The CFO, or chief financial officer, only oversees the financial operations of a company and reports to the CEO. The COO, or director of operations, oversees the daily administrative and operational functions of a company and also reports to the CEO. The executive director is hired or appointed by the board of directors as the highest position in the corporate hierarchy of any company. They are only accountable to the board and to no one else.
The COO is second in command after the CEO and works closely with them. They are also hired by the CEO. In top management, the most outstanding positions are CEO, COO and CFO: the CEO, the Chief Operating Officer and the Chief Financial Officer. A notable advance in corporate governance over the past two decades is that chief financial officers have significantly expanded their management role and, in some cases, have taken on the additional position of chief operating officer.
