	About the Study

This report presents the results of our survey of the background and training of key financial management personnel at 34 of the largest private corporations and 19 of the largest state governments in the United States. We asked surveyed organizations for information on the education, work experience, training, and professional certifications of their key financial management personnel—chief financial officers (CFO), controllers, and managers and supervisors—working in financial reporting, financial analysis, and accounting operations positions. In addition, we asked for information on training and qualification requirements for these personnel. The revenues of the state government respondents ranged from $10.8 billion to $108.2 billion. Education Attained—Fortune 100 Companies

In the Fortune 100 companies, more than 90 percent of financial management personnel held undergraduate degrees, with about 75 percent holding either accounting or other business degrees. Overall, about 40 percent of the Fortune 100 personnel held advanced degrees. In the Fortune 100 companies, the majority of advanced degrees held were MBAs. In addition, CFOs, controllers, and managers and supervisors of financial analysis were more likely to hold advanced degrees other than MBAs or master’s degrees in accounting. Work Experience

Financial management personnel in the Fortune 100 companies responding to the survey had, on average, about 14 years of total experience in corporate accounting, public accounting, internal auditing, or accounting systems design and maintenance. The state governments’ CFOs and controllers averaged 20 and 21 years of work experience, respectively, in these areas. This total experience included an average of 4 years combined experience in public accounting, internal auditing, or systems design and maintenance, fields which often provide exposure to a broad base of accounting issues throughout an organization. About 70 percent of Fortune 100 respondents set aside between 1 and 2 percent of their budget for financial management salaries and benefits for training financial management personnel. Training Attained—State Government Organizations

State government financial management personnel completed, on average, about 31 hours of training in 1996. Most of the hours completed were in technical accounting subjects. Training Requirements—State Government Organizations

Few state government respondents had any financial management training requirements. Professional Certifications

The following sections describe the certifications attained and required for Fortune 100 and state government financial management personnel. For example, about 31 percent of Fortune 100 respondents required a CPA for their managers of financial reporting, and 11 percent to 21 percent required a CPA for other positions.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the background and training of key financial personnel at 34 of the largest private corporations and 19 of the largest state governments in the United States, focusing on: (1) education, work experience, training, and professional certifications of their key management personnel; and (2) training and qualification requirements for these personnel.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) while a majority of Fortune 100 and state government financial management personnel held undergraduate degrees in accounting or other business fields, personnel in chief financial officer (CFO) and controller positions were more likely to also hold advanced degrees; (2) in both sectors, managers and supervisors of financial analysis were more likely to hold advanced degrees than their counterparts in financial reporting and accounting operations; (3) in the Fortune 100 companies, the most common advanced degree was a Master of Business Administration (MBA); (4) in state governments, MBAs and other master's degrees were both prevalent; (5) accounting, auditing, and systems experience of financial management personnel averaged about 14 years for Fortune 100 companies and about 20 years for state government organizations; (6) for each sector, the majority of the work experience was in corporate or governmental accounting and finance, respectively; (7) combined experience in public accounting, internal auditing, and accounting systems design and maintenance averaged 2.5 years for the Fortune 100 respondents and about 4 years for the state government respondents; (8) these fields often provide personnel with a broad base of experience with accounting, and other organizationwide issues; (9) continuing professional education training was encouraged in Fortune 100 and state government organizations responding to GAO's survey; (10) on average, Fortune 100 and state government financial management personnel completed about 26 to 31 hours of training, respectively, in 1996; (11) respondents from both groups received the majority of their training in technical accounting subjects; (12) about 70 percent of Fortune 100 respondents and 45 percent of state government respondents set aside from 1 to 2 percent of their budgets for financial management staff salaries and benefits to train these staff each year; (13) as for professional certifications, over 40 percent of the Fortune 100 and about 30 percent of the state controllers and managers and supervisors of financial reporting were certified public accountants; and (14) in addition, about 10 percent of state government personnel, across positions, were certified government financial managers.