Getting to know your new business

This is one of nine insights in our guide to navigating your first 100 days as a new CFO. Discover more insights here.

If you’re new to the business, getting under the skin of the organisation’s mission statement strategy is one of the first things you will need to do as a new CFO. You’re stepping into a system that already has history, habits, expectations and blind spots. The faster you understand that system, the faster you can influence it. That's no surprise, but the challenge is protecting time to do it amid inbox avalanche.

Your first job: understanding, not reshaping

Before you can make confident calls on the finance function you've inherited, three key questions deserve your focus above all others: 

1. What is the company's vision and mission statement?
2. Does the current strategy actually support it? 
3. And how can I support the business to deliver the strategy?   

The third question is not the same as asking "what did my predecessor do?". Focus on what the business needs now, not legacy choices.

Very often, the strategy on paper and the lived reality don’t fully align. Functions naturally optimise for their own success metrics – shaped by incentives, pressures and unwritten rules. Spending time with people across the business to understand these dynamics is essential if you want a true picture of how decisions are made.

If you’ve secured a CFO role, none of this will be a surprise. Yet we regularly see new CFOs pulled straight into firefighting, leaving little space to explore the fundamentals in depth. Taking that time is precisely what will help you identify what matters most right now – and where finance can be a genuine catalyst for long‑term direction.

As well as the three core questions above, focus on getting a clear view of:

• The main goals the business strategy, and whether they are achievable in the set timeframe
• The current budgeting process and whether it reflects the business value drivers
• The impact of strategy on employees, customers, and others stakeholders 
• The balance the organisation is striking between agility, resilience and cost 
• How flexible the underlying assumptions are, and scope for updates based on internal and external developments. 

Taking your finance function's pulse 

As well as understanding the skills, knowledge, personalities and tools within your function – including the gaps – you need a clear, unfiltered view of where your team is currently spending their time, and the role they play in the wider business.

The CFO Scorecard below can help you categorise the function’s current focus and where the weight is being placed:  

• Business protection
• Operational delivery
• Value creation
• Stakeholder management 

Are you inheriting a function wired 90% for controls and transactional processing, or one genuinely designed to generate insight and influence decisions? And where does it need to be in 12–24 months?

Building your engine room

Does your finance function have the right people in the right roles? How are they working together? Look for friction points as well as strengths. Consider not only current skills gaps, but the capabilities you expect you will need over the next 12-24 months.

Ensuring you have a trusted second-in-command early is essential. You will only be able to start making strategic changes if your finance function is running smoothly day-to-day, and it can only run smoothly if someone is making sure it does. If that's you, you won't have the space for strategy. It’s a loop we see many new CFOs get stuck in. A strong number two breaks it.

And don’t overlook checking in on any internal candidates who may have applied for your role. A check-in early on goes a long way for engagement and retention. 

Systems and processes

Take stock of the systems underpinning finance. Are they enabling modern ways of working, or adding friction? Where could automation reduce manual load? And are your controls aligned to the organisation’s most material risks?

Data, reporting and information flows

What reports are sent out? Do they add value, and are they accurate and aligned to stakeholder expectations? And does the business trust the data beneath them?

Performing your own 'health check' will help you to pinpoint the pressing priorities versus the nice‑to‑haves, so you can address them in a way that is focused, feasible and defensible.

Change is expected – but timing matters 

We often see CFOs enter a business and immediately want to make change or implement new ways of working.  Avoid being overly critical from the offset. 

Any changes should be properly managed, with realistic targets. Unless a drastic reset is required, your team likely needs to be involved in decision making from the outset to get the buy-in you need. 

If you’re seeing an issue, your team likely sees it too – they deal with it daily. Be curious: ask why things work the way they do, and what they think could be different. You may find that some of the ‘easy fixes’ you have in mind have been tried before, or that a nuance unique to this business makes it more complex than it appears.

Signal your first moves 

Once you understand the business strategy and the finance function’s real role in enabling it, you can establish and articulate your short-term priorities clearly. Sharing a vision for finance in a digestible, pragmatic way clarifies your expectations for your team, and for the wider business.

This is exactly why you need to understand the business properly before you set out your direction. Your first signals should project your clarity and confidence; not rushed commitments you end up revising once you see the whole picture.