Can FP&A Lead to CFO? – Part 2 - FP&A Professional Institute

In this article I walk you through the exact sequence successful FP&A professionals followed to become CFOs.

In Part 1 of this article series we busted myths and introduced the SCALE framework and the five skills every future CFO must master. If you haven’t seen that yet here is the link

Here, we go deeper: real CFO stories, how to build a practical “finance passport,” the role of technology and AI, and concrete actions you can take this week to accelerate toward the C-suite.

What you’ll learn

Why FP&A is one of the fastest paths to CFO today
Real-life examples of FP&A to CFO transitions
How to sequence the five core skills (SCALE)
What a “Finance Passport” is and how to build one without changing jobs
How technology and AI change the FP&A career timeline
How to build executive presence and practical routines to get noticed.

The pattern that works: FP&A plus operational action

Real CFOs didn’t just produce reports. They used planning to change business outcomes. Notice the recurring pattern across careers:

They translated analysis into operational recommendations.
They took initiative and worked cross-functionally early.
They tied forecasting and scenario work to strategic decisions.
They broadened finance exposure to build credibility with boards.

Ann Gugino From FP&A at Target to CFO at Papa John’s. Never held a traditional accounting job. Her edge was turning analysis into operational advice: identifying underperforming stores and recommending changes that improved performance.

Kate Bueker started in FP&A at Akamai and became CFO at HubSpot. Her defining moment: using forecasting to model HubSpot’s pivot to a subscription model and showing how recurring revenue strengthened long-term value.

Jason Child began on Amazon’s FP&A team modeling international expansion and billion dollar scenarios. That scenario-planning experience carried into acquisition strategy as CFO at Splunk.

Raana Zia moved from Banana Republic’s FP&A to CFO at Dress Barn by mastering retail unit economics (product mix, inventory turns, margins). Her operational fluency turned her into the trusted voice during a turnaround.

The SCALE framework recap

The SCALE framework identifies the five skills every future CFO must master:

Strategic visibility — being visible where strategy is decided
Cross-functional collaboration — building influence beyond finance
Accounting foundation — technical credibility when it matters
Leadership — guiding teams and decisions
Executive presence — influencing and moving decisions

The Finance Passport

After you’ve demonstrated FP&A impact, the most common next step is to broaden your finance exposure what we call a Finance Passport. Like passport stamps, these show boards the range of finance experiences you’ve collected: accounting, treasury, tax, investor relations, audit, M&A.

You do not need a formal rotation to collect stamps. Small, intentional acts add up:

Help with the monthly close once per quarter to see accounting-flow → forecast connections.
Volunteer for a capital allocation or acquisition integration working group to learn treasury and M&A thinking.
Shadow different finance groups on a regular block (e.g., 90 minutes every other Friday).

Practical tip: keep a simple passport log. For each new experience write one sentence on what you learned and one sentence on how it changed your modeling or insights. This becomes evidence for reviews and interviews.

Technology and AI: how they accelerate the FP&A path

Automation and AI are not threats.

They free FP&A teams from repetitive work so analysts can focus on decisions that shape strategy. Tools like Anaplan, Adaptive Insights, Workday, Cube, and Vena automate data pulls and budgeting mechanics. Visualization tools like Power BI and Tableau shrink reporting cycles and create room for forward-looking analysis.

Examples:

Machine learning generating baseline sales forecasts. Teams spend time learning why some stores outperform and how to scale them.
A tech firm cut reporting cycles from two weeks to a few days, freeing time to build predictive models for a product launch that directly guided executive decisions.

Research shows finance pros who convert numbers into business narratives earn promotions faster. With AI handling prep, your advantage is in interpretation and judgment and not just speed.

Executive presence: The deciding factor

Executive presence separates a capable FP&A manager from someone the board views as a CFO. It’s not about being loud. It’s about guiding decisions with clarity and calm.

Ron Monteiro identifies five traits of CFO-level executive presence:

Clarity of thought
Calmness under pressure
Strategic perspective
Decisiveness
Credibility (this one depends most on technical accuracy)

Use this checklist in every meeting:

Are you making complex ideas clearer?
Staying steady during tense discussions? Linking details to strategy?
Stating recommendations directly?
Remaining trustworthy?

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Actionable routine to build presence (30-day challenge)

For the next month, format every presentation around three key takeaways and one recommended action.
Trim routine reports into a 5-minute “so what” summary and use saved time to build a forward-looking model or scenario.
Explain your next variance analysis to a non-finance colleague. If they can repeat the business meaning back in plain language, you win.

Examples of quick wins: a manager simplified presentations and named one next action and within weeks she was invited to VP-level planning sessions.

Another manager suggested a product design change after spotting margin declines and tracked the cost improvements herself. This cross-functional problem solving demonstrated CFO-level influence long before she managed a team.

Measure your progress

Simple metrics you can track:

Number of your recommendations adopted by executives per quarter.
Number of invitations you receive to high-level strategy meetings.
Entries in your Finance Passport log showing meaningful connection to FP&A models.

Conclusion

FP&A is a powerful path to the CFO because it combines forward-looking perspective with cross-functional reach.

To turn that advantage into promotions, follow the SCALE framework: build strategic visibility, broaden finance fluency with a Finance Passport, embrace technology and AI to move up the value chain, and practice executive presence until it becomes second nature.

FAQs

Q1. Can FP&A really lead to a CFO role?

Yes. Nearly half of today’s CFOs came through FP&A roles. The key is using planning to drive business action and then expanding your finance experience and presence.

Q2. What is a Finance Passport and how do I build one?

A Finance Passport is a documented set of short exposures across finance areas (accounting, treasury, tax, IR, audit, M&A). Build one by volunteering for quarterly close support, joining integration teams, shadowing finance colleagues, and logging what you learned and how it changed your models.

Q3. How should I use automation and AI to my advantage?

Automate routine data prep so you can focus on interpretation and scenario work. Learn the tools enough to ask sharper questions and use the freed time to build predictive models and business narratives.

Q4. What exactly is executive presence and how do I improve it?

Executive presence is clarity, calmness, strategy, decisiveness and credibility. Improve it by practicing concise presentations (3 takeaways + 1 action), explaining finance to non-finance colleagues, and consistently driving cross-functional decisions.

Q5. What’s one practical thing I can do today to move closer to CFO?

Add a single recommended action to your next report (don’t just present the numbers). Track whether it gets adopted and use that as evidence of influence.

Which of these steps will you commit to this week? Choose one and start building your CFO-ready story.

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