Last updated on August 29th, 2022 at 11:38 am

Do you need formal training to become a CFO?

CFO, or a Chief Financial Officer, is one of the senior-most positions in a company. The individual holding this position shoulders the responsibility of managing the finance of the organisation and ensuring that it has enough flexibility to manage any unwanted burden and has ample scope to grow.

Moreover, he is the man/woman who will be in charge of the accounts and finance department of the company, managing the team members and ensuring everyone is working in the right direction. Moving ahead, in the current scenario, a CFO works closely with other senior managers to draft the company’s growth prospects and plans.

So, for handling all these responsibilities, formal training is required, and it is a part of the process to become a CFO. But the question is, how crucial is it? Well, to understand, you need to know the functions of a CFO first.

The Functions of A CFO

Well, to become a CFO, you need to know what awaits you post that –

• Monitoring the budget of a company
• Giving reports and advice to other top Company executives, financial stakeholders, insurers and banks
• CFOs also take care of a company’s investments, capital expenditures, mergers and acquisitions

Now, with the functions of a CFO out of the way, let’s take a look at the aspect of formal training to become a CFO.

Do you need formal training to become a CFO?

In one word, the answer will be no; you don’t need any formal training to become a CFO because it is not a mandate. However, on the other side, you need to have the right qualification and experience to rise through the ranks and become the top finance guy in a company.

Now in terms of academic credentials, you need to keep a few pointers in mind. These are –

• It helps if you take commerce after your class 10 or equivalent
• Following your 10+2 or equivalent take up finance and accounts
• After that, you go for a regular master’s degree

Now, in a country like India, CFOs are usually Chartered Accountants (CAs) or Cost and Management Accountants (CMAs) or Chartered Financial Analysts (CFAs).

• CAs work in various finance-related sectors managing an organisation’s finances and providing financial consultation, and managing money.
• CMAs are management and costing professionals with in-depth knowledge of costing, management and MIS operations in a company.
• CFA is a globally recognised investment credential. They help in analysing the financial analysis of a company and also help in handling sales, training and relationship management.

So, you can opt for any of these courses to move ahead to become a CFO. On the other hand, there are many other certifications like CIMA, ACCA and many more which will equip you to become a new-age CFO.

Apart from that, leading educational institutions like Imarticus Learning are offering a CFO certification course in partnership with the IIM Indore. Now, completing a certificate course from a top business school in India will give a boost to your career in this domain.

A CFO online training course like this is a unique certification in the finance industry. This certification course will allow working professionals who are working full-time and cannot attend college to further develop their financial know-how. These courses also give access to the recent developments in this field.

So how much salary can you expect with these top credentials?

According to salary reporting websites like Payscale and Glassdoor, on average, mid-career CFOs can expect to earn around ₹90 lakh to ₹ 1.2 Crore per annum. However, this figure increases substantially as you grow in your job and become an experienced professional.

Besides your qualification and experience, and what you have done till now, the company you select also plays a big role here. If you are aiming for top MNCs and Fortune 500 companies, then you are likely to get a much bigger package than what you are earning now.

Now, to sum up, if you aspire to become a CFO, what you need more than formal training is a deep understanding of the field and relative working experience in this domain. Since any training program only gives you technical knowledge, you have to work hands-on to face problems and find their solutions. That is the only way you can move on in your career and find better opportunities.

Having said that, it is not ideal to undermine the CFO certification courses. They will prepare you with ample knowledge and real-life examples to understand what awaits you when you sit in the hot seat.