By Kelly J. Waffle

Can CPAs still get a seat at the corporate executive table? After reading a few industry publications, you might think the answer is no and that corporate America favors MBAs. However, despite a decline in the percentage of S&P 1000 CFOs who are licensed CPAs, our new research, 2024 Corporate Finance Report: CPAs in the C-Suite, indicates that CPAs are highly valued for CFO roles.

In fact, as the chart below shows, CPAs are neck-and-neck with MBAs.

While the S&P 1000 may have pivoted toward finance backgrounds over accounting, CPAs are becoming CFOs and senior corporate finance leaders at private companies, smaller organizations, and other entities.

What Got You Your Current Job May Not Get You Your Future Position

Success in public accounting firms often comes from years of hard work, technical accounting knowledge and skill, and careful compliance work and attention to detail. These competencies cleared the path to corporate finance leadership once upon a time. Not anymore. This is one of the key findings that stands out in our white paper.

Traditionally, the climb to a high-level finance role included experience in financial reporting, accounting standards, and compliance and cost management. While this technical accounting background is valued in candidates with CPAs coming from public firms or from within corporations, hiring managers told us during our research that they value other competencies much more.

Today’s CFOs are often taking on responsibilities once assigned to CEOs and COOs, including overseeing human resources, risk management, and technology. These broadened roles require skills and competencies beyond financial reporting, compliance, and regulatory knowledge – skills that you may not have had an opportunity to build in an accounting firm or within the finance function at a company.

To stand out, senior corporate finance candidates must now have a comprehensive skill set that positions them to drive strategy, plan for growth and its challenges, and provide enterprise leadership.

What’s Valued Most in CFO Candidates?

As part of our research, we asked hiring executives to rank more than 80 competencies and sub-competencies in order of importance based on various criteria. The highest ranked competency was Financial Acumen. This should not come as a surprise to anyone since CFOs manage the company’s finances, sometimes large investments including human resources and technology. What is a bit surprising, however, is that the most desired sub-competencies under Financial Acumen were all future-focused. This is important for CFO candidates to note because these future-focused sub-competencies ranked extremely high.

The sub-competency “Capital Management/Forecasting – Funding the Organization” ranked No. 1 out of 8 under Financial Acumen – and No. 1 out of 79 total sub-competencies in importance. Hiring managers are seeking senior finance leaders who don’t just report on past results but can strategize for the future.

Has your firm or corporate experience prepared you to analyze and strategize for the future?

Today’s CFOs are expected to raise, allocate, and manage a company’s capital now and in the future. Experience in auditing or even advisory might now prepare you to be a senior financial forecaster or provide some expertise in funding an organization. When overseeing a company’s financials, including cash flow and financial risk, the CFO must always consider and prepare for tomorrow. This includes developing and executing strategies to ensure financial support for operations and growth goals. If you want to build an intentional career path toward a senior corporate finance position, you should seek out opportunities that develop these critical skills through education and stretch experiences.

The sub-competency “Financial Forecasting” ranked No. 2 out of 8 under Financial Acumen and was No. 2 out of 79 in importance of all sub-competencies. Regarding this sub-competency, hiring executives want a CFO with skills to predict future financial performance accurately and consistently to help keep the company profitable.

To read the full report and learn more about the key insights that will help CPAs secure senior corporate finance positions, please visit PICPA Insights.

Insights produces research, analysis, and resources on noteworthy issues impacting the accounting profession, such as technology adoption, implementation, and trends; CPA pipeline challenges and opportunities; accounting firm compensation and benefits; changing regulations and standards; and more. All PICPA members have access to the full Insights white paper. Nonmembers can view an executive summary, but if you are looking for guidance on how to best prepare yourself to apply for senior corporate finance positions, we encourage you to join the PICPA and gain access to the full white paper and other resources.

If you have any comments on the 2024 Corporate Finance Report: CPAs in the C-Suite or have thoughts on future accounting profession topics for Insights to investigate, please send them to insights@picpa.org.

Kelly J. Waffle is director, research and innovation, with CPA Crossings LLC and manager of the PICPA Insights research program. He can be reached at insights@picpa.org.

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