How to succeed in your first 90 days as CFO

Most CEOs believe “no” is a CFO’s favorite word. No to new projects. No to hiring. No to investment. It’s a stereotype that has stuck for decades, and in some cases, it’s not far off from reality. But here’s the truth: CFOs don’t enjoy saying no. They’re not looking to shoot down every idea. The problem is that too often, they’re brought in at a point where “no” is the only option left. Traditionally, CFOs have been trained to be risk averse. Their job was and is to safeguard the organization’s assets, prevent overspending, and ensure compliance. Those responsibilities are important, but they also reinforced the image of the CFO as the gatekeeper. On top of that, finance has historically been seen as separate from operations and strategy. Operations generated the ideas, leadership endorsed the plans, and then finance was asked to “check the math.” That dynamic forced CFOs into a reactive role. By the time they were looped in, the only thing they could do was point out flaws, raise risks, or try to scale back ambitions. It’s no wonder they became known as the people who say no. When CFOs are included as partners early on, the conversation changes. Leaders can move forward with confidence, knowing they’re not only pursuing opportunity but also managing the risks along the way. This creates stronger strategies, more realistic budgets, and a culture where finance is seen as an ally, not an adversary. If you’re ready to unlock the full potential of your CFO and start turning “no” into “how,” reach out to me to discuss how I can help your organization say yes to the right ideas.

Ever seen a CFO who is a human calculator, a spreadsheet wizard, and a department of one—all rolled into one? They’re in every invoice, every forecast line, every ledger entry. They work 80-hour weeks, proud of their "hands-on" approach. But here’s the hard truth: A micromanaging CFO isn't building a fortress; they're becoming the single point of failure. The very purpose of the role—to be a strategic visionary guiding the company's financial health and growth—is defeated. Why? Because when you're buried in the weeds, you can't see the forest. You're a manager of numbers, not a leader of strategy. The Shift We Need to Make: ⬇️ FROM: Controlling every transaction ➡️ TO: Designing the financial control system ⬇️ FROM: Being the sole "numbers person" ➡️ TO: Building a high-performing finance team ⬇️ FROM: Reporting on what already happened ➡️ TO: Forecasting and shaping what will happen ⬇️ FROM: Being the gatekeeper of the budget ➡️ TO: Being the architect of capital allocation for growth A truly powerful CFO doesn't just manage the finances; They orchestrate them. They empower their team, leverage technology for automation, and use the freed-up bandwidth to sit at the strategy table, inform M&A, drive IRR, and unlock new revenue streams. Your turn to weigh in! I'm curious to hear from my network: For Finance Leaders: What was the one thing you stopped doing personally that had the biggest impact on your strategic contribution? For CEOs & Colleagues: What's the most valuable insight a strategic (not just operational) finance leader has brought to your business? Let's champion the leaders who look forward, not just downward at the spreadsheets. #CFO #FinanceLeadership #StrategicFinance #Leadership #BusinessGrowth #Micromanagement #FutureOfFinance #CEO

A CEO who thinks he doesn’t need a CFO… Talking to a CEO recently, I was introducing a great CFO who could make a huge impact on their business in light of a new strategic initiative they were planning to implement and the CEO said: "I understand the P&L well enough, I don’t really need a CFO. The COO and I are reviewing the numbers and making informed decisions on our own." Obviously I put forth reasons why a good CFO would benefit the business but soon realized there was no getting through. It’s a sentiment we hear more often than you’d think and it is a delicate conversation with a CEO who thinks they have it covered! 🔹 Blind spots are inevitable, even the most financially savvy CEO can miss subtle implications of complex decisions. 🔹 Scenario planning is richer with collaboration, CFOs anticipate risks, model multiple outcomes, and uncover opportunities that might not be obvious. 🔹 Strategic alignment grows stronger, finance teams connect ambition with resources, ensuring growth plans are sustainable, not just optimistic. 🔹 Decisions are more sustainable and impactful, involving finance early shapes strategy, rather than simply reacting to numbers later. A CFO brings perspective, foresight, and structure that elevates decisions from good to truly strategic. Waiting until a problem arises often means missed opportunities, or worse, costly mistakes. All too often a CEO is calling us because something has gone wrong and they need a great CFO to fix it. 💡 My view......even a finance-savvy CEO benefits from a CFO at the table from day one.

The Hardest Job as a Private Equity CFO: Managing the Managers Who Used to Be You Every CFO inherits a few ghosts. Controllers, analysts, or FP&A leads who still do the job you once did, just slower, safer, or smaller. They’re loyal, competent, and often the reason you can move fast early. But six months in, they become your biggest constraint. Because the hardest job in finance isn’t forecasting, fundraising, or even board management. It’s leading the people who still think the way you used to. That’s where most CFOs stall: trying to develop what they should be replacing. The best CFOs don’t manage tasks. They recalibrate altitude. They find managers who think in time horizons: → From next month to next quarter. → From next close to next exit. → From “is this right?” to “does this drive value?” They know their next controller or FP&A lead isn’t just a backfill, it’s the foundation for the next exit. You can’t build a scalable finance function with yesterday’s operating model. You need people who already think like the future version of the company. That’s why elite CFOs treat recruiting as strategy, not support. They know people are their biggest asset and prove it by hiring people who make them redundant. They move early, hire ahead of need, and protect the standard fiercely. Because the hardest role to fill isn’t in the org chart. It’s the one that finally lets you lead, not do. The best answers usually come from the field. If you’ve led a finance rebuild after an investment, what did you learn the hard way? 👇 #PrivateEquity #CFO #Leadership #ExecutiveSearch #ValueCreation #Finance

𝐂𝐄𝐎𝐬: The right 𝐂𝐅𝐎 is more than a 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝. As your business grows from 𝟏𝟎𝟎 → 𝟐𝟎𝟎 → 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝, the role of your CFO must evolve alongside it. The most effective CFOs know how to: ✔️ 𝐑𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 — managing finance and operations hands-on in the early stage. ✔️ 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 — building and leading a capable finance team as complexity increases. ✔️ 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 — ensuring financial discipline fuels growth, without stifling innovation. ✔️ 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 — aligning financial priorities with the CEO’s mission and long-term goals. A CFO who can 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 with the business creates synergy with the CEO — unlocking 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 at every stage. Likewise, a CEO who 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐂𝐅𝐎 builds the foundation for sustainable success. 𝐂𝐄𝐎𝐬: When assessing your next CFO hire, how do you evaluate their 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰 with your company’s future? #ExecutiveSearch #CFO #CEO #Leadership #ScalingBusiness #StrategicFinance #BusinessGrowth #RetainedSearch #CLevelHiring #PeopleStrategy #BoardLeadership #FutureOfWork #ExecutiveHiring #FinanceLeadership #CFOCareers #SuccessionPlanning #ExecutiveSearchFirm #BusinessStrategy #HighGrowthCompanies #CEOLeadership

One thing people often misunderstand about the CFO role: They say, “You get too caught up in the weeds.” The truth is, that’s the job. You have to be in the weeds. You need to know the numbers inside and out. The real skill is this: being detailed and thorough behind the scenes, while communicating at a simple, high-level so everyone else can actually use the information. And when the questions come, you can answer them with confidence because you already spent the time in the weeds. That’s what makes a great CFO. In the weeds, without ever letting people feel it.

Here are 8 CFO types that you see in companies today. Post by Anders Liu-Lindberg - Follow him now! No role is evolving faster than the CFO role so you need to wear multiple hats to succeed in the role today. No one CFO is only one type but is able to flex between different types according to the specific needs of the company. Sometimes a different type is needed than what the current CFO can muster and that's when you see CFOs leave companies. In addition, because the role is evolving so fast you see that the tenure of CFOs decreases in general compared to other CXO roles. Here are the 8 distinct CFO types... 1️⃣ The Accountant 2️⃣ The Analyst 3️⃣ The Strategist 4️⃣ The Technologist 5️⃣ The Disruptor 6️⃣ The Networker 7️⃣ The Adaptor 8️⃣ The Environmentalist You can learn more about each type 👇 We've highlighted three functional characteristics and from where they typically get their prior experience outside Finance (if at all). Do these types make sense for how you see the CFO role today? Any types you'd add or take away? Follow Long Term Mindset for more content like this. *** P.S. Want to master the basics of accounting (for free)? I created a 5-day, email-based course that explains the Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement in plain English. Check it out here (It's free) → https://lnkd.in/e2VZnpRv If you found this post useful, please repost ♻️ to share with your audience

💡 The 5 P’s of a Great CFO & the 5 A’s for FP&A In today’s fast-changing business environment, finance leaders need more than just technical skills. Here’s a simple framework I like to use: 🔹 The 5 P’s of a Great CFO 👉Performance – Drive business growth with strategic insights 👉Profitability – Ensure sustainable margins and shareholder value 👉Partnership – Collaborate with business leaders across the organization 👉People – Develop and inspire strong finance teams 👉Perspective – Keep a long-term vision while managing short-term challenges 🔹 The 5 A’s for FP&A Excellence 👉Accuracy – Deliver reliable data and forecasts 👉Agility – Adapt quickly to market and business changes 👉Analysis – Go beyond numbers to provide actionable insights 👉Anticipation – Proactively identify risks and opportunities 👉Alignment – Ensure financial goals match the company’s strategy 🎯 Finance is not just about numbers; it’s about creating impact, guiding decisions, and driving transformation. What other qualities do you think define a great CFO or FP&A professional? #CFO #FPA #FinanceLeadership #FinancialExcellence #Strategy

As a CEO, I’ve worked with many CFOs over the years — and one thing I’ve always done is put the spotlight on bad finance habits before they quietly grow into big problems. But let me be honest: I’ve made these mistakes myself earlier in my career in senior finance roles. Looking back, what felt like “efficient” choices at the time often created bigger costs later. And I still see these same patterns today in many growing companies. Here are five traps I fell into — so you don’t have to: (1) Overusing Excel I relied on it for automation, visualization, and data prep. The result: wasted hours and higher error rates. (2) Introducing KPIs without a solid base I showed metrics because boards or investors “wanted to see them,” even when the data wasn’t solid. Those numbers became myths that stuck around. (3) Reporting without the audience in mind I assumed reports were clear. But terms like EBITDA or RoCE are not common knowledge — and without translation, reporting loses its impact. (4) Buying tools too fast I rushed into systems without a clear requirements process. Unsurprisingly, they didn’t solve the actual problems. (5) Scaling the workload too late Under constant cost pressure, I delayed building teams and processes. But finance can’t stay lean forever — and scaling too late costs more. For me, great CFO leadership is not only about numbers — it’s about building systems, clarity, and trust before the cracks appear.

The 3 Words That Keep You VP Forever A Financial Director just sent me his performance review. Outstanding. Exceeds expectations. Critical to operations. Then came the promotion decision: "Not yet ready for CFO." Here's the brutal paradox: The better you perform operationally, the less likely you are to advance strategically. Because organisations don't promote excellence. They promote replaceability. Watch the trap: You become the go-to crisis solver. They can't afford to lose you in that role. You deliver flawless execution. They need you exactly where you are. You master every operational detail. They label you "too tactical" for strategy. The more indispensable you become, the more invisible you are for advancement. Real example from last week: A VP of Finance saved his company $73M through working capital optimisation. Built the entire treasury function. Managed through two acquisitions. His CEO's feedback? "We need him to keep running finance while we search for a strategic CFO." Translation: You're too valuable where you are. Here's what breaks the pattern: Stop being irreplaceable in your current role. Start being inevitable for the next one. The shift: Operational thinking: "I manage $2B in revenue and 47 direct reports" Strategic positioning: "I architect capital structures that enable market expansion" Same job. Different trajectory. Most executives optimise for being needed. Those who advance optimise for promotion. At Syntegrus, we help executives escape the excellence trap before it becomes permanent. Because the three words that kill careers aren't "You're not qualified." They're "You're too valuable." What excellence trap has been disguised as job security in your career?