Becoming a chief financial officer is one of the most ambitious career goals in business. If you’ve been exploring how to become a CFO, it’s a path that attracts thousands of finance professionals each year. A 2025 FTI Consulting survey shows that nearly three-quarters of CFOs expect at least 10 percent revenue growth in the year ahead, proof that companies are pinning big expectations on CFOs as growth drivers and strategy leaders. The CFO is no longer just someone who manages numbers but someone who helps define a company’s future
If you’re serious about this career path, you need more than technical finance skills. You’ll need the right mix of education, experience, leadership, and strategy to stand out. Let’s walk through the steps to becoming a CFO, with a clear look at what the role actually requires.
What is a CFO and What Do They Do?
The chief financial officer is the executive responsible for managing a company’s financial health. While many people think a CFO just handles accounting, the job is much broader.
Key responsibilities include:
- Overseeing budgets, forecasting, and financial reporting
- Ensuring compliance with laws and regulations
- Managing investments, cash flow, and capital structure
- Presenting financial insights to the CEO and board of directors
- Guiding long-term financial strategy and risk management
- Leading finance teams and mentoring future leaders
Simply put, a CFO connects numbers with decisions. They don’t just report on past performance. They help steer the business toward sustainable growth.
Step 1: Start with the Right Education
Your first move on the CFO career path is getting the right academic foundation. Most CFOs hold a bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, or economics. This is the minimum CFO degree requirement you’ll need to break into entry-level finance roles.
These degrees give you core knowledge in areas like financial analysis, auditing, and corporate finance. They also establish credibility when applying for jobs. Without this baseline, advancing toward executive roles becomes much harder.
Step 2: Consider Advanced Credentials
If you’re aiming for the top, advanced education and certifications are a strong advantage. While not every CFO has them, they make you stand out.
- An MBA (Master of Business Administration) is the most common graduate degree for CFOs and shows readiness for leadership, not just finance.
- A CPA (Certified Public Accountant) is valuable for those starting in accounting and adds technical authority.
- A CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) is a strong credential for professionals focusing on investment or capital markets.
An advanced degree or certification shows boards and CEOs that you’re serious about professional development and prepared for executive responsibilities.
Step 3: Build Strong Technical Skills Early
When you’re starting out, your main focus is gaining technical finance expertise. Entry-level roles like financial analyst, accountant, or junior auditor will sharpen your skills in reporting, forecasting, and compliance.
These positions might not seem glamorous, but they’re where you learn the financial systems and processes that support an entire company. They’re also your first step toward meeting core CFO requirements later on.
Step 4: Move Into Management Roles
Once you’ve mastered the technical side, the next step is moving into mid-level management. Roles like finance manager, controller, or director of finance are common stops along the way.
At this stage, you’re not just running reports. You’re leading teams, making budget decisions, and presenting financial results to executives. This is where your leadership skills start to matter as much as your financial knowledge.
Boards want CFOs who can manage people as well as numbers. So, think of this phase as your training ground for executive leadership.
Step 5: Gain Broad Business Experience
The best CFOs understand more than finance. They know how operations, marketing, and strategy all connect. That’s why many aspiring CFOs rotate into cross-functional roles or projects outside the finance department.
For example, you might:
- Oversee an IT implementation for finance systems
- Manage risk for an international expansion
- Collaborate with sales teams on pricing strategies
These experiences show that you can think like a business leader, not just a finance professional. If you want to know how to become a chief financial officer, remember this: CFOs are decision-makers, not just accountants.
Step 6: Develop Strategic and Leadership Skills
Once you reach senior finance roles, the technical foundation is assumed. What sets you apart is your ability to think strategically and lead at the executive level.
You’ll need to master:
- Strategic thinking involves deciding where to invest, where to cut costs, and when to expand.
- Communication means explaining financial insights clearly to CEOs, boards, and other stakeholders.
- Adaptability requires adjusting to market shifts, regulatory changes, and evolving business needs.
- Decision-making under pressure is the ability to lead effectively when the stakes are high and time is limited.
These soft skills are often what tip the balance in competitive CFO hiring decisions.
Step 7: Build a Professional Network
The truth is, many CFO opportunities never get posted publicly. Boards and CEOs often fill these roles through networks and referrals. That makes networking critical.
Ways to build your network:
- Join professional groups like the CFO Leadership Council or AICPA
- Attend finance and leadership conferences
- Connect with mentors who’ve already reached the executive level
- Build visibility with board members and C-suite leaders in your company
Your connections can open doors that qualifications alone cannot.
Step 8: Specialize in an Industry
While some CFOs succeed by moving across industries, many companies prefer executives with deep sector expertise. A CFO in healthcare faces different financial challenges than one in tech or retail.
If you want to strengthen your CFO career path:
- Choose an industry you’re passionate about
- Gain experience with its unique financial structures and regulations
- Stay informed about market shifts that affect your sector
This specialization can make you the go-to candidate when boards look for a CFO who understands their industry inside out.
Step 9: Aim for Senior Leadership Roles
Before becoming a CFO, most professionals spend time in senior finance leadership positions such as Vice President of Finance, Treasurer, or Head of Financial Planning and Analysis.
These roles prepare you for the CFO chair by testing your ability to:
- Work directly with the board of directors
- Manage company-wide budgets and forecasting
- Oversee large teams and cross-department collaboration
Think of these jobs as your final proving ground before stepping into the CFO role itself.
Step 10: Step Into the CFO Role
Once you’ve checked the boxes, education, credentials, technical expertise, leadership, and networking, you’ll be ready for the final step.
Landing the CFO role often comes down to timing and opportunity. Companies typically look for candidates with 15 to 20 years of finance experience. Patience and persistence are part of the journey.
When you finally take the seat, you’ll be expected to deliver from day one. But everything you’ve done to prepare, your CFO degree, your leadership skills, and your network, will pay off.
The Bigger Picture of the CFO Journey
Becoming a CFO is more than ticking off degrees and job titles. The truth is, the role rewards people who stay curious, who can see around corners, and who are willing to grow beyond finance itself. The numbers will always matter, but what separates great CFOs is their ability to connect those numbers to people, strategy, and vision. If you’re set on this path, think less about racing to the finish line and more about collecting experiences that make you wiser and more adaptable. That perspective, more than anything else, is what earns a seat at the executive table.