Introduction- The CFO

In today’s economy, the role of the CFO is more important than ever. In this article, we will provide you with some tips on how to start your CFO career off on the right foot. From developing a strong financial plan to setting good fiscal goals, we’ll cover everything you need to know to be successful in this role.

A new CFO is a key role in any organization, and the first 90 days are a critical time in their tenure.

While this article has been written with the keyword “CFO” in mind, it can apply to any role in the finance function. The principles still apply here.

This article will also be useful if you are looking to hire a CFO, head of finance, or accountant. It could assist you in establishing expectations for the first 90 days.

At the end of this article, readers should be able to answer the following questions:

• What should a CFO do in the first 90 days?
• What are some best practices that will help me succeed as a CFO?
• How can I prepare for my first 90 days as a CFO?
• What should a CFO do to succeed in their new role?

Overview

As the person in charge of your company’s finances, you are nervous about taking on this responsibility, especially if it’s your first time in this position or if it’s a larger role than you’re used to.

Do not be alarmed!

While it can be difficult to know what you should be doing during your first 90 days on the job, following these guidelines will help you succeed.

Fortunately, many experienced CFOs have been in your shoes and determined what they consider to be the most important goals when beginning their first 90 days on the job, allowing you to get off to the best possible start! We have compiled a selection of their most useful recommendations, together with helpful guidance and information on how to put them into action.

8 things to do as a new CFO

1. Recognize the place of the CFO in the organization’s overall structure.

The CFO plays a vital role in the day-to-day operations of any organization. As a result, it is critical to understand how the CFO fits into the overall organizational structure of the company.

Although there are no set rules on where the CFO should be based, most firms place the post at the very top of their organizational hierarchy. It is customary for this position to be placed above all other departments to ensure that everyone has access to financial information.

The CFO will have two primary responsibilities: the first is responsible for financial operations and budgets; the second is to support management decisions by understanding numbers rather than concentrating on them.

It is critical to understand which sections of the company require the most of your contribution.

Make sure you understand what is expected of you and feel comfortable in your new position. It is crucial to realize that no two businesses are alike in their organizational structures.

However, there are several fundamentals that all businesses require. It will be your responsibility to formalize your company’s accounting operations if they have not already been formalized. Before moving further, ensure that everyone understands and agrees with the procedures.

2. Develop and maintain important working connections with internal and external stakeholders.

As CFO, you will be responsible for managing important partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. Stakeholders in your company’s operations are individuals or organizations that have an interest in, or influence over, its operations.

Consider stakeholders to be gatekeepers who can influence whether you achieve your objectives. These individuals can range from employees to business partners, clients to investors, among other things.

Every group should feel that they are receiving value. They should believe in what you stand for as a brand and as a leader.

As CFO, it is your responsibility to ensure that this happens. These connections may provide possibilities for growth for all parties involved if they are handled with care and grace.

It will be your job to manage these relationships with internal and external stakeholders. This is no small task.

To navigate both trusted and untrustworthy contexts, you will need to set expectations, communicate effectively, and motivate others to action.

To achieve these goals, you’ll need good interpersonal skills as well as the ability to lead and motivate your team.

3. Learn about the company’s history, culture, and so forth.

After being appointed CFO, you must devote as much time as possible to learning everything you can about your company. To do so, you must not only study how things function now but also learn about your company’s history—from its humble beginnings in a garage or dorm room (or basement) to where it is today.

It will be critical to understand what has worked and what has not worked in previous situations if there have been multiple management teams over time. This information will assist in setting expectations for what your team can accomplish in the future.

As a first step, you should learn about your organization’s history and culture. What was the process of establishing it? What was the impetus behind it? What are the organization’s essential values? It will help you be more effective in your leadership role if you understand what makes your firm tick. It will also serve as a great reminder of why you got the job in the first place.

Planning a day plan is the first step to an effective 90-day plan. It enables the new CFO to learn how the company operates and to begin assessing organizational strengths and weaknesses. The planning process includes developing an objective picture of the finance function organization as well as a list of required skills for the new CFO.

New financial goals are then developed based on what is known about the company’s operations, products and services, clients, customers, and so on.

4. Examine the structure, processes, and systems in place and adjust where necessary.

As CFO, you should devote a huge portion of your time to evaluating the structure, procedures, and systems of the organization. Most of the time, a structure or a system has been in existence for some time.

Years may have passed while the company tried to make them as efficient as possible. People tend to become complacent with the way things are done. However, it is your responsibility to examine things from a fresh perspective and determine whether they can be improved. If a certain procedure is inefficient, either eliminate it or make it more efficient.

In your first few months as CFO, one of your primary responsibilities will be to evaluate the company’s financial structure, processes, and systems. You must ensure that money is spent where it makes sense and not where it does not make sense. Maintaining a streamlined approach to all procedures—from pay rates to bookkeeping processing—would allow everyone to complete their tasks more quickly and efficiently.

5. Concentrate on the Most Important Tasks of the CFO

The most important thing a new CFO can do is get their feet on the ground as soon as possible.

Determine which projects are crucial to the success of your firm and which ones should be given precedence over others in terms of importance. These may not seem like top priorities right now, but they are necessary if you want to make it through your first 90 days in finance. This goes hand in hand with the understanding of the business and your role within it that was mentioned in the previous tips.

The difficulty with many CFOs is that they are extremely competent in all aspects of their positions. The problem, however, is that if you want to get things done, you must devote your time and energy to your vital operations while ensuring that your horizontal activities are handled by others.

You cannot do everything on your own, and this is true for CEOs as well. When you have good people working with you, you may help them succeed by concentrating on what you do best and delegating other critical duties to others.

Remember that Pareto’s Law states that 80 percent of your results come from only 20 percent of your work efforts; thus, focus on those and let the rest go.

6. Establish the financial department’s goals.

The ability to clearly define your objectives is critical to business success and your role as CFO. The finance function exists to assist in the achievement of your organization’s objectives; therefore, you must be clear about these objectives before you can begin implementing them. How are you going to get anywhere if you do not know where you are going? The finance department is often established to aid in the control of costs and the growth of revenues (or it simply exists to satisfy audit requirements). No matter what your objectives are, identify them with your team and then break them down into smaller chunks that can be accomplished over time. For example, if you aim to reduce costs by 10% next year, look through each line item and focus on specific areas of spending that are easy to control or remove entirely before beginning.

Before you proceed, you should consider how your company defines its finance role. Inquire with your CEO, investors, colleagues, and members of the board of directors. More importantly, pay attention to what they are not saying. In some situations, avoiding something is a better way to learn than confronting it. Find out what it is and use that information to establish the goals that your department will require.

7. Evaluate the finance team’s capabilities.

The first thing a new CFO should do is take a hard look at their financial staff and identify any weaknesses. Is your current team equipped to meet your objectives? If not, what resources (such as headhunters, recruiters, or temporary employees) will you need to bring in, and when will they be ready to be put into place? You cannot make decisions unless you have a complete understanding of your position. Do not rush into recruiting essential resources unless you are certain that they will be required to do so.

During your first few weeks on the job, take the time to evaluate everyone’s talents and abilities. Decide what you can handle on your own and what you should outsource to others, then stick to your guns. Maintaining regular communication channels with all your direct reports, including those in the finance department, can assist you in staying on top of what is going on in each department of your company. Before each meeting, spend 15 minutes or so having a free-flowing discussion before moving on to the agenda items on the schedule.

8. Get up from your desk and make some new contacts.

As a CFO, you will have little influence if you remain seated in front of your computer. There are endless informal opportunities to catch up on what everyone else is doing or to engage with co-workers on initiatives they may be working on, to put it simply. Regularly getting up and moving about will help to keep those connections fresh.

One of the most important priorities for your team’s growth in the first 90 days is building relationships. Relationships will last a lifetime, and you must begin cultivating them from the start.

The Most Important Takeaway

With so much to learn and do in your first 90 days, we have compiled a list of the most important things to concentrate on during this time. Make use of these items as checkpoints along your journey; do not be surprised if your priorities shift dramatically over time. Achieving the goal is to build relationships, understand what you need to do, obtain visibility into how things are done, and have people feel comfortable working with you!

Conclusion

Your roadmap should begin by defining a measurable and actionable vision for the company and/or department. This vision needs to be tested against each team member’s professional competencies as well as clear expectations from management.

It’s no secret that a successful CFO starts with a solid foundation, and in the first 90 days of their tenure, that foundation should be firmly in place. By taking a close look at this blog and following the outlined steps, you will be well on your way to becoming a powerful leader and driving shareholder value for your company. The sooner you get started, the sooner you can start making an impact.

Do you have any questions about what should be on your CFO to-do list? Let us know in the comments below!

Do you need some advice on how to begin as a CFO? Consult with CFOs from both inside and outside of the nation on how to boost your financial performance. These experienced CFOs may give you valuable advice. Visit this page to get started.