¶ … CFO and would like to gain a sense of the skills required and steps to be taken. This research will enable me to better understand the practical application of my educational foundation, and chart a path to build a career arc upon that foundation. To become a CFO, one must build several years worth of functional experience, and acquire a significant amount of education. It is my objective to identify the most important components of that experience and education, as well as to get a sense of the time frames involved. This will provide insight into how today's CFOs came to be in such an exemplary position.

The initial research questions would allow me to gather information about CFOs today, who they are and how they got there. The questions would focus on the curriculum vitae and career path that is typically required of a CFO. Some of the initial research questions would be: What are the skills required of a CFO? What is the experience required of a CFO? How are these skills and this experience acquired? What is the role of the CFO in the executive team? What is the typical career path one takes to become a CFO?

Some of the key concepts are the role of the CFO, with synonymous terms being duties, responsibilities and tasks. Another key concept is the background, with synonymous terms including education, experience, career path, training and skill set. Another key concept relating to this subject is that of corporate finance, since that is the core of the CFO's role. Synonymous terms include capital budgeting, debt-asset ratio, cost of capital. These are some of the functional areas along the path to becoming a CFO, as are accounting areas. Gaining insight into all of these facets of the CFO role will help to break down the career path with greater specificity.