a strategic partner to the CEO.

Utbildning

Utbildningsbakgrund för CFO varierar, men de flesta har någon form av högre ekonomisk utbildning.

För svenskutbildade CFO gäller:
Ofta gäller utbildning som högskole- eller civilekonom i grunden, med påbyggnads företagsekonomisk utbildning, magister eller masterprogram.

Man tar alltså först kandidatexamen i ekonomi eller företagsekonomi, vilket man kan göra via kandidatprogrammet, ett 3-årigt högskole / universitetsprogram eller genom att läsa fristående kurser som man sedan sätter ihop till en kandidatexamen, alternativt söker direkt till civilekonomprogrammet, som är ett fyraårigt (i Sverige) högskoleprogram.

På gymnasiet rekommenderas det i första hand Ekonomiprogrammet, inriktning ekonomi.

Övrigt

Möt Robert, Chefsekonomen som drömmer om kakor

Länktips

• prognos.konj.se - Konjunkturinstitutens Prognosdatabasen
• framtid.se/yrke/ - yrkespresentation CEO
• Sveriges innovationsriksdag - om digital transformation och morgondagens arbetssätt för öppen innovation där storbolag och organisationer jobbar för att stärka svensk attraktionskraft
• e-resident.gov.ee - Estonia (Estland) is the first country to offer e-Residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world