Related Posts
The coolest thing engineering gave us...
Pro
Conversation Starter
Hi! Excited we have a space finally :)
Additional Posts in Accounting
Can you negotiate PTO at annual review?
Pittsburgh big4 audit senior salary?
Any international transfer suffering from ACCA?
I am WAY TOO nice to be in public accounting….
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
I honestly don’t see anyway you are going to get to CFO with your background. I don’t see anywhere that says you have any finance or even accounting experience. If you go to B4 into auditing, you are going to be starting at the bottom.
I am very confident it is not really achievable. You would be starting from scratch since you have no applicable experience so far for a CFO position
This may be a bit of an uphill battle, but I would say you need to try to get into industry on an accounting/controllership or FP&A team. Which will probably mean taking a step or more down from your current level, but that’s the experience you need.
I wouldn’t start with the certifications, they’ll mean little without the relevant experience. Maybe go back and get them after a couple years in a relevant role. And even then I would network with existing CFOs and ask if they even really matter.
I also wouldn’t go to audit. While it can be a launching pad if you “grew up” in it, most people would’ve been out of it by the time they reached your level (into industry) and there isn’t as much overlap with what you’re trying to get to. Consulting is a broad term, it could possibly work, it would just depend on exactly what you’re doing. At this juncture you need broad experience and not to be pigeonholed into something specific since you’re trying to pivot.
You can totally make cfo without any extra work accounting wise. Most companies care about their tax avoidance strategies which you potentially are honed in on and already have exposure to. For the breathe that you have related to international tax, I would shoot for getting your foot in the door at a large conglomerate like microsoft, Google, Amazon, sap, etc. If you want so.ething smaller, then target companies who are on cash basis acctg and only care about tax implications like law firms. I know some cfos at law firms that are straight tax dudes. Not impossible, just got to find right role to lead u there at a company that will growth plan you to cfo.
CPA cert trumps all in acctg. No need for additional certification unless you are doing a niche field like internal audit, forensic accounting, Healthcare, etc.
My expertise in international relocations, global payroll and tax compliance, permanent establishment (PE) risk, and cross-border workforce strategy (including remote work and business travelers) gives me a unique perspective that I believe would add value to a multinational organization.
Questions:
1. Would pursuing the Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA) and/or Certified Corporate Financial Planning & Analysis Professional (FPAC) designations be a worthwhile investment to support this pivot?
2. What’s the most effective path to gain the necessary corporate experience?
Should I consider returning to a Big Four firm—perhaps in audit or consulting to build broader exposure? Or would it be more strategic to move in-house as a financial analyst or accountant?
Are there other routes you’d recommend for making this transition successfully?
Any insights or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
I started my career at PwC in global mobility then made the change to international tax as a senior and now in a corp tax group of a F500 company. I do a lot of crossover work now with FPA and our CFO as a director.
I’m going to tell it to you straight it will be really hard for your transition. There is very little from my global mobility work that translates to what I do now. Not going to say it’s not possible but you will need to take a step back in your career. You will get told no a lot and you will have to take a big pay cut. You’ll have to get someone to take a chance on you and will have to put in a lot of work learning! To be direct, I wouldn’t consider you for a position in our tax or FPA group with your experience because I know the learning curve and know very few people could handle it.
Global mobility is one of the areas that once you get to a certain point in your career you’re kinda stuck there without taking big steps back. I’m sure there will be people that are going to disagree with this. Global mobility isn’t a tax or finance job. It’s an HR job.
How do people become expats? What kind of jobs or field are they normally