Succeed as a New CFO

Tackle CFO challenges to accelerate your impact

Recommendations for new CFOs in transition

Transitioning into a new CFO role can be one of the most stressful, yet rewarding, career milestones for an individual. But a new CFO is also a disruptive event for an organization and its people. Gartner research shows that a well-engineered transition process accelerates a new CFO’s success and creates more value for the organization.

Download our guide to accelerate your impact as a new CFO.

Download Research

Learn how to make an impact as a new CFO.

By clicking the "Continue" button, you are agreeing to the Gartner Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Contact Information

All fields are required.

  • Step 2 of 3

    By clicking the "Continue" button, you are agreeing to the Gartner Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    Company Information

    All fields are required.

    Type company and location
    Optional Optional
  • Step 3 of 3

    By clicking the "Submit" button, you are agreeing to the Gartner Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    Gartner helped provide a template and competency framework by which we could assess our current state of capability within finance, and what the roadmap would be to improve that.

    Stuart Humphreys

    Group Financial Controller, National Grid

    Tackle CFO challenges early

    New CFOs must tackle CFO challenges early to set themselves and their organizations up for success. However most new CFOs are forced to self-navigate, which frequently leads to slow knowledge transfer, employee disengagement and adverse impact on business outcomes.

    Pie chart describing the CFO Challenges for new CFOs.

    New CFOs: How We Address CFO Challenges

    Our research identifies four approaches that are pivotal to accelerating a new CFO’s impact in the face of CFO challenges. These include quickly understanding business risks, aligning closely with key business partners and processes, assessing Finance's current performance and developing a strategic roadmap for the function.

    New CFO First 100 Days Guide 

    Identify the CFO challenges that new CFOs face, and understand how to navigate the key responsibilities and expectations associated with the early stages of your role with this essential checklist.

    Plan and Execute your Finance Strategy

    Developing a clear vision for Finance is a short-term priority for all new CFOs. Tackle your CFO challenges: Identify the key elements of successful Finance strategies, use tools and checklists for planning, and communicate and execute your Finance strategy effectively.

    Position finance to drive value

    CFOs have a new role in capturing value for the organization: funding competitive differentiation. For 15 years, Gartner has examined how finance teams successfully drive both top- and bottom-line improvements. See the key findings and learn how new CFOs can drive value.

    Understand the trends shaping the future of finance

    As digital technologies continue to disrupt industries and markets, the finance function must also transform to leap competition. Discover 10 trends shaping the future of finance with new processes, technologies and business models.

    Questions about becoming a Gartner client?

    We Support Your CFO Challenges

    Beyond managing a smooth and effective transition into your new CFO role, there are a number of CFO challenges that you must successfully deliver on to enable the growth of the finance function and the broader organization. 

    Gartner CFO & Finance Executive Conference

    Be a part of most important gathering for CFOs to explore potential finance tech providers and get actionable insights to prioritize technology innovation.

    Gartner’s finance experts are trusted, objective advisors for 1,750+ finance organizations

    Gartner for Finance provides insights, advice and tools to help finance leaders make the right decisions to drive business results.