7/23/2019 What Are the Top Ten Responsibilities of a New CFO

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What Are the Top Ten Responsibilities of a

New CFO?

As the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of your company, you are responsible to the companys Board ofDirectors for all accounting and financial matters. ou must establish company!"ide ob#ecti$es, policies,procedures, processes, programs, and practices to assure the company of a continuously sound financialaccounting structure.

%. Cash Flow. As a ne" CFO, your #ob is to control thecash flo"position throughout the company,understand the sources and uses of cash, and maintain the integrity of funds, securities and other$aluable documents. ou recei$e, ha$e custody of, and disburse the companys monies andsecurities. &e" CFO responsibility includes the authority to establish accounting policies and

procedures for credit and collections, purchasing, payment of bills, and other financial obligations.Cash is 'ing and the flo" of cash, or cash flo", is the most important #ob a ne" CFO has in any

company.

. Company Liabilities. After cash flo", the ne" CFO must understand all of the companysliabilities. A company has many legal contracts, statutory ta* obligations, hidden liabilities in theform of contingencies, leases, or insurance summaries, and e*pectations from loan co$enants

and+or the board of directors. As a ne" CFO, if youre not "atching out for the liabilities, "ho is

-. Company Performance. he ne" CFO must understand the company business model for

generating customer $alue and translate the operational metrics into measures for performance.he ne" CFO is the company score'eeper using tools li'e the balanced scorecard,dashboards, and

financial statement ratio analysis to communicate both the companys e*pected and actual financialperformance.

/. Department Supervision. 0n a small organi1ation, the CFO is the super$isor of Accounting,Finance, 23, and 0. 0n a larger company, the CFO may only be responsible for the Accounting andFinance functions. 4ither "ay, the ne" CFO supports the companys accounting and financial

functions using #ob descriptions, policies, and procedures, and methods for automating documentcontrol.

5. Budgeting and Expense Control. Budgets are a fact of life, and the ne" CFO is responsible for

o$erseeing the budget process, collecting the inputs, and comparing the companys actualperformance "ith estimates (the budget). 0t is an ugly process that falls "ithin the CFO area ofcontrol.

6. Financial elationships. As a ne" CFO, you establish and maintain lines of communication "ith

in$estment ban'ers, financial analysts, and shareholders in con#unction "ith the 7resident. ouadminister ban'ing arrangements and loan agreements and maintain ade8uate sources of capital forthe companys current borro"ings from commercial ban's and other lending institutions. 0naddition, you in$est the companys funds and administer incenti$e stoc' option plans.

9. Finance or aising Capital. ou "ould thin' that finance is one of the 'ey roles of the ChiefFinancial Officer. es, it is important, but it comes after other more pressing operational issues, li'e

those listed abo$e. he ne" CFO "ill establish and e*ecute programs for the pro$isionof capitalre8uired by the company, including negotiating the procurement of debt and e8uity capitaland maintaining the re8uired financial arrangements. As the ne" CFO, youll coordinate the long!range plansof the company, assess the financial re8uirements implicit in these plans, and de$elop

alternati$e "ays in "hich financial re8uirements can be satisfied.

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7/23/2019 What Are the Top Ten Responsibilities of a New CFO

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:. Financial !bligations. As the ne" CFO, you need to appro$e all agreements concerning financialobligations, such as contracts for ra" materials, 0 assets, and ser$ices, and other actions re8uiring

a commitment of financial resources.

;. ecord Control. he ne" CFO is responsible for the financial aspects of all company transactions

including real estate bids, contracts, and leases. he CFO also pro$ides insurance co$erage, asre8uired, ensures the maintenance of appropriate financial records, prepares re8uired financial

reports, insures audits are completed in time and statutory boo' closing occur. he CFO hasprimary responsibility for ensuring company compliance "ith financial regulations and standards,

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