Corporate Officer
An executive appointed by the board to manage company operations with legal authority to represent the corporation.
What is Corporate Officer?
A corporate officer is an executive appointed by the board of directors to manage the company's day-to-day operations and to act as the company's legal representative within their defined scope of authority. Common officer positions include the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), General Counsel, Chief Accounting Officer, and Corporate Secretary. Officers can legally bind the company to contracts and transactions. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the CEO and CFO must personally certify the accuracy of financial statements and the effectiveness of internal controls. Officers can be held personally liable for certain corporate violations.
Example
Under Sarbanes-Oxley Section 302, Apple's CEO Tim Cook and CFO Kevan Parekh must personally certify each quarter that Apple's 10-Q and 10-K filings do not contain material misstatements, that internal controls over financial reporting are effective, and that all significant deficiencies have been disclosed to the audit committee — making them individually accountable for the accuracy of Apple's financial disclosures.