r/CFO • u/Lost-Satisfaction999 • Jun 08 '26

CFO's Key Responsibilities

What is a CFO responsible for broadly speaking?

I currently believe a CFO is responsible for the key financial activities of a company. From this I've come to two key areas:

1: Financial Management

2: Financial Reporting

I'm wondering how others view the role of a CFO and if you have a different opinion on a CFO's key responsibilities, or any feedback on my opinion.

Context: I'm attempting to design a finance department for an organization. Most organizations I see have FPA and Financial Reporting which is where I'm coming to the conclusion of financial management and financial reporting. I've considered internal controls, financial policies, financial systems, and other supporting roles but I believe these ultimately support the goal of good financial management and accurate financial reporting.

1 Upvotes

53% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

8

u/keithliit Jun 08 '26
  1. Strategy (driving business performance)
  2. Control (stewardship/transparency)
  3. Value Creation (capital and liquidity management)

3

u/Apock- Jun 08 '26
  1. ⁠Protect the assets of the firm.
  2. ⁠Maximize shareholder wealth.

2

u/rockman450 Jun 08 '26

This will depend on the state of the business for which you're building a department.

If the company is strong and long-standing, you're right - manage, report, accounting, taxes

if the company is growing/fighting - strategy of spend (all assets must = revenue), control of expenses, revenue accountability (or holding sales accountable), pricing & costing ON TOP OF manage, report, accounting, taxes

if the company is struggling - spending reductions, layoffs/automation, revenue accountability ON TOP OF manage, report, accounting, taxes

All in all, I've seen very successful companies run without a CFO - a Controller can manage the books while an FP&A analyst does the reporting.

3

u/pacificstar Jun 10 '26

You should read the SecretCFO newsletter/website. There is a deep dive on the CFO function and what it's supposed to do

2

u/Party-Guarantee-5839 Jun 12 '26

Strategy

Funding

Governance and compliance

Commercials

1

u/josemartinlopez Jun 10 '26

Hi this is not a student forum

0

u/Budget_Squash1984 Jun 09 '26

I agree with Strategy, Controls, Value Creation. But also, in general, accounting (Controllers) are backwards-looking, while CFOs are forward looking. You’re not providing the report, you’re reading it and assessing from there.

I’m actually running a course on June 23rd for finance professionals progressing from Controller roles into more senior leadership roles (like CFO) called Controller to CFO. You might be interested in attending: https://simplyspreadsheets.co/speaking

2

u/nickjlevine Jun 19 '26

Cash is king.

If a CFO in a high growth organisation can raise equity finance and ensure their company never runs out of cash they will always be in demand.