A chief financial officer, or CFO, is a great role to aspire to for anyone who works in finance. It’s one of the elite positions in any company, and usually commands a large salary.
So, what is a CFO, and what is the path to becoming one?
What does a CFO do?
A CFO is responsible for the financial planning and record keeping of a company, as well as managing financial risk.
They report to the company’s higher management - usually the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), plus board members. The CFO is one of the highest positions in large companies.
Generally, businesses with less than £10 million in yearly revenue do not have a real need for a CFO role. For a company to require a CFO, they will usually be much larger and more well-established.
Responsibilities of a CFO may include:
- Managing the financial actions of a company
- Tracking cash flow
- Financial Planning
- Analysing the company’s financial strengths and weaknesses
- Proposing corrective actions where appropriate
- Ensuring that financial reports are accurate and completed in a timely manner
- Dealing with investors
- Devising a company’s strategic direction
- Making announcements on financial performance - both positive and negative
What does a CFO earn?
Your salary will often depend on the size of the company, your experience, and location. However, the average salary of a CFO in the UK is around £140,000 (as of April 2025).* Some CFO salaries can reach up to £1million.
Large multinational companies also hire outstanding financial experts as CFOs and often offer very attractive salaries.
What qualifications and experience are needed to become a CFO?
It’ll probably come as no surprise to hear that you need a lot of experience to reach CFO level. It’s definitely not a role you can take on straight after school or university.
Professional qualifications
Most CFOs will have an educational background in finance, business, economics or management. A typical route would be to do a degree in accounting or other finance-related studies, alongside a professional finance qualification, such as ACCA, CIMA, or ICAEW.
Work experience
While education and the relevant qualifications are essential, the quality of your working experience and professional track record are the best tools for potential CFOs.A lot of CFOs are recruited from within, so giving years of hard work and loyalty to one company can go a long way. There also used to be quite a rigid path for CFOs - going from accounts assistant to controller and treasurer, then on to CFO - but modern times call for modern CFOs.
A CFO needs a good understanding of the organisation’s financial landscape. Therefore, gaining experience in roles such as financial controller, finance manage, or the head of finance is beneficial.
There are opportunities to expand your experience in sales or operations into finance. The modern CFO needs a breadth of experience. Therefore, our advice would be to say ‘yes,’ to opportunities and aim to expand your relevant experience as much as you can to help you understand the requirements of a CFO.
Strategic and leadership skills
No matter what your background or education, the role of CFO is not one to take on lightly. This career path is immensely rewarding but you will also be responsible for an organisation’s finances.
CFOs don’t just work with numbers - they are key strategic advisors to the CEO and other senior professionals in a business. As an aspiring CFO, it’s important to demonstrate leadership, strong communication skills, and the ability to manage teams.
Ready to boost your career potential?
If CFO is your dream role, learn more about the relevant qualifications that can help you get on the right path. Browse our ACCA, CIMA or Banking and Finance qualifications for more information and insight into what is needed to be successful in finance.
Alternatively, reach out to our Student Services team at studentservices@kaplan.co.uk.
*Chief Financial Officer yearly salaries in the United Kingdom at Reed (April 2025)