are a ceo and a cfo the same thing 
no a ceo and a cfo are not the same thing however cfos are required to work closely with the other senior executives of a company such as the ceo these executives are sometimes referred to as the c suite of the company representing the company s highest level of decision making although the cfo is typically subordinate to the ceo in the corporate hierarchy cfos will generally be the foremost decision maker on all matters within the finance department of their firm the bottom linethe cfo is the top ranking executive related to managing a company s finances this includes managing all aspects of financial and cash flow planning as well as analyzing its financial position a cfo is comparable to a treasurer or controller however unlike a controller or accountant a cfo is responsible for financial planning while the other two are in charge of bookkeeping and the company s financial statements 