Chief Financial officer.
The CFO leads the finance function and is accountable for the company's financial strategy, reporting, and capital structure. They are a primary partner to the CEO and the board on business performance.
Role: Chief Financial Officer Reports to: CEO and the Board's Audit Committee
The CFO leads the finance function and is accountable for the company's financial strategy, reporting, and capital structure. They are a primary partner to the CEO and the board on business performance.
- Own financial planning, analysis, and reporting
- Lead the controllership, treasury, tax, and FP&A functions
- Manage relationships with auditors, investors, and lenders
What's inside the document.
One-paragraph plain-English explanation of the role's outcome and scope.
6 responsibilities phrased the way the work is actually done.
4 qualifications a candidate must have to perform on day 30.
3 qualifications that would make a candidate excellent in year two.
4 skill chips you can copy directly into your ATS.
CEO and the Board's Audit Committee
A complete document set.
- Word document (.docx) — fully editable
- PDF — signature-ready
- Google Docs — one-click copy to your Drive
- 12 months of updates to this document
- Commercial-use licence for internal and client work
The work, not the title.
- Own financial planning, analysis, and reporting
- Lead the controllership, treasury, tax, and FP&A functions
- Manage relationships with auditors, investors, and lenders
- Steward capital allocation and investment decisions
- Ensure compliance with accounting standards and reporting obligations
- Partner with the CEO on strategic and financial decisions
Required — and what would make a candidate excellent.
- 15+ years of finance experience with at least 5 in senior leadership
- CPA, CA, or equivalent accounting qualification
- Deep knowledge of GAAP/IFRS and SOX (if applicable)
- Experience in growth-stage or comparable company
- Prior CFO experience
- Capital markets experience (IPO, debt raises)
- M&A experience
Eight steps from download to publish.
- 01Open the Chief Financial Officer job description in Word or your one-click Google Docs copy.
- 02Replace placeholders for company name, reporting line, and location with your specifics.
- 03Tighten the summary to one paragraph that names the team's outcome, not just the role.
- 04Edit the responsibilities to match the actual scope of the seat — aim for 6 to 8 items, not 12.
- 05Separate required qualifications from preferred. Required is what a candidate must have to do the work on day 30; preferred is what would make them excellent in year two.
- 06Add salary range guidance using BLS, Payscale, or your own band data — do not copy generic figures.
- 07Have the hiring manager and one peer read it. Cut anything that wouldn't survive a candidate question.
- 08Publish to your ATS, intranet, and external careers page.
The right document at the right moment.
Use this Chief Financial Officer job description any time you are opening or reopening a seat at this level. The executive band sets the calibration — copy the document, tighten it to your specific scope, and circulate to the hiring panel before the first interview.
The reporting line (CEO and the Board's Audit Committee) and skills list are starting points. Override either if your org structure or stack differs from the norm — the template is a draft, not a contract.
Honest answers before you download.
- What's in this Chief Financial Officer job description template?
- A one-paragraph role summary, 6 responsibilities phrased the way the work is actually done, 4 required qualifications, 3 preferred qualifications, a skills chip list, and a reporting line. All editable in Word and Google Docs.
- Is this Chief Financial Officer JD legally reviewed?
- The structure and language follow current US and AU hiring practice. The document is a professionally drafted starting point — adapt it for your jurisdiction, and have employment counsel review any clauses you add before publishing.
- Should I include salary in a Chief Financial Officer job description?
- In jurisdictions with pay-transparency law (e.g. NY, CA, CO, WA, and AU under fair-work changes), include a salary range. Elsewhere, a range still raises application quality and shortens screening — but pull numbers from a current source, not a template.
- Can I use this for client hiring work?
- Yes — the commercial licence covers fee-paying client engagements you control. You can also reuse the document inside your own organisation indefinitely. You may not resell the documents themselves.
Other documents in this neighbourhood.
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A General Manager oversees the operational, financial, and people performance of a business unit.
This Chief Financial Officer job description is a professionally drafted starting point for your hiring process and is not legal advice. Hiring practice varies by jurisdiction (e.g. pay-transparency laws differ across US states and AU jurisdictions). Adapt this document for your specific location and have employment counsel review any clauses you add before publishing. Full disclaimer.