TheCFOProgram

Plan aheadCFO Transition LabTM

Deloitte | Plan ahead | CFO Transition LabTM

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The shelf life of a CFO is very short these days

s

I put trust in someone I should not have – so trust, but verify

Business rarely sees finance as a business partner

I felt I had six months to re-recruit my team, and show them I was going to do something different

uit

If you’re not careful, you’ll end up sleeping next to your mobile

I was surprised by the drain on my time by external demands. I had to adjust how I was allocating my time

Plan aheadA single day to map the first six months of your journey

Our CFO Transition LabTM is an interactive,one-day experience based on our extensiveresearch on CFO Transitions. The TransitionLab is designed to help newly appointedCFOs, including those with prior CFOexperiences, make an efficient and effectivetransition and develop an actionable 180-day plan.

The agenda of our CFO Transition LabTM

focuses on the three most importantresources CFOs should consider managingduring their transitions.

Effective transitionsQuotes from other CFOs

The CFO Transition LabTM is based ontargeted research and interviews with CFOswho have previously navigated transitions.In more than 700 conversations conductedacross EMEA and the US, CFOs discussedthe challenges they faced and successesthey achieved during their first 180 days inthe role, informing the Transition Labstructure and methodology.

TimePersonal and organisational time management

TalentTalent in the finance organisation

RelationshipsCritical stakeholder relations

Deloitte | Plan ahead | CFO Transition LabTM

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Curren

t

Legacy

Future

Fears

Hopes

CFO CEO

Leading edge

Thresholdperformance

Financefunction

Execution

Efficiency

Performance

Control

Where do you spend your time?The Four Faces of the CFOAs a leader, there are endless demands onyour time. The most successful CFOsdetermine early how to balance their timeand energy across four critical dimensions.

Based on our research with CFOs, we havedeveloped the Four Faces of the CFOFramework, which examines the roles andresponsibilities in four key areas.

• We explore your hopes and fears, andhelp you to define the legacy you wish toleave behind.

• We then discuss the hopes, fears andlegacy aspirations of your importantstakeholders.

• We explore together how to make yourvision a reality

CatalystThe objective of the catalystis to stimulate behavioursacross the organisation toachieve strategic andfinancial objectives

StewardThe objective of the stewardis to protect and preservethe assets of theorganisation

StrategistThe objective of thestrategist is to provideleadership with respect toaligning financial andbusiness strategies such asM&A, the investments andcapitalisation of thecompany

OperatorThe objective of the operatoris to balance capabilities,talent, costs and servicelevels to fulfil the financeorganisation’s responsibilities

Define your aspirationsHopes, fears and legacy

Deloitte | Plan ahead | CFO Transition LabTM

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Define your key prioritiesAssess and agree what’s important and urgentThe Lab gives you the opportunity to reflecton which key priorities will determine yoursuccess. You will choose from a set ofcustomised priorities organised along therelevant roles of the Four Faces Framework.You will also be able to add new priorities ortailor the current ones if needed.

We then ask you to organize the chosenpriorities across two dimensions: urgencyand importance.

Key considerations• Be wary of letting the urgent crowd out

the important.• What has the potential to slow you down?

Are you covering or mitigating itadequately?

• What are the big issues?• What and where are the largest drains on

resources – either time or money?

Assess your team Your organisation chart

Getting to the heart of talent issues quicklyis at the centre of every successfultransition story. Figuring out which teammembers will advance your priorities iscritical and needs to occur in an unbiasedenvironment, such as the CFO TransitionLabTM.

You will assess your confidence in themembers of your finance organisation usinga system of red, yellow and green ratings.

You will then have an open discussionabout the individual members of your team,identifying issues that require immediateaction and areas where more information isrequired.

High importance

High urgency

High confidence Low confidenceMedium confidence

CFO

Deloitte | Plan ahead | CFO Transition LabTM

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300 60 90 180

Your 180-day planPut it all togetherMoving from intent to action requires aplan. Your lab culminates in the creation ofa plan that you are confident to execute.The plan is populated with relevantmilestones including issues that requireimmediate attention, as well as longer-termpriorities that are critical to the success ofthe organisation and your legacy.

We ask you to set the 180-day milestones,then we develop discrete actions to achievethose milestones.

As we create the plan, we look toincorporate the action items identifiedthroughout the day and ensure we considerthe key concepts of talent, relationships andcommunications.

Relationships and influenceStakeholder analysisManaging relationships is key, your successwill depend on having a plan. Right awayyou want to connect and establishrelationships with people who matter, andthen consider the major issues you will befacing with them and how these could betackled.

We ask you to• Provide a general rating and assessment

of your relationships with key internal andexternal stakeholders.

• Rate the support you anticipate from eachstakeholder for each of your top priorities.

• Discuss what can be done to raisestakeholder support and what risks existto potentially decrease support.

Board

CEO

Investors

Analytics

The City

AuditCommittee

Chair

Financefunction

Business andfunctionalunit leads

CFO

Deloitte | Plan ahead | CFO Transition LabTM

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Alex RankinAssistant DirectorDeloitte Middle Eastarankin@deloitte.com

Declan HayesPartnerDeloitte Middle Eastdehayes@deloitte.com

ContactsThe CFO program team

DPSL would be pleased to advise readers on how to apply the principles set out in thispublication to their specific circumstances. DPSL accepts no duty of care or liability forany loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of anymaterial in this publication.

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