Fortune 500 companies now sport a record number of female chief financial officers, according to Bloomberg. The current number is now 90, with the appointment of Ann Gugino to the role of CFO at Papa John’s International Inc. Other companies with recent female CFO appointments this year include Harley-Davidson Inc., Smith & Wesson Brands Inc., and WW International Inc. The rise of female finance chiefs has been attributed to a deliberate focus on C-suite and board parity by investors like Blackrock, as well as fierce competition for personnel, forcing companies to search harder for suitable candidates.

While the CFO role currently leads to the CEO spot only rarely, about 6-7 percent of the time, this may change in the future. Bloomberg noted that the role of the CFO is growing, as more companies ditch the chief operating officer position and fold those responsibilities into the CFO's office. This is both a reflection of, and a catalyst for, the CFO being increasingly expected to offer strategic insight to firm leaders, on top of the already existing expectation of keeping the cash moving smoothly along.

Female executives, historically, tend to be in positions that don't directly affect profit and loss, such as human resources, administration, or legal. This has generally been to their detriment, as their positions, as important as they are, do not directly contribute to the company bottom line as much as, say, a chief sales officer. Managers in these roles can directly point to their impact at the company in dollars and cents terms, compared to the more qualitative impact that, say, those in administration might have on the company. This makes it less likely that they will eventually be selected for the top role.

With more women becoming CFOs right as the role of the CFO has become more directly involved in profit and loss, though, female executives seem to be in a better position to eventually claim the CEO's office than they were before.

CFOs can learn the latest about corporate performance management at the Foundation for Accounting Education's CFO Series: Corporate Performance Management Webcast on Oct 14.