Quick Overview

  • Robinhood Chief Financial Officer Shiv Verma has delegated his previously held principal accounting officer duties to the company's new chief accounting officer, Dara Bazzano, effective June 25, according to a securities filing submitted Friday. Verma, who became CFO of the stock trading platform in February, will continue to serve as the company's treasurer and chief financial officer.
  • According to the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Bazzano, 58, joined Robinhood in April, having previously served as chief accounting officer at wireless and broadband provider T-Mobile US and in the same role at apparel retailer Gap. A company spokesperson said in an email to CFO Dive that Bazzano is the company's first chief accounting officer and reports directly to Verma.
  • "We are excited to welcome Dara Bazzano as chief accounting officer to lead our accounting and tax teams and serve as principal accounting officer," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "As Robinhood continues to grow and expand as a public company, adding another senior leader is a natural next step for the team."

Deep Dive

According to Shawn Cole, president of executive search firm Cowen Partners, the CFO role has continued to evolve into a more strategic position across multiple industries in recent years, with finance chiefs becoming partners to CEOs and boards.

As CFOs' more forward-looking responsibilities expand, accounting and reporting duties are more often delegated to PAOs, CAOs, or controllers, he said in an email. "Combining the CFO and PAO roles remains common, especially in smaller or less complex organizations, but as companies grow or face more complex regulatory requirements, separating these roles becomes more sensible," Cole said.

Robinhood's move follows Starbucks' announcement earlier this month that its CFO, Cathy Smith, would hand over the company's PAO role to Val Bauduin, the company's senior vice president of corporate finance and development, CFO Dive previously reported.

As for Robinhood, Cole views the change "less as a CFO shedding a non-essential duty and more as the company recognizing that accounting leadership and strategic finance have each become important and specialized roles," Cole said in an email.

Bazzano's responsibilities include accounting, tax, treasury operations, financial reporting, and internal control functions. According to the SEC filing, her compensation includes an annual base salary of $425,000, an annual target bonus equal to 40% of base salary, an annual equity target of $1.5 million, restricted stock units valued at approximately $3.3 million (vesting over two years), and a signing bonus of $400,000.

The Menlo Park, California-based company, which went public in 2021, has recently faced financial pressure. Earlier this month, the company announced it would cut 10% of its workforce, or about 300 positions, to remain "disciplined," Bloomberg reported, making it the latest among several fintech companies to do so recently.

The company reported in April that first-quarter net income rose 3% year-over-year to $346 million, while total net revenues increased 15% year-over-year to $1.07 billion.