Chief Financial Officer
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The Chief Financial Officer oversees all activities of the finance department, ensuring proper execution of functions, and compliance with both internal and external legislation and policies. The Chief Financial Officer is accountable for the financial, administrative, and risk management operations of the business and for overseeing the development of financial and operational strategies and metrics as well.
He is also in charge of ongoing development and monitoring of financial control systems that are designed to preserve business assets, enabling accurate financial reports and desired results.
Objectives and Responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer
Leadership/Supervisory Role: First and foremost, the Chief Financial Officer provides leadership to the finance department, overseeing all activities therein. In this capacity, the Chief Financial Officer is charged with the consistent evaluation of both short and long-term strategic financial objectives of the business.
He oversees the business’s transaction processing systems and implements operational best practices across the finance department and the wider business. The Chief Financial Officer ensures that there is credibility in the finance department by providing accurate and timely analysis of budgets, forecasts, and financial trends for access by the entire business.
He also ensures that there are effective internal controls in place and ensures compliance with generally accepted accounting principles as well as state legislation and regulations for financial accounting and tax reporting.
The Chief Financial Officer is also charged with building a culture of integrity and ethics across the business and sets standards that other departmental leaders can emulate across the business. The Chief Financial Officer leads the department in various financial analyses inclusive of profitability and costing analyses and directs recommendations back to the business.
In conjunction with the executive team the Chief Financial Officer leads, prepares, and presents consumer reporting and KPIs for the business. In this capacity, the Chief Financial Officer also acts as a mentor to key finance department personnel, leading their training, encouraging their professional growth and readying them for the succession of his functions in future.
Management/Financial Management: The Chief Financial Officer manages all processes relating to budgets and consolidation, financial forecasting, and reporting conducted across the business. He builds an open and collaborative culture across the finance department that ensures transparency and a free flow of information, leading to accurate financial recording and reporting.
The Chief Financial Officer compiles financial reports, conducts financial information analyses, and presents them to the business’s stakeholder as well as investors. The Chief Financial Officer directly engages in the preparation of a timely budget, financial forecast, and analysis, which is used to create the business’s overall strategic and operational objectives.
Strategy: The Chief Financial Officer is additionally charged with the development of the business’s future direction along with the supporting tactical initiatives. This is done in coordination with the business’s stakeholder and the business’s executive team, where he offers insights and counsel relating to growth, strategic planning, and financial leadership.
The Chief Financial Officer is charged with developing financial and tax strategies as well as the management of budgeting processes and capital requests. In this capacity, the Chief Financial Officer is also charged with the development of performance measures that are in support of the business’s financial goals and the business’s overall strategic direction.
Collaboration and Support: The role of the Chief Financial Officer is a collaborative one and in this position he works hand-in hand with the executive team and stakeholders in strategy formulation for the overall direction of the business, seeking a full range of business solutions.
He will also works with individual departmental leadership in providing financial support while ensuring operational compliance with business and state financial policies and procedures. In this collaboration he also ensures that best available business processes are integrated throughout the business in all financial business matters.
Knowledge: The Chief Financial Officer is also responsible for maintaining vast knowledge and awareness, not only in the finance department, but across the business on financial best practices as well as both internal and external legislation/policies on practices and procedures. He also engages in individual research on business opportunities, keeping in mind their viability, risk to the business, and the business’s objectives.
Other Duties: The Chief Financial Officer also performs similar duties as he deems fit for the proper execution of his duties and duties as delegated by the Employer.
Required Qualifications of the Chief Financial Officer
Education: The Chief Financial Officer must have a Phd in Finance, Law, or Accounting. The equivalent of the same in practical experience is also acceptable. The candidate will also be better suited with CPA, ACA/ACCA certification.
Experience: A candidate for this position must have had at least 10 years of working experience in either a senior accounting, controlling, legal, or corporate finance position within a fast paced and dynamic business environment. The candidate must have a demonstrated track-record of successful leadership in a finance position where he excelled in team building, implementation, and incorporation of best practices.
The candidate will also have demonstrated experience managing ecommerce payment solutions as well as the management of various financial design and implementation systems and procedures that optimize a business’s financial performance. A suitable candidate will also have demonstrated systems skills and successful experience implementing robust financial controls and processes.
Communication Skills: The Chief Financial Officer must have superior communication skills both in written and verbal form. Being an executive in charge of the finance department, the clarity of his instructions and information down the line will greatly determine how effective the entire finance department will perform, subsequently influencing financial performance across the business.
The Chief Financial Officer will also need great communication skills in his collaborative capacity, which will similarly influence the effectiveness with which collaborative tasks are executed. He will also need exceptionally good communication skills in creating reports and recommendations for the executive team and relevant stakeholders, which will be used in executive decision making and the business’s overall strategy formulation.
These reports and recommendations must, therefore, be clear, concise, understandable, and comprehensive, having been tailored to fit each unique audience at hand.
Ms Office/Software: The Chief Financial Officer must be technologically adept and possess exceptionally good computer skills and be exceptionally proficient in Ms Excel, Ms Office, Ms Outlook, and PowerPoint, all be necessary for the creation of financial reports, proposals, and recommendations. He must additionally be highly proficient in the use of financial softwares such as software such as Oracle Finances, Expensify, and JD Edwards.
Interpersonal Skills: A candidate for this position must be a result and detail oriented, be highly organized and analytical, be passionate about team building, have exceptionally good problem solving skills, work comfortably in a highly collaborative setting, have an ability work efficiently both independently and with a team, be meticulous and have a keen eye for detail, and demonstrate an ability to remain calm in times of uncertainty and stress.
Leadership/People Skills: The candidate must also demonstrate exceptionally strong leadership skills, having an ability to influence cross-functional teams as well as senior business leadership, stakeholders, and business investors. He must be a confident individual yet likable and approachable, influencing confidence and trust in others who will then readily follow in his directives and trust in his insights.
JOB SKILLS REQUIRED FOR Chief Financial Officer
- Stakeholder Management
- Stakeholder Analysis
- Financial Statement Analysis
- Management Accounting Skill
- Corporate Finance
- Strategic Planning
- Supervising
- Conflict resolution