CFO - Chief Financial Officer: the 'real' company pilot

The modern name, CFO or Chief Financial Officer, reflects the evolution of the profession of a traditional CFO. The financial function of organizations is evolving and the CFO now plays an important role in business management.

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The position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) plays an important role in operational control financial issues (accounting, management control, etc.) as well as in the strategic aspect concerning fundraising, acquisitions and a possible listing on the stock market. Sometimes, there is a legal (legal) dimension and a function related to human resources in its field (when there is no HR director or human resources director).

What does a CFO do today? What is his position within the organization? How do you select the best CFO? Discover the key components of this constantly evolving profession.

The Role of the CFO is now more strategic than technical due to a strong evolution of challenges, an acceleration of digital transformation and increased internationalization.

The financial function is evolving: the financial manager is no longer just a “master of numbers”. Gradually, its missions moved away from a traditional administrative role to become a transversal and strategic function.

One Modern CFO is today at the heart of digitalization and automation processes in financial departments. The CFO fully supports the company in its growth strategy and plays an essential role in decision-making as the CEO's co-pilot.

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What is the role of a CFO?

The term “Chief Financial Officer” or CFO is quite recent and aims to replace the traditional titles of Administrative and Financial Director (CFO), Administrative and Financial Manager (RAF) or even Administrative Director in SMEs.

The CFO is often the CEO's right-hand man and is often attached to the General Management. The CFO is a member of the management committee in large companies.

Its function? In short, supervise and supervise the administrative and financial management of the company.

However, the Role of the CFO is changing dramatically due to business challenges and digital transformation. The CFO's field of intervention varies according to the size and stage of growth of the company. In most businesses, the Chief Financial Officer oversees and leads financial teams. One of the most important functions of the entire company is called upon to develop as a business partner.

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How do I translate CFO into French?

• Financial director
• Financial Administrative Director (DAF)
• Financial controller

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What does a CFO do in a company?

Certainly, the tasks of CFOs differ from company to company. The tasks of the CFO vary according to the size and stage of growth of the company.

However, here are some of its most common tasks:

• Use effective financial dashboards and reports to facilitate decision making.
• Guarantee compliance with fiscal, accounting and legal obligations.
• Oversee treasury, accounting, and financial risk control.
• Ensure that your cash flow and liquidity are well managed.
• Ensure positive relationships with fund providers (shareholders, banks, financial markets, etc.).
• Both administrative and financial control responsibilities.

• Work with finance teams to establish and monitor forecast budgets and simulations, especially with respect to profitability.
• He acts as an interlocutor and link with subsidiaries in large companies.
• Actively participate in development initiatives such as fundraising, external growth, mergers and acquisitions and initial public offerings.
• Assist investment projects, increase their profitability and optimize the company's capital.

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The CFO function is essential to support the growth of a company. Small businesses that can't yet afford to hire a CFO can opt for a Outsourced DAF. This corporate finance specialist works part-time for several companies, carrying out ad hoc interventions.

Beyond the traditional tasks of the Chief Financial Officer, the CFO plays an important role as an advisor and provider of expertise to management, start-up founders and the CEO. The management committee frequently requests information on financing issues, legal issues concerning investors, monitoring the financial health of the company and optimizing accounting.

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CFO working part-time: 5 questions to ask yourself

What is the role of the CFO in the organization?

The CFO position is evolving rapidly and is increasingly transversal. The CFO is an important partner of the CEO in making strategic and operational decisions, and then in validating the feasibility of decisions from a financial point of view.

The CFO works with other business functions, such as human resources, sales, and marketing. The CFO helps these professions by providing a prospective perspective.

Given this transversality, the CFO must communicate effectively internally and externally. He must be able to communicate and popularize financial information inside and outside the company.

The CFO works with other stakeholders outside of the company's internal teams, such as accounting and audit firms, lawyers, banks, administrations, partners, etc.

As you will have understood, the CFO's function is no longer just that of a math expert. How do you find the best candidates? What qualities do a CFO need to go beyond a simple CFO job description?

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What training should a CFO follow?

The CFO position generally requires a bachelor's degree in accounting or auditing (university education, a business school diploma, an MBA or a master's degree).

Beyond studies, the CFO must have a long experience in management and finance (at least 5 years).

Audit experience, in particular professional experience with a recognized audit firm, is highly appreciated for large companies, as it allows them to become familiar with key accounting documents, such as the balance sheet, income statement or cash flow.

The CFO of a startup must know this type of structure, have experience in fundraising and have a good relationship with investors.

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What are the essential skills of a CFO?

The post of CFO requires in-depth technical skills, like:

• Solid understanding of finance, management control, accounting, social or business law, and taxation.
• Knowledge of computer, accounting and CRM tools.
• Fluency in English is becoming crucial for international growth.
• Hierarchical and transversal management.

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In addition, it is soft skills that differentiate a good technician from an excellent CFO, taking into account the evolution of the profession and its transversality.

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Here are the most significant soft skills of a CFO:

• Have an excellent relationship and be a good communicator: the CFO must be the leader in pedagogy, whether it is internal communication (the various teams, the management committee, employees) or external (administrations, investors, investors, investors, banks, partners).
• Be a good leader: the CFO must work with several teams. Therefore, he must demonstrate leadership qualities such as excellent emotional intelligence and empathy.
• Having an analytical mind: it is not only knowing how to analyze figures, but also deeply understanding the strategic challenges of the company and supporting them.
• Have an entrepreneurial spirit: given the strong challenges of businesses (digital transformation, internationalization, etc.), a good CFO must be proactive, have a taste for leadership and have the desire to create and innovate.
• Having a clear vision and knowing how to anticipate results, in particular by creating numerical projections, makes it possible to anticipate the future health of the company by closely monitoring performance indicators.
• Know how to manage change: in a context of accelerated digitalization of businesses and businesses, the CFO must be in a position to support change within his teams. To achieve this, he can rely on the resources of the financial manager in order to simplify internal procedures.
• Being customer-oriented: deeply understanding customer needs and anticipating them is at the heart of the evolution of any company, which allows the CFO to play an advisory and anticipatory role.

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It is necessary to have a good dose of creativity to find innovative solutions and to think outside the box in order to find the best financing and create the best financial strategy to support growth. The CFO must offer solutions to make internal processes faster.

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What questions should you ask during a CFO job interview?

The recruitment interview is a crucial moment to ensure that your CFO candidate matches the specific needs of your company, much more than an exercise in presenting and verifying the background mentioned on the candidate's resume.

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To hire the precious pearl:

• Test the adaptability of your CFO candidate by putting him in a situation: Ask him to explain how to solve a situation in your company.
• Ask your candidate what results they are most proud of and why.
• Ask for an example of dealing with a difficult situation or how his former colleagues would describe it, ask him questions that test his managerial skills.
• Ask him what, in his opinion, are the three main challenges of your business over the next 3 years in order to measure his ability to project himself and his knowledge of your sector.
• Ask them to explain their role in your business.

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The best candidate for your company's CFO position is not one with a lot of experience or technical expertise, but rather one whose skills match your growth strategy.

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What is the salary of a CFO?

The remuneration of a CFO varies according to his experience, the size and the challenges of the company. As a general rule, the gross annual remuneration for a junior CFO (5 years of experience) varies between €45,000 and €70,000; the average remuneration for a senior CFO with 10 years of experience varies between €80,000 and €400,000 per year.

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The role of the CFO is becoming crucial with a new dimension of cost management and the optimization of company costs with the contraction of startup budgets and the reduction of fundraising volumes.