Key Skills and Responsibilities of a Financial Director
As the CEO’s right hand man, the CFO’s job is to ensure a perfect financial, administrative and legal balance, sometimes including HR, purchasing and office management, an extremely important function in start-up companies.
The Chief Financial Officer is a key player in the fundraising process. It has a wide range of tasks, including establishing and overseeing the submission of reports to the Director General and to current and future investors, with whom it maintains a close relationship. This requires good interpersonal skills and a good command of English to facilitate exchanges.
As Chief Financial Officer, the CFO is also responsible for designing and constantly updating the Business Plan. The CFO is also responsible for the company’s financial strategy. Therefore, it is necessary to have a long-term vision at all times, while managing daily operations, including cash flow. For this reason, the CFO must have solid experience in this type of work, due to the trust placed in him by the CEO to manage budgets, forecasts and set objectives. As the leader of the financial department he heads, the Chief Financial Officer is also an experienced manager. Its constantly evolving role also involves supporting, and sometimes driving, digital transformation.
The CFO must also have a good knowledge of legal, social and, in particular, labor and tax legislation.
- The Chief Financial Officer must have a thorough knowledge of finance, accounting and financial management, including an understanding of financial statements, budgets, financial analysis and financial risk management techniques.
- The CFO must be able to think strategically and understand how financial decisions can affect long-term business strategy.
- Teams must find in the Financial Director an effective leader, capable of inspiring and motivating their team and working collaboratively with other leaders in the organization.
- It’s also important that you know how to communicate clearly and effectively with all levels of the organization, including senior management, employees, and investors.
- Being aware of the latest financial technologies and automation tools is a necessity as it helps to improve the efficiency and accuracy of financial processes.
- The CFO must be able to manage change and adapt to changes in the industry and business environment to maintain the company’s competitiveness.
In short, today’s modern CFO is at the center of the process of digitizing and automating financial departments. As a co-pilot to the CEO, the CFO fully supports the company in its growth strategy and plays an essential role in decision-making.
