Top-performing private equity CFOs refuse to let the finance department’s day-to-day crowd out the strategic work that creates value. They stay operational and strategic at once, think like owners, and push the tactical load off their desk so their hours go to the investment thesis instead of the monthly close.
That’s the hard part. Sponsors now expect the CFO to drive revenue growth, cash flow, margin, and digital transformation all at once. Yet, 57% of PE-backed CFOs still spend the majority their time in operational finance work instead of the value-creation plan they were hired to lead.
The top performers close that gap; the rest live in it. If you’re a deal partner, operating partner, or portfolio company CEO, here’s where the best focus today, what sets them apart, and how to make sure yours spends their time on strategy.
The top priorities for private equity CFOs in 2026
For PE CFOs, there’s no single number to optimize. Sponsors have set nearly equal expectations across four mandates at once, according to Consero’s 2026 Investor-backed CFO Report — leaving the CFO to balance growth, cash, margin, and transformation simultaneously rather than chasing one headline metric.
| What investors are measuring (2026) | Share of finance leaders citing it |
|---|---|
| Revenue growth | 51% |
| Cash flow optimization | 51% |
| EBITDA / margin expansion | 50% |
| Digital transformation | 50% |
To deliver against those competing mandates, finance leaders ranked their own priorities for the function in a clear order:
- Cash flow and working capital optimization
- Better data infrastructure and analytics
- A faster, more automated financial close
- Adopting AI and automating finance processes
Notice what sits at the top: cash and data, not cost-cutting. The modern investor-backed CFO is being asked to turn the finance function into a real-time decision engine for the sponsor, which is why 1 in 3 cite scaling finance operations to keep pace with growth as their No. 1 risk concern.
But most CFOs can’t get to the strategic half of the job. Since 2022, private equity-backed CFOs consistently report, while their time should be mostly strategic, 45% spend more than 60% of their time on manual tasks. The priorities are clear but the capacity to act on them is not.
“A lot of PE firms we meet with are frustrated that as much as they want a more strategic CFO, most of the time these executives get mired in the details of the finance departments. They may hire talented folks, but they only get to use a fraction of their actual capabilities.”
Natalie Townsend, Consero Global
What separates the best private equity CFOs
The best PE CFOs are measured against the investment thesis. Technical accounting and industry knowledge matter, but they’re table stakes. Judged through a value-creation lens, a few qualities separate the CFOs who deliver from the ones who tread water:
- They operate and strategize at the same time. A PE CFO can’t retreat into pure reporting. They keep the close, the controls, and the cash tight while sitting beside the CEO on the value-creation plan.
- They think like an owner. Every decision ties back to EBITDA, cash, and the eventual exit. The strongest PE CFOs carry a bias for urgency, a track record of year-over-year gains, and a near-allergic reaction to negative surprises in front of the board.
- They build, not just maintain. Standing up scalable systems, integrating add-ons, and developing a finance team are core to the role. A caretaker mindset is a poor fit for a company that needs to look materially different at exit.
- They’re fluent with the sponsor. They know what information the board needs and when, manage a levered balance sheet, and keep diligence-ready financials standing by so a fundraise, recap, or sale never stalls on the numbers.
However, even a CFO with all of these qualities can’t apply them if the operational workload swallows the calendar. That’s the trap most sponsors run into.
“I’ve always strived to back or hire strategic CFOs. But it’s hard to manage the finance and accounting functions while contributing to strategic initiatives, so they often don’t flourish as much as we’d hope in these situations.”
Scott Donaldson, CIC Partners
One practical note for hiring teams: experienced PE CFOs often look “jumpy” on paper. Three- to five-year hold periods give them a journeyman’s résumé, and a successful exit usually means moving on to the next role. That pattern is a feature, not a red flag.
Why private equity firms struggle to hire the right CFO
If the profile is this demanding, it’s no wonder the hire is hard. Sponsors are candid that their track record is spotty. Scott Donaldson of CIC Partners has said his own batting average on CFO hires isn’t high, and that the misses tend to take one of two shapes:
- The CFO isn’t a strategic thinker. They can run the function competently, but they don’t bring the strategic awareness the role demands.
- The CFO can be strategic but never gets the chance. They’re so invested in the day-to-day details that strategy falls off the desk, even when they’re capable of it.
The second failure mode is the costlier one, because it’s an operating-model problem. A genuinely strategic CFO gets swallowed by the close, the audit, and the AP workflow, and the value you hired them for never materializes.
Hunting for a “unicorn” who is equally great at the tactical and the strategic rarely works. The more reliable fix is to change what lands on the CFO’s desk in the first place.
How do private equity firms get the most from their CFO?
Hiring the right CFO is only half the equation. The other half is closing the gap between what that CFO was hired to do and how they spend their days. The fix isn’t to hire a bigger finance team or to settle for a CFO who’s content closing the books — it’s to take the tactical load off the CFO entirely.
The Finance as a Service (FaaS) model pairs a modern, automated finance tech stack with an expert team that owns the day-to-day — transactional processing, the monthly close, reporting, audit prep, and staffing — so the CFO can shift to the strategic work that warranted the hire.
“We take all those tasks off the CFO’s desk so they don’t have to worry about staffing or systems upgrades. If any of the operational tasks aren’t completed to expectations, that CFO knows they can hold us accountable. The nature of private equity is to act quickly, and Consero allows the CFO to shift gears from the basics to assessing larger changes to the business, which is the type of work that attracts top-tier finance chiefs.”
Natalie Townsend, Consero Global
The tactical duties of the finance department still have to be done with speed, accuracy, and care — arguably more so in a PE context, because sloppy books surface at the worst possible moment.
“The tactical duties of the finance department have to be accomplished with speed, accuracy and care. Poorly managed books can trip up the due diligence process when the PE firm is looking to sell the business. That’s the table stakes here.”
Natalie Townsend, Consero Global
With the operational backbone handled, sponsors get creative with the talent. Some smaller portfolio companies don’t have enough strategic work to keep a top-tier CFO fully engaged — so a sponsor might put one excellent CFO to work across two or three portcos, giving each company access to talent it couldn’t justify full-time while keeping that CFO challenged.
The throughline: handle the tactical layer with systems and an expert team, and you turn a finance department that occupies your CFO into one that amplifies them.
Set your CFO up to deliver the investment case
The best PE CFOs are forward-looking, operational, and think like owners. But even the best can’t deliver the investment thesis while buried in the monthly close. Consero gives portfolio company CFOs a modern, AI-enabled finance operation — systems, automation, and an expert team — so they can spend their time where the value is.
“Consero has been really useful in upgrading the finance and accounting functions in portfolio companies, which enables higher-caliber CFOs to focus on delivering the investment case.”
Scott Donaldson, CIC Partners
See how Consero supports the office of the CFO, explore our CFO advisory services, or learn how Consero’s PE Reporting Standard keeps your portfolio companies investor-ready. Request a consultation to get started.
Frequently asked questions
When does it make sense to bring in CFO advisory services?
Advisory support makes sense when a portfolio company needs senior finance horsepower for a specific stretch of work rather than another permanent hire — a fundraise or exit on the horizon, an acquisition to integrate, a messy set of books to clean up, or a CFO who’s stretched too thin to lead strategy. Consero’s CFO advisory services deliver experienced, on-demand financial leadership on a project basis, at a lower blended rate than building that expertise in-house, with North America-led teams and continuity from one engagement to the next.
What projects does Consero’s advisory team support?
Common engagements include cash-to-GAAP (accrual) conversions, general-ledger and historical clean-up, financial planning & analysis, funding strategy, M&A transaction support and acquisition integration, and fractional CFO partnerships. These map to the moments that matter most in a PE-backed company’s life cycle — standing up a new platform, preparing for diligence, integrating an add-on, or getting audit- and exit-ready.
Is a fractional or interim CFO a fit for a PE-backed company?
Often, yes — especially for smaller portcos that need strategic finance leadership but can’t justify a full-time CFO, or for companies bridging a gap between hires. A fractional or interim CFO gives you senior judgment on the value-creation plan, board reporting, and capital decisions without a permanent seat. Consero can provide that leadership and own the underlying finance operation, so the engagement covers both strategy and execution rather than leaving the day-to-day uncovered.
Can Consero support our CFO through diligence or an exit?
Yes. Consero keeps the books audit- and diligence-ready as part of the standard operating model, and the advisory team can step in on transaction support, financial due diligence, and the reporting a sponsor expects through a sale, recap, or IPO. That readiness means a deal is far less likely to stall on the numbers when the sponsor moves to exit.
