Which jobs lead to the role of CFO?

A successful CFO needs to balance monetary and people needs in order to operate an efficient and profitable organization.

The CFO may oversee various departments at the same time, including purchasing, investments, tax, debt management, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and pricing.

To reach the highest level of financial responsibility in most companies, aspiring CFOs can take many different career paths.

Payscale.com has created an excellent interactive CFO career paths chart.

The chart shows that the CFO role isn’t necessarily defined by a financial track. An employee could begin their career in business development, non-profit work, account management, or a more traditional financial position. Some employees even choose to shift laterally from their CEO role to work in a more financial-facing position.

This article is published in collaboration with Business Insider. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: James Kosur is the C-suite editor at Business Insider.

Image: A man walks along an empty street near the central financial district in Hong Kong. REUTERS/Carlos Barria.