Financial Planning & Analysis Position

Lately we’ve started to see more of these positions reporting directly to the CFO, especially in companies with fewer layers of management. In larger organizations you might see this position reporting to the VP of Finance who normally reports to the CFO. Ultimately, the data obtained by this position must be interpreted and communicated to the CFO, ideally in almost real time.

The following are several excerpts from material I wrote for several blogs, clearly explaining the reasons for this:

“While it’s true that today’s CFO is more of a policy maker, strategy planner or legal expert than an accountant, the CFO is still ultimately responsible for all accounting, finance and reporting activities in the organization. The CFO is a signer on external financial reporting on statements provided to lenders and shareholders and in public companies is personally responsible (and liable, along with the CEO) for accuracy and completeness of reported data and disclosures to the SEC.”

“An area of increasing responsibility for CFOs is forecasting their companies’ future financial health. They need to answer (along with the CEO) to the board of directors on issues such as compliance and reporting deficiencies, internal and external audit matters, legal action, and whether or not the company is on target with its revenue and expense forecasts, as well as other business related issues. They also are responsible for all internal and external reporting and all required disclosures.”

“Particularly important to CFOs is the ability to perform a complete and accurate forecast of the financial health and performance of their organization, relying on intelligent data gathered in the process and on automated software controls and processes that make such accurate forecasts possible.”