Days 1 to 30: questions, not answers
The first 90 days in a new finance role are typically full of questions, because new hires notice manual reconciliations, disparate reports and processes nobody has questioned in years.[1] That noticing is your most valuable asset and it has a short shelf life. Write everything down in month one, because by month four it will look normal to you too.
Spend the month on people and mechanics in parallel. Meet the CEO properly, then every executive peer, then your own team individually, then the auditor and the bank. On the mechanics side, sit through a close rather than reading about it.
Days 31 to 60: diagnose, and choose what not to fix
By the second month you will have more problems than capacity. The diagnostic list that matters is cash and runway accuracy, the close cycle, forecast credibility, controls and audit exposure, the systems estate, and the shape of the team.
The close is usually where the evidence is. For many finance functions a 12-day month-end close is due to manual data pulls from three different systems, reconciliation in Excel and reformatting for board reports.[2] If that is your situation, you have found both the problem and the first credible win.
| Where to look | What you are actually testing | |
|---|---|---|
| Cash and runway | The forecast, the bank, the payment terms | Whether the founder or CEO can state runway from memory and be right. If not, this is your first priority regardless of what else is broken. |
| The close | How many days, and how many people | How much of it is manual pulls across systems and reconciliation in Excel. Usually the clearest early win available. |
| Forecast credibility | Last three forecasts versus actuals | Whether anyone outside finance believes the numbers. A forecast nobody trusts is not a forecast. |
| Controls and audit | Prior year issues, delegations, approvals | What would be embarrassing in diligence. Find it before an investor does. |
| The team | Structure, capability, workload | Who is carrying work that should sit across several roles. Headcount cuts leave finance leaders absorbing it quietly. |
| Stakeholder read | What each executive wants from finance | Whether finance is currently seen as a partner or a blocker. That answer sets how fast you can move. |
Days 61 to 90: act, and be seen doing it
Pick a small number of visible changes and finish them. A useful benchmark for what is achievable: a Financial Projects Manager I placed at an international SaaS business built SOx process documentation from scratch in their first three months, giving the business structure, control and audit readiness.[3] Three months is enough for one real structural thing, not five.
A live example of a low-cost win: an Australian scale-up controller uses AI to refresh their board pack every Monday with a single instruction, then checks revenue, cash and ARR against Xero and adds commentary, which removes the manual rebuild entirely.[4] Keep the governance rule attached to it. AI produces a first draft, not a final answer, and a qualified person checks every number and signs off anything that reaches a board, investor, auditor, client or regulator.[5]
The thing that actually decides it
Numbers matter, but trust matters more, because without it even the best reporting will not get used.[6] A gun CFO put it well: teams do not care what you say, they watch what you do, and trust in finance leadership is earned when teams see you step up and roll your sleeves up alongside them.[7] In the first quarter that usually means being visibly present through a close rather than announcing a target operating model.
The consequence of getting it wrong is fast. I had a conversation with a CFO about a Head of Finance hire who left within nine months despite strong qualifications, because they could not win the CEO's trust or build rapport with Operations.[8] When trust does land, finance stops being a blocker or a silo and becomes a partner the business leans on for clear advice and commercial support.[9]
The CEO relationship carries more weight than anything else in this window. I set out how the two seats actually work together here.
If it is your first CFO seat
Two things are worth knowing before you start. A first CFO role gained through internal promotion is very different to moving across businesses and being hired as a new CFO.[10] Internally you arrive with relationships and no honeymoon; externally you have goodwill and no context. The plan should be different in each case.
The self-doubt is normal. Most senior finance leaders carry a version of it internally and few say it out loud.[11] One CFO described taking the seat while doubting their technical skills, having never been a group financial controller.[12] Get a mentor in place before day one rather than in month five.
On mentoring and the other development routes that actually work for finance leaders, I weigh them up here here.
Common questions
What should a CFO do in their first 90 days?
Roughly: listen in month one, diagnose in month two, act visibly in month three. Month one is meeting the CEO, the executive peers, your team, the auditor and the bank, and sitting through a close rather than reading about it. Month two is the diagnostic across cash and runway, the close cycle, forecast credibility, controls, systems and the team. Month three is finishing one or two real changes rather than starting five.
What is the biggest mistake a new CFO makes in the first quarter?
Leading with a restructure or a target operating model before they have earned the right to. Numbers matter, but trust matters more, because without it even the best reporting will not get used. Teams do not care what you say, they watch what you do, and trust is earned when they see you step up and work alongside them. I have seen a strongly qualified finance leader leave within nine months because they could not win the CEO's trust or build rapport with Operations.
What should a new CFO audit first?
Cash and runway accuracy first, because everything else can wait a fortnight and that cannot. Then the close cycle, since a long close is usually caused by manual data pulls from several systems and reconciliation in Excel, and fixing it is a visible early win. Then forecast credibility, controls and audit exposure, the systems estate, and the shape and workload of the team.
Is the first 90 days different for an internally promoted CFO?
Yes, considerably. A first CFO role gained through internal promotion is a very different job to moving across businesses and being hired as a new CFO. Internally you arrive with relationships and history but no honeymoon, and the challenge is re-contracting how people see you. Externally you get goodwill and a clean slate but no context, so the listening phase has to be genuine rather than performative.
References
- Tom Hunter on starting a new finance role: the first 90 days are typically full of questions as new hires notice manual reconciliations, disparate reports and unquestioned processes.
- Tom Hunter on close cycles: for many finance functions a 12-day month-end close is due to manual data pulls from three different systems, reconciliation in Excel and reformatting for board reports.
- Story Recruitment placement: a Financial Projects Manager placed at an international SaaS business built SOx process documentation from scratch in their first three months, giving the business structure, control and audit readiness.
- Australian example cited by Tom Hunter: a scale-up controller uses AI to refresh the board pack every Monday with a single instruction, then checks revenue, cash and ARR against Xero and adds commentary, removing the manual rebuild.
- Tom Hunter's one rule for AI in finance: it produces a first draft, not a final answer. A qualified person must check every number and sign off anything reaching a board, investor, auditor, client or regulator.
- Tom Hunter on finance leadership: numbers matter, but trust matters more, because without it even the best reporting will not get used.
- A CFO quoted by Tom Hunter: teams do not care what you say, they watch what you do, and trust in finance leadership is earned when teams see you step up and roll up your sleeves alongside them.
- Tom Hunter, recounting a conversation with a CFO about a Head of Finance hire who left within nine months despite strong qualifications, because they could not win the CEO's trust or build rapport with Operations.
- Tom Hunter on trust in finance: when it is built, finance transforms from a blocker or silo into a partner the business actively leans on for clear advice and commercial support.
- Tom Hunter on internal promotion: a first CFO role gained through internal promotion is very different to moving across businesses or being hired as a new CFO.
- Tom Hunter's observation that most senior finance leaders carry a version of self-doubt internally, but few express it aloud.
- A CFO Track guest on stepping up: having not previously been a group financial controller, they carried self-doubt about their technical skills for the CFO position.