Office of CFO Executive Search

Building the Office of the CFO in Portfolio Companies

In private equity–backed businesses, the CFO is central to value creation, but delivery doesn’t sit with the CFO alone. It sits with the Office of the CFO: the team responsible for turning strategy into execution across budgeting, forecasting, reporting, controls, transactions, and performance improvement.

Finatal partners with private equity funds and their portfolio companies to build and strengthen Office of the CFO capabilities, hiring finance professionals who deliver immediate impact and drive progress across the investment lifecycle.

This is where financial clarity is created, where decisions are enabled, and where value is often realized in practice.

Where the Office of the CFO creates value

In a portfolio company, the Office of the CFO is the operational engine of finance, ensuring insight, control, and execution are aligned with investor expectations.

Its impact is felt across a number of critical areas:

• Financial reporting and control
  Delivering accurate, timely reporting and strengthening control environments, providing the visibility and confidence required by investors.
• Commercial insight and performance
  Supporting decision-making through FP&A, commercial finance, and data-driven insight, enabling faster and more informed actions.
• Transaction support and execution
  Playing a central role in M&A activity, including diligence, integration, and financial workstreams.
• Post-deal professionalization
  Building processes, systems, and team capability as the business scales under private equity ownership.
• Exit readiness
  Ensuring the business is prepared for scrutiny, with strong reporting, robust processes, and a clear financial narrative.

Across each of these areas, the Office of the CFO ensures that financial strategy translates into operational performance.

What differentiates a strong Office of the CFO hire

At Finatal, we typically place candidates who combine strong financial expertise with a clear understanding of how PE-backed businesses operate. They are able to step into evolving environments, where processes may be incomplete and expectations are high, and deliver clarity quickly.

They bring a balance of attention to detail and commercial awareness, ensuring accuracy in reporting while also understanding how their work supports broader decision-making. Many have experience supporting transactions or transformation initiatives, giving them the ability to operate across both steady-state and change environments.

Importantly, they are execution-focused. They can move quickly, adapt to shifting priorities, and contribute from day one, whether that’s improving reporting, supporting a transaction process, or building out capability within the finance function.

In a PE context, this is what allows the Office of the CFO to move beyond support and become a core driver of value creation.

How we approach Office of the CFO hiring

Office of the CFO hiring is often viewed as a series of individual roles. In practice, it is about building a function that can deliver consistently under pressure.

At Finatal, our approach starts with understanding the requirements of the CFO and the business, including the stage of investment, complexity, and immediate priorities. This ensures each hire is aligned to a clear outcome, whether that is improving reporting, supporting growth, or preparing for a transaction.

We access a network of finance professionals with experience in private equity–backed or high-growth environments, focusing on individuals who have delivered impact in similar situations. Candidates are assessed not just on technical capability, but on their ability to operate at pace and contribute to value creation.

The Finatal team supports both permanent hiring, where capability is built over time, and interim (on-demand) professionals, where immediate support is required for transactions, transformation, or periods of change.

Roles we place

We support portfolio companies in building Office of the CFO teams across a range of functions and seniority levels.

This includes Controllers and Finance Managers, who strengthen reporting and controls; FP&A and Commercial Finance professionals, who improve visibility and decision-making; and specialist hires focused on transactions, transformation, or systems improvement.

We also place interim (on-demand) professionals who can step into critical situations and deliver targeted outcomes quickly.

Across each mandate, the focus is on ensuring the finance function is not only effective, but able to drive performance and support the broader value creation plan.