A corporate finance director usually supervises or manages a group of financial experts who handle a company’s or organization’s financial activities. A corporate finance director, who usually reports to or works under the CEO, is in charge of defining and developing a company’s financial strategy and performance. Those who work in this field may have a strong background in corporate finance or investment banking, as well as a working knowledge of corporate valuation, mergers and acquisitions, and other capital-raising strategies such as research, development, and expansion.
A corporate finance director’s many responsibilities include assisting a company or organization in clearly defining a strategy for current and future financial activity. Individual project financing, capital raising, and corporate finance responsibilities may all be part of this strategy. Maintaining and monitoring the performance of these various financial activities is also part of this function. A company’s chief executive officer (CEO) or chief financial officer (CFO) will most likely work closely with a corporate finance director. This position may also require the analysis and preparation of monthly, quarterly, and annual financial reports for a board of directors.
Any corporate financial director with a background in corporate finance or investment banking will find it easier to handle the duties and responsibilities of this position. Because investment banks will be underwriting any capital-raising projects, a corporate finance director with investment banking experience will be in a unique position to assist in raising the funds required to expand or grow certain aspects of a company. A working understanding of corporate capital-raising methods such as stocks, bonds, and securities may also be required in this position. Anyone in this position who has prior experience with initial public offerings (IPOs) of stock or issuing bonds to raise capital has an advantage.
Most corporate finance directors will benefit from prior experience dealing with shareholders, corporate valuation, acquisitions, and mergers. Before any of these methods can be used to raise capital for a company, shareholders must be confident in the current market value of the company’s assets and liabilities. A corporate finance director is also in charge of ensuring that a company does everything possible to maintain a good credit rating in the event that it needs to borrow money. In this position, excellent communication skills and the ability to know what information to reveal at what time while remaining within the bounds of any laws and regulations are essential.