Board & governance
The brief is rarely the real job
Search briefs usually list: reporting, forecasting, controls, systems, team leadership. All important. But boards tend to decide on something else: Do we trust this CFO to shape the right trade-offs, at the right pace, with the right level of transparency?
A CFO can be excellent at finance operations and still underdeliver at board level. Board-level value is about judgment, signal quality, and how decisions are framed and communicated.
Related: CFO Profile → · Which interim CFO do you need? →
What boards actually want (in plain terms)
These are the recurring “silent requirements” that rarely make it into a job description, but consistently drive board confidence.
Signal quality over data volume
Boards don’t want more slides. They want clean signal: the handful of drivers, risks and trade-offs that matter now.
- One set of numbers, stable definitions
- Driver-based clarity (what moves EBITDA/cash)
- Early warning, not retrospective explanation
Judgment under uncertainty
In boardrooms, decisions often happen with incomplete information. Boards value CFOs who can make assumptions explicit, quantify ranges, and recommend a path.
- Clear options and consequences
- Confidence levels and scenario ranges
- “Here’s what I would do, and why”
Governance that enables speed
The best governance does not slow the business down. It clarifies decision rights and prevents rework, surprises and politics.
- Decision rights are explicit
- Cadence is predictable (weekly/monthly/quarterly)
- Escalations are crisp, not emotional
Capital allocation discipline
Boards care deeply about where money goes and what it returns. CFOs create trust by turning ambition into investable choices.
- Clear hurdle logic and trade-offs
- Capex vs opex vs M&A coherence
- Cash conversion is treated as strategy
Transparency without drama
Boards don’t expect perfection. They expect early visibility. Trust grows when bad news arrives with options.
- Issues raised early with a plan
- No “surprises” at board meetings
- Calm, fact-based communication
A scalable team and operating rhythm
Boards want confidence that finance can scale with the business. Not by adding complexity, but by building a reliable operating rhythm.
- Clear roles, owners, and standards
- Close and forecast cadence that holds
- Controls that fit risk and maturity
How to brief a CFO role so it delivers
If your brief only lists activities, you’ll attract activity-based candidates. Brief outcomes and constraints, and you’ll attract decision leaders.
1) Define the constraint
- What is the single biggest constraint in the next 6–12 months? (cash, governance, integration, predictability, systems)
- What would be “meaningfully better” in 90 days?
2) Make decision rights explicit
- What can the CFO decide vs recommend vs escalate?
- Where are the non-negotiables?
3) Specify the cadence
- Weekly: cash / performance rhythm (first 8–12 weeks in most transitions)
- Monthly: close quality, forecast, driver review
- Quarterly: capital allocation and strategy trade-offs
A board-ready CFO brief answers: “What must improve, by when, and who decides?” Everything else is secondary.
If interim CFO leadership is part of the answer, use: Which interim CFO do you need? →
How boards should assess a CFO in interviews
Technical competence is table stakes. Board confidence comes from how a CFO thinks and communicates under ambiguity. These prompts work because they surface judgment and operating style.
| What to test | Ask | Strong signal |
|---|---|---|
| Signal quality | “If you had 10 minutes with the board monthly, what would you show?” | Drivers, risks, trade-offs, no noise |
| Judgment | “Tell us about a decision you recommended with incomplete data.” | Assumptions explicit, ranges, consequences |
| Governance | “Where do CFOs unintentionally slow businesses down?” | Decision rights, cadence, pragmatic controls |
| Capital allocation | “How do you decide between growth spend and cash protection?” | Clear principles, metrics, timing trade-offs |
| Transparency | “What bad news have you delivered to a board, and how?” | Early, calm, options-based communication |
Red flags boards should take seriously
These patterns often look “reasonable” in isolation, but they tend to correlate with low board confidence and poor decision support over time.
- High slide count, low signal: lots of metrics, no point of view.
- Defensiveness under questioning: explaining instead of clarifying trade-offs.
- Late visibility: issues appear at board meetings without a plan.
- Overbuilding: designing perfect finance rather than fixing constraints.
- Ambiguous ownership: “we” language where accountability should be named.
The simplest summary
Boards want CFOs who raise decision quality. That shows up as: clean signal, strong judgment, pragmatic governance, disciplined capital allocation, transparent communication, and a scalable rhythm.
If you brief the role through that lens, you’ll attract a different calibre of CFO leadership and get better outcomes.
Need a board-ready CFO brief or a sanity check?
One focused conversation. No decks. No generic proposals. Just clarity on constraints, outcomes, and the right CFO profile.
BOOK A 30-MINUTE CONVERSATION