Office of CFO

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 reporting, control, transactions and performance improvement. 

Finatal partners with private equity funds and their portfolio companies to build and strengthen Office of the CFO capability, hiring the 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 realised 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 the expectations of investors. 

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 interventions. 
• Transaction support and execution
  Playing a central role in M&A activity, including diligence, integration and financial workstreams. 
• Post-deal professionalisation 
  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’re able to step into evolving environments, where processes may be incomplete and expectations are high and deliver clarity quickly. 

They bring a balance of detail and commercial awareness, ensuring accuracy in reporting, while also understanding how their work feeds into wider 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’re execution-focused. They’re able to move quickly, adapt to shifting priorities and contribute from day one, whether that’s improving reporting, supporting a deal 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’s 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 stage of the investment, complexity and immediate priorities. This ensures each hire is aligned to a clear outcome, whether that’s 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 being built over time, and interim 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 seniorities. 

This includes Financial Controllers and Finance Managers, who strengthen reporting and control, 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 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.