How To Move From Accountant To CFO
A step-by-step guide to help you move from Accountant to CFO in next five year - Complete Roadmap By Divyesh Dave
A few weeks ago, I shared my personal Career Roadmap visual - the same framework I used to grow from a junior accountant to a senior finance leader over the last 15 years, and I am following to reach the next level.
After sharing it, my inbox was filled with questions like:
“Divyesh, can this really be achieved in 5 years?”
“How do I follow this plan if I’m already working?”
“What should I learn first to move faster toward leadership?”
So, I decided to write this detailed blog - a step-by-step guide to help you move from Accountant to CFO, using the same roadmap I followed, but compressed into 5 focused years for those ready to commit to growth.
If you’re an ambitious accountant or finance professional who dreams of achieving a 7-figure income and a leadership role in the next few years, this article is for you.
🌱 Year 0 – The Foundation: Student Stage (Get Clarity)
Every successful career starts long before the first job. The foundation is built during your student phase, when your focus should be on gaining clarity, discipline, and mindset.
At this stage:
Study your core subjects sincerely, accounting, business studies, economics, and very basic mathematics.
Develop curiosity about how money flows in a business, not just how to record it.
Learn to observe, how companies operate, what makes businesses profitable, and how accountants support decision-making.
🎯 Main Goals:
Get clarity in your career path.
Create a goal plan (decide your dream role).
Build a disciplined mindset toward learning.
💡 Qualification Preferred: Schooling (Formal or Online)
💡 Job Target: None (focus on learning, not earning yet)
This is where your journey begins, not by chance, but by choice.
🧩 Year 1–3 – Level 1: The Starter Stage (Build Fundamentals)
The next milestone is about building your strong base with fundamentals.
This is your execution phase, where you learn how accounting really works in the real world.
🎓 Qualification Preferred: Graduation (B.Com, BBA, or related field)
⏳ Duration: 3 years
🎯 Job Target: Accounting Executive / Junior Accountant
At this level, your main mission is to gain hands-on experience.
Start small, but learn deeply, bookkeeping, reconciliation, journal entries, payroll, and compliance.
📘 Core Subjects:
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Financial Statements
Basic Taxation and VAT/GST
Excel and ERP Systems
💡 Additional Skills to Learn:
Excel + AI automation basics
Cloud Accounting Software (Zoho, QuickBooks, Tally Prime)
Communication & English
This stage is where most people stop learning, but not you.
If you want to climb toward a CFO role, treat this stage as your learning laboratory.
Every transaction, report, and audit teaches you something about business.
🚀 Year 4 – Level 2: The Challenger Stage (Go Global with Advanced Topics)
Once your fundamentals are solid, it’s time to upgrade your knowledge and think globally.
This stage is where you begin transforming from an “Accountant” to a Finance Professional.
You start to see the bigger picture, how numbers tell stories, how data drives business strategy.
🎓 Qualification Preferred:
Diploma in IFRS
ACCA Diploma in International Financial Reporting
Diploma in US GAAP (if targeting multinational roles)
🎯 Job Target: Global Accounting Manager (with Finance Focus)
⏳ Duration: 1 year (can overlap with graduation)
📘 Core Subjects:
Intermediate Financial Reporting
FP&A Fundamentals
Management Accounting Concepts
Business Performance Metrics
💡 Additional Skills to Learn:
Advanced Excel and Power BI
Data Analytics & Visualization
Business Communication and Advanced English
At this stage, aim for roles that expose you to budgeting, forecasting, or MIS reporting.
Volunteer to work with management reports, cost analysis, or automation projects.
Each exposure brings you closer to leadership thinking.
“Challengers don’t just close books, they help open new possibilities for business growth.”
🏆 Year 5-6 Level 3: The Leader Stage (Become a Decision Maker)
This is where you evolve from being a “finance reporter” to a finance leader.
At this point, your focus should shift from recording transactions to driving decisions.
You start seeing yourself not as an employee but as a business partner.
🎓 Qualification Preferred:
US CMA/US CPA/ACCA/CA (the global gold standard for finance leaders)
🎯 Job Target: Finance Manager → CFO (within 2–3 years)
⏳ Duration: 2 years or parallel with graduation
📘 Core Subjects:
FP&A and Decision-Making
Strategic Finance and Business Valuation
Corporate Governance and Risk Management
💡 Additional Skills:
Business Acumen
Leadership and People Management
MBA (Regular or Distance) for understanding business strategy
At this level, your success depends less on what you know and more on how you think.
You must learn to lead teams, communicate insights clearly, and make decisions that move the organisation forward.
“Numbers tell stories, but leaders decide which story matters most.”
This mindset shift is what separates an accountant from a CFO.
⚙️ The 5-Year Acceleration Plan for 7-Figure Income
Now, let’s connect all these levels into a 5-year fast-track plan for those who want to achieve leadership-level success faster.
Year 1: Learn the Core
Build your foundation in accounting and bookkeeping.
Learn Excel, ERP, and basic reporting.
Year 2: Strengthen Fundamentals
Work as an accounting executive and apply your learning.
Learn IFRS basics and improve business communication.
Year 3: Go Global
Pursue Diploma in IFRS or ACCA.
Start building FP&A knowledge.
Network with professionals in Dubai, Singapore, and India.
Year 4: Lead Projects
Learn data analytics and automation.
Get involved in budgeting or management reporting projects.
Start CMA or CPA preparation.
Year 5: Step Into Leadership
Complete your CMA or MBA.
Build your personal brand on LinkedIn.
Apply for roles like Finance Manager, FP&A Lead, or Controller.
If you stay consistent, this roadmap can help you achieve a 7-figure annual income and a leadership role in 5 years — something that took me 15 years to figure out through trial and error.
Here’s the roadmap that I had created. You can modify as per your requirements.
🧠 Mindset Matters More Than Methods
You can follow every roadmap, every qualification, every checklist, but if your mindset doesn’t evolve, your growth will stop.
The CFO mindset is not about titles — it’s about ownership, clarity, and leadership.
Here’s how to think like a CFO, even when you’re still an accountant:
Ask better questions in meetings — “What’s the financial impact?”
Stop thinking only in ledgers — start thinking in strategy.
Develop the habit of daily learning — read, observe, and analyze.
Learn to communicate — clarity beats complexity.
Build relationships across departments — collaboration leads to visibility.
“Leadership begins when you stop waiting for permission to add value.”
✨ Final Thoughts
I’ve walked this path myself, from struggling with journal entries to leading financial decisions for multinational businesses.
It took me 15 years to decode the journey, but with clarity, structure, and community support, you can do it in 5-7 years. Now my main target is the CFO Role. And it’s completely fine if it takes 1 or 2 years more, it is still worth it to reach a 7-figure career in Accounting and Finance.
So, start where you are, use what you have, and commit to continuous learning.
Your journey from Accountant to CFO begins with a single decision: to grow intentionally.
“Don’t just manage numbers, manage your growth.”
🚀 Join Our Community
If you’re ready to accelerate your accounting and finance career with structure, support, and confidence, join The Accountant Hub Community.
Together, we’re helping professionals like you gain clarity, confidence, and a 7-figure mindset.
👉 Join The Accountant Hub LinkedIn Group Here
See you in the community
Divyesh Dave