New CFOs Should Implement a Five Step Roadmap for their First 100 Days

The first three months for a CFO are a critical period to establish a strong foundation for leadership, agenda setting, and tenure. By creating and following a comprehensive roadmap, new CFOs can effectively navigate their transition, build strong relationships, and align finance goals with the broader organizational strategy.

While most organizations do not have a formal onboarding orientation program, the most effective executive transitions tend to have a structured plan in place to address the need for establishing strong working relationships and managing competing demands.

We spoke with Michelle Carlsen, Director Analyst in the Gartner Finance practice, who provided practical tips and strategies for making the first 90-100 days of a new CFO’s tenure informative, productive, and effective for long term success.

Journalists who would like to speak with Michelle regarding this topic should contact Heather Sabharwal. Members of the media can reference this material in articles with proper attribution to Gartner.

A: The transition of a new CFO can lend opportunities to accelerate the CFO’s success and impact the organization, but it can also be both stressful and rewarding.

It’s important to take control of onboarding with a well-thought transition process. We have put together The New CFO’s Roadmap (see Figure 1), which identifies five steps as CFOs transition into their new leadership role. Proper onboarding, which includes preparation, assessment, planning, acting, measuring and communicating, will greatly accelerate success and value to the organization.

As new CFOs prepare, they should resist the urge toward immediate action. Instead, the focus should be on learning about the organization, its products and customers, executive peers, and the finance function and leadership team. It’s also important to prepare for key stakeholder and staff discussions that will provide invaluable insight into the CFO role.

A: New CFOs carry out a thorough assessment of the current finance function’s performance and structure, enterprise performance, and initiatives. They should also assess the role and effectiveness of existing governance structures, such as investment review committees.

It’s also important to assess finance service delivery models, such as corporate finance centers, centers of excellence, and shared services organization based on the organization’s long- and short-term goals. At the same time, they should establish enterprise relationships and meet with key internal and external stakeholders to better understand the current state of affairs.

After the assessment phase, CFOs must create an actionable plan with specific areas of focus. The plan should include both quick wins and detailed operational initiatives for the next one to two quarters and medium-term goals for the first six to 12 months. They should also decide which resources are needed, such as finance and cross-functional teams, to execute the plan successfully.

A: Once the foundational groundwork is done, CFOs need to set up and lead their team for longer-term success while also managing change. To manage through initial reactions to a new CFO, they should have a prepared communications plan that includes a strategy for formal communication and check-ins with direct reports, finance subfunctions, and the finance team as a whole. The plan should also include informal communication channels and a means to tap conversational feedback from team members.

Finally, CFOs must regularly review progress and build on successes. Showcase quick wins, communicate project status, and promote team successes to boost morale and capitalize on momentum. Then, after three months of execution, they should use the knowledge about internal processes, team capabilities, and other dynamics, to update plans and goals.

The first 100 days for a CFO are a critical period to establish a strong foundation. By following this structured roadmap, new CFOs can effectively navigate their transition, build strong relationships, and align finance goals with the broader organizational strategy.

Additional information and example principles each category noted above are available to Gartner clients in the report The Chief Financial Officer’s First 100 Days.