The Roles of a Financial Manager

990 Words4 Pages
Do you think finance departments are the best place to train future CEOs? Provide two actual examples of CFOs of publicly traded companies who became CEOs of publicly traded companies within the past 5 years. Do these individuals have CPA and/ or CFA designation? I honestly do believe that most of the finance departments are not the best place to train a future CEO. Why? Well, it’s realistically because the personnel who work within the finance departments have an expertise of developing finance, accounting, billing and auditing procedures. With that being said, they develop a deep insight into the financial position of the company and are capable of prescribing cost control, developmental plans, set up budgets, and understand compliance requirements of the law when it comes to the financial aspects of a business. In addition, the finance department teaches its personnel to develop and direct the implementation of strategic business, assist in getting licenses, insurance, and provide support during a company’s policy making. Also, the financial manager learns how to work in a stable environment, plan in detail, set up control systems, and seeks to achieve objectives. On the other hand, a CEO needs to be a person that is able to seek change at any given moment, has a long term time horizon, and has a direct vision. That is why the finance department trains its personnel to have a horizon of the financial year. So, what it boils down to is, the finance manager typically uses logic and formal authority to seek its action. A companies CFO possesses so many significant advantages as well as disadvantages if they are chosen to become a company’s CEO. An increasing number of company board of directors have decided that in order to best serve shareholders the, it is prudent to promote the CFO to CEO because they have been working diligently within the company,

More about The Roles of a Financial Manager

Open Document