Stepping into the role of Chief Financial Officer is one of the most challenging and rewarding transitions in leadership. Whether you’re joining a new company or being promoted internally, your first 90 days set the tone for how you’ll lead, influence, and create value. The new CFO checklist is more than a series of tasks — it’s a roadmap to build credibility, understand the business deeply, and lay the foundation for long-term impact.
Phase One: Understand the Landscape (Days 1–30)
Your first month is all about listening, observing, and learning. Before changing processes or proposing new strategies, you need to understand the financial and operational DNA of the organisation.
1. Get a full financial health check
Start with the fundamentals. Review cash flow statements, working capital cycles, debt structures, and major expense drivers. Assess how accurate and timely the company’s reporting systems are. This gives you an honest view of current strengths and weaknesses.
2. Meet key stakeholders early
Spend time with the CEO, board members, senior leaders, and business unit heads. Learn what success looks like from their perspective and how finance can support it. These conversations help you identify priorities, build trust, and uncover quick wins.
3. Review controls and compliance
Early credibility often depends on stability. Confirm that controls, audits, and compliance processes are in good shape. Address any immediate red flags, especially around cash management, tax exposure, or regulatory obligations.
4. Understand the team and tools
Meet your finance team individually. Learn their capabilities, workloads, and career goals. Review current systems — from ERP to forecasting tools — and assess whether they support accurate, efficient decision-making.
Your goal in the first 30 days is not to fix everything. It’s to form a clear, evidence-based picture of where you are starting.
Phase Two: Build Alignment and Momentum (Days 31–60)
Once you understand the landscape, the next phase is about setting direction and aligning people around shared priorities. This is where you begin turning insight into action.
5. Define your financial priorities
Based on your findings, outline three to five critical objectives for your first year — for example, improving forecasting accuracy, optimising cash flow, or modernising reporting. Share these priorities with leadership to gain alignment early.
6. Strengthen relationships across functions
Great CFOs know that finance is a partnership function. Build collaborative links with heads of operations, sales, HR, and IT. Help them understand how financial data can drive better decisions. When finance becomes a trusted partner, performance improves across the board.
7. Communicate openly and frequently
Transparency builds trust. Hold short town halls or finance updates to communicate your vision, priorities, and expectations. Share wins, even small ones, to show progress. Open communication reassures both your team and other departments that finance is leading with purpose.
8. Identify early wins
Look for opportunities to make small but visible improvements — for instance, simplifying reports, accelerating month-end close, or resolving a long-standing audit issue. These early achievements boost confidence and signal capability.
By the end of your second month, people across the company should see you as both a listener and a leader — someone who understands the business and is ready to act.
Phase Three: Drive Strategy and Long-Term Value (Days 61–90)
In your final 30 days of the first quarter, shift focus from assessment to execution. This is where you begin shaping the finance function into a true strategic partner.
9. Develop a data-driven strategy
Design a forward-looking financial plan that aligns with business objectives. Use scenario modelling to test assumptions and prepare for multiple outcomes. This approach helps leadership make informed, flexible decisions as conditions change.
10. Build a performance culture in finance
Empower your team to think beyond compliance. Encourage them to challenge assumptions, bring new insights, and own results. Set clear KPIs and give them tools to measure success in real time.
11. Modernise finance systems
If technology gaps are holding back insight or efficiency, start planning upgrades. Explore automation in reporting, predictive analytics for cash flow, and dashboards for faster decision-making. A data-driven finance team becomes more strategic and less reactive.
12. Strengthen external relationships
Engage with auditors, bankers, and investors early to establish credibility. Proactive communication about strategy and financial discipline enhances confidence in your leadership.
By the end of your first 90 days, your goal is to have moved from understanding to ownership. The company should see finance not as a back-office function, but as a forward-looking engine of performance and strategy.
Common Mistakes New CFOs Should Avoid
Even experienced leaders can stumble in a new environment. Here are some traps to avoid:
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Acting too quickly without context: Making big decisions before fully understanding the business can backfire. Spend time learning before changing.
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Focusing only on numbers: Successful CFOs balance financial precision with strategic vision. Don’t lose sight of how finance connects to operations and culture.
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Neglecting relationships: Your influence depends on trust. Build credibility through collaboration, not just analysis.
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Ignoring the team: A high-performing finance team is your greatest asset. Invest time in developing their skills and motivation.
Avoiding these pitfalls ensures your early momentum translates into lasting impact.
The CFO as a Change Leader
The modern CFO’s role is deeply intertwined with transformation. Whether it’s digital adoption, capital allocation, or sustainability reporting, the CFO drives change through both insight and influence.
The first 90 days are your chance to show that finance can lead transformation — not just measure it. When you connect numbers to strategy, processes to performance, and people to purpose, you redefine what finance can achieve.
CFOs who succeed in this phase often follow a simple rule: clarity before complexity. They listen carefully, act deliberately, and communicate clearly. The result is a finance function that earns trust quickly and delivers value consistently.
Looking Ahead
Your first three months as CFO set the foundation for the years ahead. By focusing on understanding, alignment, and execution, you position yourself not just as a financial guardian but as a strategic architect.
The new CFO checklist is not a rigid playbook — it’s a guide to thoughtful leadership. Each company’s context will differ, but the principles remain constant: listen deeply, decide confidently, and lead with integrity.
In a time of constant change, the CFO who masters these early days will be the one who drives performance, builds resilience, and shapes the company’s future.