By CFO Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
Batman has Robin. A good CFO, who many (well, we) say is the Batman equivalent in an organization, needs a similar sidekick. For many companies, that’s the chief accounting officer. The CAO is a senior-level employee who reports to the CFO and oversees an organization’s accounting functions, from bookkeeping to tax compliance, according to the job search website Indeed. They have a “complementary relationship” with the CFO, chief accountants told us.
Here’s what to know about chief accounting officers:
- It’s a growing role: The chief accounting officer has become a far more ubiquitous role in organizations over recent decades. As of Sept. 1, 2024, more than 10,000 people held the title of CAO globally, according to employment data company Live Data Technologies. By that point, the number of CAO roles had grown by 60.4% from 1990 and 36.9% from 2000.
- Shifting paradigm: As the role of the CFO has become less tactical and more strategic, the CAO is often there to help pick up the slack. As one CAO told us, his biggest contribution is allowing his boss “to be…looking and leaning into the future and into our [company’s] strategy.” But CAOs may also have an active hand in strategy. According to Indeed, the CAO can also help an organization “set its long-term strategic financial planning.”
- The CFO-in-training? According to Live Data Technologies, 15.2% of some 25,000 former CAOs became CFOs, and 12.6% moved on to the role of VP of finance. One CAO-turned-CFO told us that his time as an accounting chief allowed him to grow his “sphere of influence” and work alongside the CFO to produce strategic insights for all areas of the organization.
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