CPA to CFO, By Way of Law School

Richard Ramos started as a CPA, went to law school, and now is CFO of Martiz Inc., which provides a variety of services to corporations. CFO magazine has a good case study of an unusual track to the chief financial officer's chair:

…while working on what he calls a KPMG "swat team" for an international client that was acquiring a number of U.S. businesses, a new idea gelled. The work involved interaction with M&A attorneys, and Ramos began to observe that the legal and financial aspects of the projects fit together snugly, like puzzle pieces. How attractive would he be to corporate employers if he added legal training to his accounting background?

Plenty, he figured - enough that his new long-term goal became to one day land a CFO job. All that stood in his way were three years of law school, then practicing law for a few years, then finding a corporate job, then working his way up to CFO.

Fast forward less than six years, and it was mission accomplished — with the help of a shortcut. Not only did Ramos take a most unusual route through law school on his way to a CFO chair, he achieved an even rarer feat: His very first corporate title was CFO.

How he got there is in the story. Worth reading, if you want to be a CFO.

Rare Career Path: CPA, JD, CFO [CFO]