A prioritised action plan for a new CFO or fractional CFO — covering finance function assessment, quick wins, relationship building and 90-day deliverables.
Days 1–10: Orient & Listen
- Meet the CEO, board and key investorsUnderstand their biggest finance pain points; identify what they expect from the CFO in the first 90 days.
- Review last 12 months of management accountsIdentify trends, anomalies, gaps in reporting, and areas where the numbers don’t tell a clear story.
- Access all bank accounts and financial systemsConfirm you have full visibility of cash, liabilities, and financial data across all entities and accounts.
- Read all board packs for the last 12 monthsUnderstand what the board cares about, what questions are repeatedly asked, and what’s been deferred.
- Meet each member of the finance teamUnderstand individual roles, capabilities, workload, and frustrations; identify team strengths and gaps.
- Review the cap table, shareholder agreements and side lettersUnderstand all investor rights, information obligations, anti-dilution provisions, and consent requirements.
- Identify the three most critical financial risksDocument the three risks that could most immediately harm the business and present to the CEO.
Days 11–30: Diagnose & Stabilise
- Finance function health assessment preparedStructured review of systems, controls, team capability, processes, and reporting quality with grading.
- Current financial model reviewedIs it fit for purpose? Does the business actually use it? Does it reflect the investor-facing narrative?
- Month-end close process assessedTime to close measured; bottlenecks identified; manual interventions and error-prone steps documented.
- Regulatory obligations confirmedFiling deadlines, FCA reporting, HMRC obligations reviewed; confirm nothing is overdue or at risk.
- Cash position understood13-week cash flow prepared and reviewed; cash runway confirmed under base and downside scenarios.
- Quick wins identifiedTwo or three high-visibility improvements deliverable within the first 30 days scoped and resourced.
- CEO briefed on initial assessmentAssessment findings presented to CEO: priorities, what you need to succeed, and what you’ll fix first.
Days 31–60: Prioritise & Build
- 90-day finance roadmap prepared and agreedWritten roadmap of priorities, milestones, and resource requirements agreed with CEO and board.
- Month-end close improvedTarget close timeline agreed and communicated; ownership of each step assigned to named team member.
- Financial model refreshed or rebuiltModel aligned to the investor-facing narrative; actuals loading automated where possible.
- KPI dashboard updatedRelevant metrics tracked weekly for management use; dashboard distributed to leadership team.
- Finance team development plan preparedTraining needs, hiring decisions, and outsourcing opportunities identified and discussed with CEO.
- Investor relationship management understoodReporting obligations and preferences of each investor understood; reporting calendar drafted.
Days 61–90: Deliver & Communicate
- First board pack prepared to your standardBoard pack sets the template going forward; format, level of detail, and narrative agreed with chair.
- Quick wins delivered and communicatedCompleted improvements communicated to CEO and board with quantified impact where possible.
- Annual budget or reforecast initiatedBudget process kicked off with management team; timeline, templates, and assumptions agreed.
- Finance function scorecard producedEach area of the finance function graded with a clear roadmap to improve over the next 6–12 months.
- Audit/accounting review completedAuditors briefed on new CFO appointment; accounting policies reviewed and any changes flagged.
- 90-day review held with CEOStructured review of what went well, what’s next, and what resources or decisions are needed from leadership.
