1. Accountancy Route: Many CFOs start their careers as accountants. After earning a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance, they may work for a few years in roles such as junior accountant or audit associate, eventually progressing to senior accountant or audit manager. They might then transition to a role such as controller before advancing to CFO.
2. Finance Route: Another common path involves starting in a finance-focused role like a financial analyst or financial planner. These roles can provide a solid foundation in financial analysis and forecasting. After gaining experience, individuals may progress to roles such as finance manager or director of finance before eventually advancing to CFO.
3. Treasury Route: Some CFOs start their careers in treasury roles, which involve managing an organization's finances, investments, and cash flow. After gaining experience in treasury operations, they may transition to a senior treasury role, such as treasurer, before progressing to CFO.
4. Investment Banking Route: Some CFOs begin their careers in investment banking. The experience gained in terms of deal-making, financial modeling, and industry knowledge can be very beneficial for a future CFO role.
5. Operations Route: Some CFOs start in operations or general management roles. The broad business understanding gained in these roles can be extremely valuable in a CFO position, particularly in terms of strategic decision-making.
6. Consulting Route: Management consulting can provide broad exposure to various industries and functions, including finance. Some individuals transition from consulting into corporate roles, and after gaining experience in finance-related roles, eventually become CFOs.
7. Non-traditional Route: Some CFOs come from non-traditional backgrounds, such as sales, marketing, or IT. This can offer a unique perspective and help the CFO to better understand and contribute to various aspects of the business.
8. Education and Certification: Regardless of the starting point, most CFOs pursue advanced education, such as an MBA, and/or professional certifications such as CPA (Certified Public Accountant), ACCA, Association of Certifies Chartered Accountsnts, (CMA (Certified Management Accountant), or CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst).

Remember, there's no one-size-fits-all path to the CFO position. Different experiences and skillsets can bring unique perspectives and value to the role.