The CFO (Chief Financial Officer) is the senior finance executive responsible for financial planning, capital raising support, financial controls, tax strategy, and treasury management. Capital raising support spans financial models, investor reporting, and board materials. Financial controls cover GAAP financials, audit preparation, and internal controls. At growth-stage and later companies the role also owns investor relations and strategic finance decisions including M&A evaluation. The CFO is typically hired between Series A and Series C as financial complexity outgrows the CEO's bandwidth and ability to manage finance through bookkeepers and fractional resources. It is a role that often arrives later in a company's life than f...