CFOs act as the chief financial decision maker for a company. Though any size company can technically have a CFO, most of these positions are with large companies. These individuals are tasked with overseeing the overall financial situation of a company. This might mean its debt, its assets and even its future financial decisions.
Skillset: A chief financial officer will need strong financial analysis skills. Because the job requires an understanding of macro-finance, a person will need to understand both economics and finance. This job is also an executive management position, so CFOs will need the ability to lead people underneath them.
Education: The vast majority of CFOs have some undergraduate degree in either finance or analysis. It is very rare for a person to rise this high up the ladder without also having an MBA in one of those fields.
Career Path: It can take many years to rise to the level of CFO. A person might start off in the finance department of a company. After many years of work, he might rise to a management position. Only after establishing extreme competence will a person have a chance to land a CFO position. This is typically the culmination of a person's career.
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