){kind=logo}
Jul 12, 2024 
CPA Firm 
Starting a new role as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) can be an exhilarating and daunting experience, especially if it’s your first senior leadership position. With the right plan, you can confidently step into your role and make a significant impact from day one. This guide provides a comprehensive 21-step plan to help you thrive in your first 90 days as CFO.
By following this roadmap, you’ll be equipped to handle everything from understanding your company’s financials to making a powerful impression at your first board meeting. Let's explore each step in detail, ensuring you’re prepared to succeed and drive long-term growth for your organization.
Table of Contents
- Prepare Before Your First Day
- Define Your Top CFO Priorities for the First 90 Days
- Seek External Guidance and Support
- Define What Success Looks Like
- Meet with Your Finance Team Right Away
- Align Financial Goals with the CEO’s Vision
- Build a Picture of Your Company’s Current Financial Health
- Understand and Improve Your Company’s Accounting Practices
- Review Your Financial Reporting
- Audit Issues
- Review Budgets to Align with Strategic Objectives
- Understand Your Key Financial Metrics with Benchmarking
- Meet Important External Stakeholders
- Get Involved with Strategic Planning
- Build Your Long-Term Vision and Plan
- Get Input and Buy-In on Your Vision
- Make an Impact at Your First Board Meeting
- Understand Potential CFO Challenges and Roadblocks
- Don’t Try to Tackle Everything at Once
- Tap into the Power of Tech
- Final Thoughts
1. Prepare Before Your First Day
Start Early to Gain Context and Understanding
Before starting as a CFO, research your company's history, mission, and values. This knowledge sets the stage for effective integration. Familiarize yourself with key financial documents to gain early insights into the company's processes and potential improvement areas.
Delve Deeper into Company Insights
Review essential documents to understand the company's financial health and operational practices. Identifying areas for improvement early on helps formulate strategies to enhance efficiency and profitability.
Engage in Company Culture
Participate in events like town hall meetings and team-building activities to meet other employees and absorb the company culture, fostering a sense of belonging and understanding from day one.
2. Define Your Top CFO Priorities for the First 90 Days
Understand Your Financial Performance and Challenges
As a CFO, analyze financial statements, budgets, and KPIs to evaluate the company's financial health. Identify strengths and weaknesses to inform future strategies and address any challenges.
Build Vital Relationships
Building strong relationships is crucial for a successful CFO. Collaborate with executives and stakeholders, prioritize a strong relationship with the CEO, and foster communication with direct reports and finance team members.
Develop a Long-Term Vision and Plan
Work with the CEO to align your financial strategies with their vision. Develop a long-term financial plan that aligns with strategic priorities, outlining key objectives, initiatives, and performance metrics to guide decision-making and measure progress.
Ready to Make an Impact as CFO? Start Your Journey Today!
Take the first step towards CFO excellence. Explore more on how to prepare and prioritize effectively.
3. Seek External Guidance and Support
Expand Your Professional Network
Connect with other CFOs and financial leaders to gain insights, best practices, and shared challenges. Networking offers a broader understanding of the financial landscape and diverse approaches. Consider joining a Vistage group or other networking groups.
Refine Your Leadership Style
Seek mentorship to refine your leadership style to match your company’s culture. A mentor can help you navigate complex challenges and adapt to your role’s evolving demands, essential for a successful finance department.
Use Your Network as a Sounding Board
Use your network to test and refine strategic ideas and plans. Discussing initiatives with experienced peers ensures your strategies are robust, innovative, and aligned with industry standards, driving informed decisions and business growth.
4. Define What Success Looks Like
Set Clear Goals and Metrics
As a CFO, success in the first 90 days depends on clear goals and objectives. Develop a financial plan aligned with strategic objectives, ensuring stability and growth. Establish financial controls and processes for compliance and risk mitigation.
Build Strong Relationships with Key Stakeholders
Building relationships with stakeholders, such as investors, lenders, and the board, is crucial. Develop a high-performing finance team and implement digital transformation initiatives to boost growth and efficiency.
Communicate Effectively with Business Leaders
Ensure effective communication with the CEO and business leaders. Integrate financial insights into decision-making to achieve strategic goals collaboratively.
5. Meet with Your Finance Team Right Away
Schedule Individual Meetings
Outline key financial objectives, initiatives, and performance metrics to guide decision-making and measure progress
As a CFO, organize one-on-one introductions with team members to understand their roles and build rapport.
Set Strategic Priorities
Communicate your expectations for performance, communication, and collaboration. Foster a culture of accountability and teamwork, essential for driving your finance team’s success.
Elevate Your CFO Journey: Define Success and Build Your Team
Take charge of your first 90 days as CFO. Start defining success and building your finance team today.
6. Align Financial Goals with the CEO’s Vision
Collaborate with the CEO
As a CFO, work closely with the CEO to understand their vision for the organization. Align your financial strategies with the CEO’s vision for a cohesive approach to achieving strategic goals.
Foster Effective Communication
Maintain open lines of communication with the CEO to integrate financial insights into their decision-making process. This collaboration fosters a unified approach to achieving organizational goals.
7. Build a Picture of Your Company’s Current Financial Health
Conduct a Thorough Financial Review
As a CFO, review the company’s financial statements, budgets, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to gain a clear picture of its financial health and identify areas for improvement.
Identify Strengths and Weaknesses
Identify strengths and weaknesses in the company’s financial performance. Use this information to develop strategies for addressing weaknesses and leveraging strengths.
Develop a Financial Improvement Plan
Create a comprehensive plan to improve the company’s financial health. Outline key initiatives, objectives, and performance metrics to guide decision-making and measure progress.
8. Understand and Improve Your Company’s Accounting Practices
Review Current Accounting Practices
As a CFO, review the company’s current accounting practices to identify areas for improvement. Ensure compliance with industry standards and regulatory requirements.
Implement Best Practices
Implement best practices to improve the accuracy and efficiency of accounting processes. Adopt new technologies and streamline existing processes.
Monitor and Evaluate Accounting Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate accounting practices.
Transform Your Company’s Financial Health and Accounting Practices
Take action now to elevate your company’s financial and accounting performance.
9. Review Your Financial Reporting
Assess Current Financial Reporting
As a CFO, assess the company’s current financial reporting processes to identify areas for improvement. Ensure reports are accurate, timely, and compliant with regulatory requirements.
Implement Improvements
Implement improvements to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of financial reporting. Adopt new technologies and streamline processes.
Monitor and Evaluate Reporting Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate financial reporting processes.
10. Audit Issues
Identify Potential Audit Issues
As a CFO, identify potential audit issues that may impact the company’s financial performance. Develop strategies to address these issues and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
Implement Audit Improvements
Implement improvements to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of audit processes. Adopt new technologies and streamline existing processes.
Monitor and Evaluate Audit Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate audit processes.
11. Review Budgets to Align with Strategic Objectives
Assess Current Budgets
As a CFO, assess the company’s current budgets to identify areas for improvement. Ensure budgets align with the company’s strategic objectives and support long-term growth.
Implement Budget Improvements
Implement improvements to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of budgeting processes. Adopt new technologies and streamline existing processes.
Monitor and Evaluate Budget Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of budgeting processes.
12. Understand Your Key Financial Metrics with Benchmarking
Identify Key Financial Metrics
As a CFO, identify key financial metrics critical to the company’s success. Use benchmarking to compare these metrics with industry standards and best practices.
Monitor and Evaluate Metric Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of key financial metrics.
Optimize Your Financial Metrics with Benchmarking
Take the first step towards optimizing your financial performance.
13. Meet Important External Stakeholders
Develop Relationships with Stakeholders
Develop strong relationships with these stakeholders by maintaining open communication and providing regular updates on the company’s financial performance.
Align Stakeholder Interests with Company Goals
Ensure stakeholder interests align with the company’s strategic objectives, fostering a unified approach to achieving organizational goals.
14. Get Involved with Strategic Planning
Collaborate with Business Leaders
As a CFO, collaborate with business leaders to develop a strategic plan outlining key initiatives, objectives, and performance metrics.
Align Financial Strategies with Strategic Goals
Ensure financial strategies align with the company’s overall strategic goals, fostering a unified approach to achieving organizational objectives.
Monitor and Evaluate Strategic Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of strategic initiatives, using this information to make informed decisions and drive continuous improvement.
15. Build Your Long-Term Vision and Plan
Develop a Comprehensive Long-Term Plan
As a CFO, develop a comprehensive long-term financial plan that aligns with the company’s strategic objectives. This plan should outline key initiatives, objectives, and performance metrics to guide decision-making and measure progress.
Collaborate with Business Leaders
Collaborate with business leaders to develop and implement the long-term plan. This collaboration fosters a unified approach to achieving organizational goals.
Monitor and Evaluate Long-Term Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of the long-term plan.
16. Get Input and Buy-In on Your Vision
Communicate Your Vision
Communicate your vision to key stakeholders and business leaders. Ensure they understand and support your vision for the company’s financial future.
Foster Collaboration and Support
Foster collaboration and support for your vision by maintaining open lines of communication and providing regular updates on the company’s financial performance.
Align Your Vision with Stakeholder Input and Support
Take the first step towards a unified financial future.
17. Make an Impact at Your First Board Meeting
Prepare Thoroughly for the Meeting
As a CFO, prepare thoroughly for your first board meeting by reviewing key financial documents, developing a clear agenda, and rehearsing your presentation.
Present Your Vision and Plan
Present your vision and plan to the board of directors, ensuring they understand and support your vision for the company’s financial future.
Seek Feedback and Support
Seek feedback and support from the board of directors, using this feedback to refine your vision and plan and ensure alignment with the company’s strategic objectives.
18. Understand Potential CFO Challenges and Roadblocks
Identify Potential Challenges
As a CFO, identify potential challenges that may impact your success, including operational, financial, and strategic challenges.
Develop Strategies to Overcome Challenges
Develop strategies to overcome these potential challenges by adopting new technologies, streamlining existing processes, and fostering collaboration and support.
Monitor and Evaluate Challenge Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of strategies to overcome challenges.
19. Don’t Try to Tackle Everything at Once
Prioritize Key Initiatives
As a CFO, prioritize key initiatives to ensure a focused approach to achieving your goals by identifying high-impact initiatives and allocating resources accordingly.
Develop a Phased Approach
Develop a phased approach to implementing key initiatives. This ensures you can manage multiple initiatives simultaneously without overwhelming your team.
Monitor and Evaluate Initiative Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of key initiatives.
20. Tap into the Power of Tech
Adopt New Technologies
As a CFO, adopt new technologies like automation, AI, and data analytics to improve financial processes. Evaluate systems with a third party, such as goVirtualOffice, which offers an ERP toolkit and other tools. Book a discovery call to learn about industry trends and improve reporting, forecasting, and efficiencies.
Streamline Existing Processes
Streamline processes to enhance efficiency by adopting best practices and eliminating redundancies.
Monitor and Evaluate Tech Performance
Continuously monitor and evaluate the performance of new technologies to make informed decisions and drive continuous improvement.
Place Confidence in Yourself and Embrace Your Role as CFO
Start your journey towards becoming a successful CFO today.
Final Thoughts
Place Confidence in Yourself and Why You Were Hired
Remember that you were hired for a reason. Trust in your abilities and the skills that got you to this point. By following this 21-step plan, you’ll be well-equipped to make a significant impact in your first 90 days as CFO and set the stage for long-term success.
By implementing these strategies and steps, you will not only navigate your first 90 days successfully but also lay a strong foundation for your future as a successful CFO. Stay proactive, seek continuous improvement, and leverage technology to drive efficiency and growth in your organization.
