EA to CFO Recruitment: Understanding the Business Relationship
An executive assistant to a CFO, depending on the size and structure of the company, may have a one-on-one relationship working exclusively for the CFO, or this assistant could also act as a shared resource within a corporate accounting group. In the latter case, the bulk of the work supports the CFO, but the EA will also sometimes support other C-level executives within the organization, such as the CEO or COO.
What We Look for When Staffing an Executive Assistant to the CFO:
- Discretion, as EAs to CFOs often handle extremely confidential financial information relating to transactions such as mergers and acquisitions
- Detail oriented, no margin for error
- Technically savvy, with expert knowledge of Excel and Concur
- Numerically and analytically acute, with aptitude for numbers
- Excellent presentation and communication skills, with the poise and presence to work close alongside the CEO and other senior executives, along with board members.
- Well educated, typically holding a four-year bachelor’s degree, and sometimes an MBA
- Prior experience working with C-level executives
What Are the Responsibilities of an Executive Assistant to a Chief Financial Officer?
While the responsibilities of each EA to a CFO recruitment opportunity may differ depending on the company, in general they include:
- Creating Excel spreadsheets
- Management of the CFO’s expense reports
- Calendar management
- CRM management
- Monitoring traffic documents, checks and ACH payments, contracts, invoices, and employment requisitions
- Offering assistance at Investment, Audit and Risk Committee meetings, preparing minutes, acting as liaison between committee members and staff
- Assisting with analytical and reporting functions
- Meeting planning
- Travel planning
- Review and approval of C-level executive activities, and directing expense reports
- Preparing presentations for board members, and the executive team
- Assisting with business plan presentation and monthly and quarterly board meeting materials
What's the Role of a CFO?
The chief financial officer is the financial controller of a company. The CFO is responsible for keeping track of the financial pulse of the business. When staffing an executive assistant to the CFO you want to make sure they can help with all the duties allocated to the CFO. The duties of this office may vary by industry and depending on whether the company is large or small, or private or publicly held.
- Tax reports, SEC filings
- Expense tracking
- Managing budgets
- Managing payroll expenses
- Overseeing Risk & Audit functions
- Overseeing Reporting for monthly and quarterly board and executive meetings
- Profit/loss reporting
CFO Background & Experience
The typical chief financial officer has ten to fifteen years or more of experience working with publicly traded companies and carrying out SEC reporting. The CFO usually has a bachelor’s degree in accounting or finance, and prior experience as a CFO or controller. Whatever the industry, most importantly, a chief financial officer almost always is a certified public accountant with prior accounting experience.
To see some of our recent executive assistant to CFO placements, you can visit our Recent Hires page.
C-Suite Assistants: Experts in Recruiting EAs to the CFO Since 2003
If you would like to hear more about our services for administrative assistants to CFOs recruitment, please call us at 646-214-7475.
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