Hello, I am a junior currently majoring in Accounting and Finance at the University of West Florida. After graduation I am hoping to join one of the big 4 accounting firms or a well known company like Google(my dream job). While working I am going to get a CPA, CFA, and CMA. Finally, after I finish my certifications I would like to get a Masters in Accounting and Masters in Finance. I was wondering if anyone could tell me if this is enough, academically speaking, for rise up the ranks to be a CFO? If you know of anything else academically that I should add please let meknow aswell 
Thank you!
If you’re thinking of getting your CPA, I think it makes more sense to begin working towards that license before you start working. It’s challenging to study for the exam while working full-time in public accounting; people do it, but most of them regret not having at least some of the exams completed before they start working full time especially at a Big 4 firm. I’m also not entirely sure if there is any benefit to you acquiring a Master’s in Accounting after obtaining the CPA license; if you don’t need the master’s degree to meet the education requirements, I would probably just skip it to be honest.
Becoming a CFO isn’t really something that you can work your way up by accumulating academic credentials to be honest. If anything, I would suggest focusing less on academics and focusing more on work experience; after you graduate and find a job with a public accounting firm, try to get on projects in the industry that you eventually want to work for.
(For example, if you want to work for Google eventually try to get a job with a firm that audits or provides consulting services for Google or one of its competitors, and use that as your opportunity to learn as much as you can about that type of business and industry. You will then be a more attractive candidate for positions at those companies since you already have this experience and knowledge. Going back to school to get a Master’s of accounting wouldn’t really help that; if anything, it would slow you down.)
(Note: some employers will tell you that you need an MBA to move up in the company; if that’s the case, that would be a good reason to get the degree. Other than that, being promoted into the C-Suite is never based on simply gathering as many college degrees as you can).
@DmitriR I remember reading a while back a thread discussing how a management position for a company requires a background in that specific industry (similar to you saying it focuses more on work experience). I remember that the general consensus is that you would typically have an undergrad in a relate-able field for that industry and then an MBA would let you move up into that managerial position.
Would you say that’s true for a CFO as well?
Being CFO can mean so many different things. You can be CFO of a two person company or CFO of a Fortune 500 company. You can be a CFO of a tiny division or of the entire company. All of these will be very different jobs. The bottom line is don’t spend time worrying about getting a certain title. Tons of accountants have great careers without reaching the CFO level and some CFOs are in dead end jobs at small companies. You are a junior in college. 1) finish your education 2) get a good job 3) get your CPA and 4) work diligently to move up the ladder.
@Noteworthy – Just from my personal (limited) experience, I think you’re right about that. the undergraduate major tends to matter more when you’re trying to get your foot in the door in a given company in your industry. For example, if someone wants to work at Google they may choose to have an undergrad in computer science or CIS/MIS. Once you are actually working there, I would agree that an MBA may be helpful if that’s what the company seems to favor or prefer. (I do think that sometimes people on this forum overexaggerate the usefulness and importance of having as many majors or college degrees as possible though. You can’t tell from reading these threads, but most people get good jobs without double majoring and double minoring.)