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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for VP Finance

💰 $ - $

FinanceLeadershipAccountingStrategyCorporate Finance

🎯 Role Definition

As the Vice President of Finance (VP Finance), you will lead the finance organization to deliver accurate financial reporting, robust forecasting, strategic capital allocation, and scalable controls that support growth and long-term value creation. This senior finance leader partners with the CEO, COO, business unit leaders and the Board to translate strategy into measurable financial outcomes, optimize cash and working capital, oversee investor and banking relationships, and drive continuous improvement of finance processes, systems and people. The ideal candidate combines deep technical finance expertise (FP&A, accounting, treasury, M&A, tax, compliance) with proven leadership, stakeholder influence and a track record of scaling finance functions within high-growth or complex enterprises.

Keywords: VP Finance, Vice President of Finance, financial strategy, FP&A, financial reporting, cash flow management, ERP, SOX, investor relations, M&A, forecasting, budgeting.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Senior Director of Finance (FP&A or Corporate Finance)
  • Head of Finance / Finance Director in a business unit
  • Corporate Controller or Head of Accounting

Advancement To:

  • Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
  • Chief Operating Officer (COO) — for finance leaders with strong operational experience
  • Division President / General Manager — for finance leaders with P&L experience

Lateral Moves:

  • Head of Investor Relations
  • Corporate Development / Head of M&A
  • Chief Accounting Officer (CAO)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Lead and own the end-to-end financial planning & analysis (FP&A) processes, including annual budgeting, rolling forecasts, scenario modeling, and monthly variance analysis to provide the executive team with timely, actionable insights for strategic decision-making.
  • Oversee consolidated financial reporting and month-end / quarter-end / year-end close processes to ensure timely, accurate GAAP/IFRS-compliant financial statements and management reports for executive leadership and the Board.
  • Design and implement a robust financial controls framework (including SOX readiness where applicable) to mitigate risk, ensure compliance, and support external audit activities; establish policies, processes and KPIs that scale with the business.
  • Manage treasury and working capital strategy, including cash flow forecasting, liquidity planning, banking relationships, debt and covenant management, and short-term investment to optimize the company’s capital efficiency.
  • Lead capital allocation decisions, including evaluation and execution of M&A transactions, strategic investments, divestitures and project financing; manage due diligence, valuation, integration planning and post-close reporting.
  • Partner with the CEO and executive team to define the company’s strategic plan, model multiple growth and cost scenarios, and translate strategic priorities into financial targets, operating metrics and incentive frameworks.
  • Drive fundraising and investor relations activities by preparing investor materials, leading diligence sessions, participating in roadshows, managing investor communications and responding to investor and board-level financial inquiries.
  • Own pricing, profitability and cost structure analysis to advise commercial teams on margin improvement opportunities, product mix optimization and long-term pricing strategy.
  • Build and lead a high-performing finance organization: recruit, develop and mentor finance leaders (accounting, FP&A, tax, treasury, internal controls) while establishing clear career paths, performance metrics and succession plans.
  • Implement and continuously improve financial systems and automation (ERP, FP&A tools, BI, consolidation systems) to streamline reporting, improve data quality and enable self-service analytics across the organization.
  • Ensure tax strategy and compliance across jurisdictions, coordinate tax planning, credits and incentives, and work with external advisors to minimize tax risk and optimize after-tax returns.
  • Drive revenue recognition, contract accounting and ASC 606/IFRS 15 compliance for complex commercial arrangements, ensuring revenue policies are well-documented and consistently applied.
  • Oversee external audit and regulatory relationships, serve as the primary finance point of contact for auditors, regulators and legal counsel, and ensure audit readiness and timely remediation of audit findings.
  • Establish and monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) across the business—revenue growth, gross margin, operating margin, CAC, LTV, churn, ARR/Bookings, cash runway—and deliver monthly/quarterly board-quality executive summaries.
  • Provide subject-matter expertise and financial modeling for business cases, new market entries, capital projects and product launches; perform sensitivity analysis and prepare investment memos for the executive team and Board.
  • Lead enterprise risk management initiatives related to financial exposure, currency and interest rate risk, insurance and compliance, and define mitigation strategies in partnership with legal and operations.
  • Manage vendor relationships for finance-adjacent services (ERP vendors, payroll providers, tax advisors, banking partners) and negotiate service contracts and pricing to control costs and ensure operational excellence.
  • Drive cost optimization and efficiency programs, partnering with operations and HR to identify opportunities for process redesign, shared services, outsourcing, and technology-driven productivity improvements.
  • Act as a strategic partner to business leaders by embedding finance into commercial planning, product development and go-to-market decisions; provide real-time analysis and decision support for pricing, promotions and capital allocation.
  • Prepare and present financial reports, forecasts and narratives to the Board of Directors and audit committees; translate complex financial topics into clear, concise messages and recommended actions.
  • Champion data governance and financial data integrity across source systems; define clean data inputs and outputs and ensure alignment between finance, sales operations, revenue recognition and business intelligence teams.
  • Drive ESG-related finance reporting and integration of sustainability metrics into planning and investor communications, where applicable, including carbon accounting and sustainability-linked financing.
  • Support post-merger integration (PMI) and carve-outs by establishing unified reporting, harmonizing accounting policies, coordinating financial systems migration and tracking synergy realization against targets.
  • Monitor competitive and market trends affecting financial performance, including interest rates, currency fluctuations, pricing pressure, regulatory shifts and macroeconomic indicators; recommend proactive adjustments to financial plans.

Secondary Functions

  • Lead ad-hoc financial analysis and deep-dive projects requested by the CEO, Board or business leaders to answer strategic questions, evaluate trade-offs and inform time-sensitive decisions.
  • Support cross-functional initiatives (IT/ERP implementations, change management programs, shared services rollouts) by representing finance requirements, validating data flows and ensuring finance readiness.
  • Serve as an escalation point for complex accounting judgments and policy interpretations; partner with external advisors and auditors to reach defensible conclusions.
  • Participate in executive recruiting and leadership development forums to evaluate talent, design compensation programs and ensure alignment of incentives with company strategy.
  • Coordinate with Legal and HR on finance-related compliance matters including employee compensation reporting, equity plans and regulatory filings.
  • Provide mentorship and formal training to finance team members on financial modeling best practices, accounting standards, reporting tools and communication to non-finance stakeholders.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Advanced financial modeling and scenario analysis (DCF, LBO basics, sensitivity and Monte Carlo where applicable); ability to create board-level financial models and investment memos.
  • Deep FP&A expertise: budgeting, rolling forecasts, variance analysis, driver-based planning and KPI design for SaaS, recurring revenue or enterprise business models.
  • Strong accounting knowledge: GAAP and/or IFRS, revenue recognition (ASC 606/IFRS 15), lease accounting (ASC 842/IFRS 16) and financial statement consolidation.
  • SOX compliance, internal controls design and audit management experience (external audit coordination and remediation).
  • Treasury and cash management: cash flow forecasting, banking relationships, debt covenant management, hedging fundamentals and working capital optimization.
  • M&A and corporate development experience: target screening, due diligence, valuation, deal structuring, integration planning and synergy tracking.
  • ERP and financial systems implementation experience (NetSuite, Oracle ERP Cloud, SAP, Microsoft Dynamics) plus FP&A and BI tools (Adaptive Insights, Anaplan, Workday, Tableau, Power BI).
  • Technical proficiency with Excel (advanced functions, pivot tables, macros) and familiarity with SQL or data querying for finance analytics.
  • Tax planning and compliance awareness, including international tax considerations and transfer pricing basics for multi-jurisdictional operations.
  • Experience with investor relations, capital raises (equity and debt), term sheet negotiation and preparing materials for VC, PE or public markets.
  • Contract accounting and familiarity with contract lifecycle management tools for revenue and billing governance.
  • Familiarity with SaaS metrics (ARR, MRR, CAC, LTV, churn), subscription accounting and usage-based billing models where relevant.
  • Data governance and financial data architecture knowledge to ensure reliable management reporting and integration across CRM/ERP/data warehouses.

Soft Skills

  • Strategic leadership: ability to translate long-term strategy into measurable financial objectives and drive organizational alignment.
  • Executive communication: concise, persuasive presenter with experience preparing board materials and leading investor conversations.
  • Stakeholder management: build trust with cross-functional partners (Sales, Ops, Product, Legal) and influence without direct authority.
  • People leadership and coaching: recruit, develop and retain high-performing finance teams and cultivate a culture of accountability.
  • Problem-solving and critical thinking: structured approach to complex issues, with rigorous attention to assumptions and implications.
  • Change agent and project manager: lead large-scale transformations, ERP implementations and process redesign with measurable outcomes.
  • High ethical standards and integrity in financial reporting and confidential information handling.
  • Resilience and adaptability: thrive in ambiguous, fast-paced, high-growth or turnaround environments.
  • Negotiation skills for banking, vendor and M&A discussions.
  • Detail orientation with an ability to synthesize and communicate high-level insights for executive decision-making.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Economics, Business Administration or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • MBA, Master’s in Finance, or advanced degree preferred.
  • Professional certification such as CPA, CMA, CFA is strongly preferred depending on role emphasis (accounting vs. capital markets).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Accounting
  • Finance
  • Economics
  • Business Administration
  • Data Analytics / Information Systems (for system-driven finance transformations)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 10+ years in progressive finance roles with at least 5+ years in senior leadership (VP / Head of Finance / Senior Director) or equivalent.

Preferred:

  • 12+ years of experience with demonstrable experience scaling finance organizations across hypergrowth startups, mid-market expansions or public company environments.
  • Experience in industry-specific finance (SaaS/technology, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, fintech) as relevant to the hiring company.
  • Track record of leading ERP implementations, fundraising rounds (private equity, venture capital, or debt), M&A transactions and building high-performing finance teams.
  • Prior exposure to public company reporting, investor relations or board-level presentations is a strong plus.
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