All companies, big or small have to take care of their finances. They need to be managed in a manner suited for the development for of the company in the current as well as the future fiscals.
In an economy which is torn by recession, this needs to be handled by someone who is an expert with money matters. The CFO or the Chief Financial Officer becomes the ultimate choice. The person holding this post is responsible for making all the monetary transactions and making the statements understandable.
The Chief Financial Officer is one of the top executives in any institution and is expected to have enough knowledge about all activities taking place in the firm in order to regulate the finances.
He should be a good marketer, a good delegator, a smart employee and most importantly, be responsible.
There is an exhaustive list of duties that need to be performed by the CFO. Many of them may not be applicable for some institutions.
Some of the duties include, Safeguarding the assets of the firm, sanctioning financial statements, makes and manages the budgets, management of the incoming and the outgoing payments, oversees the billing processes, contacting the banks and the insurance agencies, making plans for future investments, upgrading the current system into an efficient one, induction of advanced technology and machinery into the company, overseeing the taxation policies etc.
It is not hard to evaluate the importance of such a position which demands the person to be very careful at all times. Any mistake on any of these fronts can lead to huge losses and changes in the immediate or the future goals.
The CFOs need to constantly report to the CEO along with the board members on the proceedings. It is these people who provide the necessary direction that needs to be taken. The job of the CFO is to keep that goal in mind and take whichever route necessary paying heed to the policies of the company and following the federal laws.
In return they have a very high yearly pay along with various additional facilities.
If significant performance is seen, they are given huge bonuses.
There are many times when the Chief Finance Officer’s presence has saved the day for a firm. Inefficient dealings, mergers etc. are supervised with their help to avoid any problems.
They have been able to help the company get the right kind of material at the cheapest of prices thereby increasing profits. The most significant part about these people is that they are very good at making contacts which works in a great way towards increasing the market share and the overall reputation of the company.
For all companies that have huge transactions to take care of and whose CEO is not able to handle all the pressure, a CFOs presence would be a blessing in disguise. They can supplement the CEO in all aspects making the work easier by reduction in load. Just make sure that the CFO is a capable one.