I think I want to be a CFO of an actual company (not banking, investments, securities, etc.)

I see myself as the financial decision-maker of the company, setting budgets, ratio analysis, investment appraisal, finding sources of finance, taking care of working capital, etc. and linking these to strategies to meet the goals and objectives of the company. I'd like to coordinate with the various departments in the company (i.e. tell HR to downsize, tell marketing to increase selling price, etc.), and I definitely have leadership capabilities.

I also want to stay away from things like stocks, banking, etc.

What specialization should I go into for my undergrad degree, and what would be the possible career paths afterwards? I intend to get an MBA after 2-3 years of working, but I don't know how I would start out on my career path - would I start out as an accountant? In that case should I go for CA certification?

I have also heard that a background in law is very helpful.. is that true?


Any help and advice is appreciated!

@drishinbalz
If you decide to do a business undergrad, the best specialization would be finance and you should be taking
lots of corporate finance and accounting courses since financial reporting and analysis would be primarily what you would be doing in an entry role in corporate dev./fin./strat. (and working your way up to treasurer and CFO of course). An accounting degree is also a viable specialization and you could break into the industry at BIG 4, perhaps doing corporate advisory/consulting then moving over to the corporate sector. CA title would help considering many CFOs hold the certification but it is by no means a necessity.
Another popular career path (don't rage plz) would be to go through the banking route since it typically gets your foot into the upper echelons of the corporate sector aftewards (due to the reputation of ibanking experience).
Law is kinda iffy depending on how much business exposure you get. Running a business and its finances is something you can only learn through job experience so no matter what background you're in, find work in anything finance (either fancy like ibank or balanced like corporation work), work hard at it and move your way up.

http://www.studentawards...amp;m=130071#post130071

Here's the same thread from the business forum. Since this one has had recent activity, I'll carry on with my response here.


It's somewhat reasonable. To get your CA designation though, you need to work in a CA Training Office (CATO). Most CATOs are public accounting firms. Public accounting firms also hire more students (it's a great way to gain experience and it's the "traditional" path) so you're more likely to go that route than the industry route. Either way it won't be overly difficult to get an industry job upon graduation or 2-5 years after graduating. For example, I will be working in industry this summer (I have an internship at a very large, unnamed company). It wouldn't be very hard for me to stay with this company for my co-op terms and graduate with a job with them- I'd just have to make sure I get into the training program, and this goes for anyone working in industry before getting their designation. Things may change if they merge and it's the CPA designation, but meh whatever.

Finance is relevant to a CFO because companies are related to finance. Whether it's dealing with an IPO or SEO, participating in earnings calls, or just dealing with regular financing needs, companies are always doing something related to finance and capital markets. The CFO is the exec that usually has the most "numbers knowledge," so it's a natural for them to deal with finance-related stuff. How much you need to know and how much you deal with finance (it's a broad term btw) will vary by company, but definitely expect to see it.

To see the steps to getting a CA designation, visit guidetorulingtheworld.com or check out this thread here (and see my response):

http://www.studentawards...spx?g=posts&t=13827


I'm not sure why you think finance is the best option. The courses you are taking related to finance are primarily investment-related. While there are some useful things mixed in, but financial planning, portfolio risk measures, Black-Scholes model, stochastic processes, etc. aren't going to be overly relevant. Accounting is definitely the more relevant route. My personal recommendation would be Waterloo AFM. It's regarded as the best school for accounting, and you have the great recruiting from the Big 4 and other public accounting firms, but you also have the option to double specialize and take a large number of finance courses (and work towards your CA and CFA, CA and CMA, or CMA and CFA designations) and explore co-ops in a wide range of roles if you're unsure.

Most CFOs in Canada come from an accounting background, with the majority holding CA designations (and often times another one of the designations offered in conjunction with the CA designation such as the CBV). There are some with different backgrounds, usually in finance (or some with both) but in general more have accounting. Accounting is more pertinent knowledge to know vs finance. Most CAs work in industry, and many are able to work their way to a management position (think of all those stats thrown around by the ICAO). Throw in CMAs and CGAs (as well as American CPAs coming over here to work) and you suddenly have a large number of accountants in this position. While it is true that you could go from banking to management, you will see more bankers moving to private equity and venture capitalism and the like. You'll have likely a similar percentage staying on to become senior members (compared to partners at CA firms) but you'll have almost all CAs going from public accounting to industry (if they leave). Finance knowledge is still important and will definitely benefit you if you have it though. If you can gain some of both that is best. But I would say that accounting knowledge is the more traditional route and will probably be your best bet. But pay attention to both, keep an open mind, do whatever one you feel is most interesting (taking into account possible careers and such) and try to gain knowledge of both if possible.

And yes. Also Waterloo offers quite a few finance opportunities as well, which is what I was getting at. There's an opportunity to do both accounting and finance, which is pretty unrivaled.

We noticed your post and you've got some great questions. If you're looking to get into a CFO or Chief Operating Officer (COO) role, pursuing an accounting designation after undergrad is a good option. All three designations (CGA, CA and CMA) give you the advanced finance skills and experience to achieve a senior role later on.

Program delivery is a major difference between the three, so it's important to look at how you want to learn when deciding. The CGA program is flexible for students. You complete courses part-time and online so you can work full-time right after undergrad. You can also select elective courses which suit your industry interests and complete your work experience requirement in any area (gov, corporate, non-profit, etc).

CGA Ontario, ICAO and CMA Ontario have 'accredited programs' (B.Com, B.Acc. BBA) at universities across the province that will give you direct entry into their programs. If you know you want to get a designation later on, doing your undergrad in one of these is your best option. Here's an example from CGA Ontario: http://cga-domore.org/howtoget

Let us know if you have any questions and good luck in your studies.