Day in The Life of a CFO by Gennady Barsky

Day in The Life of a Chief Financial Officer: What CFOs DO, Day to Day

What a CFO Does A Chief Financial Officer or CFO is in charge of the finance department in a corporation. They usually work 50 hours a week. On weekends, a CFO might check emails or respond to emergency phone calls but not on an extreme basis.

Job Duties The CFO oversees the overall financial well-being of a company, including budgeting, accruals, payables, receivables and forecasting.

The CFO works closely with the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Information Officer to ensure the company’s goals are on track.

A Day in the Life When a CFO arrives in the morning, the first jobs on the task list are usually responding to emails, reviewing numbers, acquisitions and data. He or she analyzes this data and determines if they are where they are expected to be and strategizes a plan to get them into shape.

The next hour might involve meeting with his team and the members of the company who report directly to him. The next two hours generally include approvals, including accounts payables, commissions and contractor payments. He or she will probably take a look at future projections and analyze account receivables, including collections and data regarding delinquent accounts. He or she will also look at accruals.

The last part of the morning is usually spent looking at tax information including filings and payments.

The afternoon usually starts with an hour-long meeting with departments outside of finance. The departments and the CFO chat about projects, goals and financial opportunities. He or she then uses the remainder of the afternoon to revisit issues that were raised in the morning meetings and analysis as well as returns phone calls, emails and other questions that arise. He or she takes a look at goals he has outlined for his team and calls upon them to stand accountable for the progress of these goals.

On a weekly basis, the CFO will take a variety of meetings with other high-ranking employees like the CEO and COO and vice presidents. He or she will use data graphs and other financial reports to outline where the CFO stands at meeting goals and how the company is progressing financially as a whole.

On a monthly basis, the CFO will also report budgeted goals including monthly, quarterly and annual numbers. He or she will also attend board meetings on a quarterly basis. The annual budget is updated on a monthly and quarterly basis through the assistance of the CFO’s team of directors and vice presidents.

Gennady Barsky is the CFO of JetSmarter and Real Estate Mogul. He is also a lover of cars and has a passion for Social Media.