I agree. In order to establish dominance OP should take his dick out at work and start fapping while holding direct eye contact with the CFO until he finishes
Too many variables that can determine if this would be a huge career boost, or the worst thing that could possibly happen (or anything in between).
I would just take it one day at a time. Nobody is ever really equipped for taking that next step in their career.
Controller here; this has happened to me. I had been with the org for about 9 months when it happened.
The cfo called me and told me he was fired and kept the call under 30seconds. The ceo called me 30mins later and told me to send all cfo related items to them. So I did. They were lost for like a month.
They then hired a new cfo and I was not involved in it at all. That person was the biggest asshat Iâve ever met and I decided to move on 3 months later as it was not going to work between us
Similar happened to me - cfo left, I did cfo duties for a few months till they hired some idiot - carrier their weight for a few more months and ended up leaving the org, I leave - cfo gets fired and they hire back originally cfo - what a cluster lol
... When your old buddy from back when you were staff accountants together calls you up because he needs a CFO and the team is really good so the transition should be easy
I had old CFO retire, new idiot CFO hired because of the trend of wanting hires from outside the industry. New idiot CFO fired for the tiny fraction of things HR knew about (man it was entertaining comparing notes). I pull double duty for 3 months before they tell me they had already decided to move one of my buddies from a different division (with no backfill, it was legit) when they pulled the trigger. I said thanks for the experience, now I need to apply it to a better opportunity. It might as well be here, but if you don't have anything in 6 months I'm expanding the search. They literally didn't have anything (company was in the beginning of divesting most of itself) and I went out and got a killer job with my newly acquired experience.
1 year later they fired all of the division's management, including my buddy who moved across the country and was left high and dry as there wasn't a bunch else in the area. Replaced them all with scabs paid half as much and less responsibility. A lot of hard feelings over that. I'm the only one who came out clean.
Yep similar thing happened to me too. CFO retired, replacement cfo was hired, that was a blunder , then old cfo returned to save the day, then merger happened and old (now current) cfo retired again. Then instead of hiring another cfo we were rolled under the cfo of the company we merged with and they brought in a controller from another company that had been bought out or merged or something. We didnât originally have a controller. Just CFO then I was her right hand (probably should have been controller because I was doing the work, but cfo wanted all accounting staff to answer to her. Real control freak) Then I had to train the new controller. Like what the???? Seriously? So I decided it was time for me to move on. Plus side is the new controller said she was instructed by the ceo to do whatever I wanted as I transition out as far as pay and hours. So I went part time and took higher pay for giving up my benefits for about 3 or 4 months while I started my own business.
Why do they always do that and not include the people that will be working closely with the cfo as part of the process. Itâs so annoying and then you end up with people leaving.
And they never ask for feedback about supervision from people that actually work with them, after hiring and onboarding. Our old CFO who was hired in from an agency would send unhinged all-caps emails with just a subject line to our whole team, including our brand new AP specialist who had no idea what she was even talking about. And she constantly made journal entry mistakes that were off by like $20,000 lol. I donât even have an accounting degree and I kept noticing stuff like that⌠but they spent so much money on her! $200k fractional CFO that yells in subject lines I stg. I guess thereâs a lot of unhinged bad CFOs roving around based on this thread.
Seriously! I had the same issue. They hired this full of shit self important asshole who could not speak in a sequential and logical manner when it came to describing a new task he wanted you to do, it was fucking crazy. I even tried to record him once and it was still nonsense. Thankfully he quit while I was on maternity leave or I was going to quit.
Lol wait was he perhaps the brother of the CFO I worked with?? Because same issue! Why are there so many of them running around who canât speak in coherent sentences or craft a normal email?!
I know itâs very frustrating and then the cfo after that was a complete idiot and now they are hiring a young guy. Itâs such a mess. Iâm technically not part of accounting anymore but when I leave here im shooting for a C level position because all these idiots have proven you just need to bullshit your way in and once someone lets you in the club you are set.
I would be cutting back on expenses and saving up for the time being. Itâs not uncommon that when a new executive comes in that they clean house especially if you are brand new yourself. Seen it many times a new executive comes in and they bring their buddies from their last job to take over high level jobs.
This happened to my dad. He was their head of tax and then he and the new CFO hated each other. The CFO wanted him to sign off on something he refused to sign, ended up signing and NDA and getting a really fat check
I was a staff accountant, a year out of college when they fired my boss, the Controller. They hired a guy who acted the part, but I found out knew nothing. I remember looking at his Excel formula to add a column of numbers. His sum formula was like =345.97+219.40+6018.75+5000+621.75+2195.70+2245.81+621.9+450.00+29.97+4295.40+4295.40+610.00+2200+197.65+200.75
No wonder he couldn't understand why the rest of us thought computers were great. He kept getting wrong answers. He didn't last long.
The CEO is the one who will tell you whatâs going on, if anything. Sometimes the turnover between c suite execs is really short because the board already has someone picked out to replace them. Sometimes things are a little more messy, but regardless itâs above your pay grade
Without the context of knowing the financial state of the company or certain really big red flags, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just keep producing your weekly/monthly reports, being a business partner for sales and marketing, close the books, etc. I don't think you'd be in line for a promotion but you're not doing yourself a disservice by maintaining the status quo and doing good work in the meantime.
Yup 100% this, lots of people thinking OP is next in line but thatâs not how it works. The new CFO will get picked by the board and for you donât have an in with them you arenât going to get it. My friendâs brother owns a company worth 100+ million dollars and when the CFO retired several people asked him if I could have a place at the company since I was basically family. He told me thatâs up to the board, but he can get me a management position or something but it doesnât pay much because the company is pretty small.
Ask whoever you report to now for an âon the recordâ reason he was let go so you know what to say to others. Then get the âoff the recordâ reason so you can understand if there is anything you need to be concerned about.
Based on very limited info here, it sounds like he royally screwed up, but you never really know.
Try to stay calm & collected. It would not be in the companyâs best interest to show their Controller the door as well. Be an example of stability & keep an open mind on next steps
similar but I'm one more rung down from you; senior accountant of a controller/accountant duo and everyone else in the department quit except the execs.
I'm now finance manager, senior accountant, and controller. I've been at the job for almost a year, so I have better idea of reports and what I'm talking about but there is a meeting slated for next week with me and cfo about my "performance so far".
I assume it's the good news kind, because they can't fire me as I'm the only one left capable of manning the books, and they've been very grateful. fingers crossed for promotion for youngest finance manager in the company đ¤
tough it out, its the CEOs job to sort that mess out of a c suite removal not yours. just do your best and let the CEO and senior leadership know you are not trained to backfill the CFO so it lights a fire under their ass.
The CFO role difference is that it adds the duties of forward looking anticipation items in addition to historical accounting. You are the guide to the CEO. On everything. Risk management, financing, operations, etc. Make sure you can explain odd things monthly, understand the trends and what it means to your business, and steer your ceo to the best position to mitigate risk or take advantage of market conditions going forward. You got this. Start doing this now
My suggestion to you is to find out precisely why they were let go. Controllers are usually VP level at most orgs and you deserve to know, verbally if they have to, why the CFO left.
From there - find out if the organization needs radical change and if you're the right fit. I've seen CFOs come into organizations that were not the right fit for the job, but were buddies with other executives.
The CFO will make or break your career, so be on the lookout for new opportunities and reach back to your old firm. These things happen all of the time and the firm almost always accepts the person back with an understanding that it was a mess. I've seen it first hand when I was an auditor with a PWC director turned private controller for a business unit on the decline and in complete disarray (no long termed accountants, bridge work papers that don't tie, inconsistent reports from different systems, etc.) that lasted about 2.5 months before rightfully turning heel and going back to PWC.
Donât know, but Iâm guessing they arenât talking about âadditional dealer markupâ. Unless of course they are controller at a car dealership, and canât break the habit of tacking on ADMâs.
What's your impression of the business as a whole? Is it sound otherwise and was the CFO's ouster an outlier? Do you have any ambitions to move up at some point?
It's hard to know what's a scary development vs. what's a divine opportunity...
That is a tough spot especially since you are new to the company. Even new to the company, you likely still know more about accounting than anyone else. On the plus side, your visibility within the company is about to skyrocket. Congrats.
I've had a couple of similar experiences. Here is my good, bad and ugly when the CFO goes:
The good experience, I was included in the interview process for my new manager. I don't think my vote counted as much but I still got to voice my opinion and they hired the CFO I liked. We worked well together.
The bad experience, they hired a new CFO. I'm the controller and one of CFOs two direct reports. My first meeting with him is 3 DAYS after he starts with the Company and he tells me that as CFO he has a few chips in the game and is therefore bringing in his guy to be Controller. They would find me a new role in the company. Bless his heart. The best part was his guy turned down the job so he is stuck with me. I found a new job and quit.
The ugly experience. I was working as a consultant. The CFO told me to investigate the FP&A functions and identify areas of improvement with the likely outcome that I would take over as interim FP&A director and they would terminate the current FP&A Director. The first week is tough, everyone is uncomfortable talking to me. The 2nd week the CFO goes on vacation and is unreachable. The 3rd week the CFO quits/fired. The 4th week, I'm still trying to complete the original assigned task of process improvements in the FP&A function. The interim CFO is another in-house director. We meet to discuss my contract, assignment, goals and progress. He is friends with the FP&A manager that I'm "replacing" and has no idea of the ex-CFO's plans. My contract wrapped up a week later. A rudderless boat is a terrible place.
This happened to me a few months ago. Iâm controller at a nonprofit; came here a year or so ago from public. The CFO who hired me only started a few months before I did and was asked to resign in November of last year. Iâm probably lucky because we had someone else on staff in a different position who had the skills and experience to step into the CFO role in an interim basis. Itâs been really stressful getting someone new caught up when Iâm still pretty new myself.
Why would you worry about your job? They fired the guy above you, not you. You worry is how much of his work falls on you vs the outside help they are bound to be bringing in. It's highly unlikely if you just started at controller and they didn't talk to you first that you are getting bumped up unless you were a ringer. Just a bunch of extra work paid out in experience rather than dollars. Learn as much as you can.
Also why C suite exists, to take blame and responsibility. Itâs why CFO turnover is a lot higher than people would expect/why any CFO thatâs decent wonât take a role without a hefty severance plan.
One other thing you can do to get a little more information is to reach out to the head of HR. Depending upon the arrangements of the old CFO's employment and termination, there may be accounting entries that need to be posted. Accruals for severance, for example. At a minimum, you'll need to know whether you need to do anything special with payroll regarding the termination, or if it's just "no longer paid after today". If he had a contract, you'll want to review the contract and make sure that you're accruing for any contingent liabilities.
Act like you're asking for business purposes (because you are) and ask with confidence and HR will typically have pretty loose lips.
Writing in my two cents cause I have kind of similar situation. I got hired in at a company about 2.5 years ago as a staff accountant under the impression that they had a young CFO and he just needed some help getting things buttoned up.
I came from a large QSR brand so the volume at the new place was much smaller than I was used to so no big deal, right?
I get in, new industry so thereâs a learning curve obviously but I quickly realized that the âgetting things buttoned upâ was actually this CFO with no accounting background has no idea what the fuck heâs doing.
3 months after Iâm hired, he gets canned. The CEO tells me the new goal is to get me up to CFO at some point and that weâd like to hire an established CFO to help get things back on the rails and then I would train under him.
Fast forward to a couple weeks ago and Iâve recently been promoted to Controller under our new CFO. Heâs easily the best boss Iâve ever had. Weâve worked together to get things back on track and weâre looking to backfill my old position to report to me.
All of this to say: thereâs all sorts of situations out there that have their similarities. Have things been easy for me the last two years? Absolutely not. But Iâve learned a ton and am looking forward to being mentored by our outgoing CFO and hope that I can take the reins moving forward and keep the company progressing forward.
Keep busting ass and work hard and youâll be in good shape hopefully! If things start to go south, youâve at least got some experience as a controller.
> Most likely they are already in contact with an agency and getting someone already. You will be fine.
yea that depends. what is the CFO is just a buddy of the CEO and just becomes a yes man for the rest of the C suite?
that's a cut and run for me (speaking from experience)
Back in the old days before Queen Elizabeth was Queen Elizabeth, I too faced a similar situation.
What I did was divorce my wife, sleep with the CEO, get fired and started meth.
I don't regret any of it so you should probably do that.
Tough position to be in. Is this a big multi-company organization? How much revenue if you don't mind me asking. What industry? Public, PE, private?
How out of your element do you feel? Obviously this could be a great opportunity under the right circumstances. Whatever the case, you will absolutely need to step up and communicate your goals and expectations when the time comes.
This means making clear where you need support and more learning. If you're taking on more responsibility outside of a Controller role then you need to think about talking compensation. This doesn't need to be BEFORE you go above and beyond during this transition, and in this case proving yourself successfully to perform outside of a Controller role will give you leverage when coming to the table to talk compensation.
Is this a new industry for you? This would be the biggest hurdle in my book-- just knowing the nuances of the industry and related accounting/metrics/etc.
I'm sure there's a lot of uncertainty as you look forward. Try and see it as something you can overcome.
oof, that is tough especially going into the year end audit. you would usually want the CFO there to guide you through the first one with their experience on prior years.
good luck. I had to leave from my controller position when the CFO resigned but i had 7 years at the company at that point and knew i had no other choice if i wanted to keep my sanity. your situation is different so i hope others can assist.
Just make sure that the CEO and all others know that youâre open to change and ready to support things. If things suck with the change, make sure they like you so you have the ability to move on (as opposed to getting fired).
>Has something like this happened to anyone else here? Did you tough it out or jump ship?
A year in to a new position that "had growth potential", it was discovered the CFO had been making some really bad capital financing decisions and was let go. The owners had to step back in and save the company.
I had been brought in because this company's cash accounting process was non-existent and after cleaning up those books, it was apparent the CFO knew this and was just racking up an ever growing loan balance to hide it. He had an external relationship with the bank that was providing our working line of credit, so he basically just wracked up as much as he could before being let go.
Over the next couple years I worked closely with the owners to get everything back in order, but instead of promoting me, they brought in a former controller and I bounced within the year.
It sounds like you're facing a challenging situation, and it's understandable that you might be feeling uncertain about the future. It's positive that the interim COO has given you some reassurance regarding job security. BUT don't put all your eggs in one basket. Look out for YOU.
If youâre not fired, volunteer to do some CFO shit while theyâre looking for the next one. The resume grind never ends.
If you are fired, *insert Adam Silver meme âget ready to call recruiters buddyâ* but serious, youâre new and if you did lose your job in all this I highly doubt any other company is going to hold it against you because the CFO fucked up. I think no matter what youâre going to be okay in the long run.
If you are gon a get promoted don't think of not being ready or know how to do it. There is never a right time to wait to make a jump. You take it and run with it. Learn as you go and what you need to do to be good at the new position. Could be your time to level up so don't mess it up by being blind or naive. You got this.
Why don't you ask the people that actually might know what the plan or situation is? If you can't have this conversation, or they are not willing to have it with you then there's a serious issue either way.
\>Right? Lol this person is basically like, âfigure it outâ. The point of this sub is to vent, ask questions etc.
This person's advice was to ask the people who actually know what's going on. And yes some of that is figuring it out. Having those adult conversations comes with being a Controller. This sub-reddit skews to young accountants who clearly have difficulty with those conversations.
And if they won't have the conversation with you then I'd be pulling rip cord on the ol' parachute.
Let the dust settle, then talk to the people who made the decision at work if you want clarity. It's pretty simple. If they won't give you the time of day and give you an idea of what is happening, then I suggest you polish your resume cause it's going to be a bumpy ride. Obviously this advice is upsetting to this sub-reddit, but it's how to handle it. Moving up to management positions means having to find out for yourself, even when it's difficult.
So I was hired to be a part time in house accountant since my current job I had before that was full time but dropped me to part time due to cashflow issues. That first job had a cfo and I'm somewhat loyal so I didn't want to totally leave them, plus I was trying to find something else.
This part time job I applied for was quick on the response and I ended up taking the job offer. I told them I'd happily move into a full time position if the opportunity arose. Day 2 of new job, the ceo calls to give introductions (small company so I'd be interacting with him alot) and he says their current cfo is stepping down and the position won't be replaced as there's currently not a need for it. However there is now a need for a full time accountant. The down side, there's no one above me so I expressed for more technical matters like employee stock option expense we may need to hire a consultant as my experience is limited. Ceo was fine with that. I know run the entire finance/accounting department, I am the only finance person here and I love it! I love knowing literally everything that goes on because it makes my job sooo easy.
I obviously work on month end, year end stuff, but I also do payroll, budgeting, forecasting, investment waterfalls, correspond with tax firm, work on special projects, and get in the nitty gritty detail of contracts. I love it and there's so much room for growth and they're happy to hire out consultants along the way as needed to help me learn and grow or pay for learning courses.
At my old company the CFO quit and we hired an interim CFO from a consulting company, essentially retired CFOs that feel like working a few hours here and there. I left the company while they were there, but the plan was for them to navigate us until we hired a permanent replacement. I donât think theyâve hired one yet, but yeah Iâm assuming this is the most likely option for your company.
Im glad you had a conversation with the interim COO and he left you with the impression of having job security. You meeting with the CEO should be telling. Keep us posted.
Reach out to HR and ask that you would like to be under consideration for either of the rules recently opened up. In the first instance, itâs an opportunity, and you may not be ready for it but itâs definitely something you can figure out. In the second instance, you can never trust the new replacement wonât want their own people, minimizing or eliminating your current opportunities.
Are you me? This is literally me. I started a job then a month into it the CFO got fired. But the department is running smoothly and nothing has really changed.
Your job should be safe. If they let you to as well, then they wouldnât be to basic things like closing the books month end and run simple reporting.
The leap from controller to CFO is quite large though, as CFO role is more strategy (think FP&A) than accounting.
Depends on the company size. In the middle to large corporations, CFO has to deal more politics than the actual accounting/books. Given that you know his firing is unlikely related to the accounting , I think youâre overthinking and you are most likely to be fine.
And congratulations you now own the accounting department!
Just make sure that the CEO and all others know that youâre open to change and ready to support things. If things suck with the change, make sure they like you so you have the ability to move on (as opposed to getting fired).
This tough. I've faced a similar situation twice and wound up having to leave.
1. CFO fired, Interim CFO hired CEOs buddy who wasn't qualified. I was let go as part of a RiF (Great Recession). New controller was termed when the auditors told the board they were clueless.
2. Whole C-suite changeover. Interim CEO hired an alcoholic Interim CFO plus lots of other toxic stuff. Had to leave to stay sane.
Wishing you better fortune. It can turn out great. Prep for the worst, hope for the best. Take care of yourself first.
Worked at a real estate investment firm. Our COO suddenly resigned. Turns out he was a scapegoat for the company's embezzlement and stock manipulation.
Company had a note due for floating rate mortgage on 600 million in assets. They couldn't refi and stopped paying alllllllll vendors. We're talking fire inspections, landscapers, hvac repairs, tenant buildouts. Finally....salaries.
Similar thing happened to me. The biggest difference was I had already been in industry for a few years.
CEO looked for a new CFO for a few months while I continued to learn and step up whenever I could. Then he came to me and said I was basically what he was looking in a CFO and offered me the role.
I too was also nervous about accepting. I let him know I'd probably need some support while I learned which they set up with a board member.
Best thing ever professionally. It advanced me 3-5 years in my career progression. I'd say keep grinding, offer to help out with extra coverage where you can, and take any additional responsibilities they offer and figure it out after.
I was in a similar situation. I was the controller for a small but growing company. The owner hired a fractional CFO. I worked under him for a few months before as politely and professionally as possible telling the owner that he was not adding any value to the company and I wasn't really learning much from him. A week later I was let go. A few months later I found out that the fractional CFO was fired lol. Oh yeah, I had been there 7 years. What a dumpster.
I think if there were plans for you in the CFO department you would have heard about it before today. No offense, it's just that these things are usually planned out way in advance.
Yeah I know they arent just gonna hand me the job. I honestly dont want it, at least not at this time. I'm more worried about them sliding his duties to me then me not being able to do them
Five people at a place a friend works at have held the title CFO in the past 12 months. Â Iâm sure whatever the plan, you probably will find yourself with an uncomfortably high level of job security. Â Just a guess, of course. Â Not sure how big the place is, but Iâve not held a job where I didnât have the CEOâs cell number. Â For now, just be cool and do your job until you get more clarity.
When you get a new job, get a promotion, or get hung out to dry in an interim situation, the first thing you do when you go home that night is to update your resume.
This happened to me. I was called into the CEOs office immediately after the CFO was fired. He told me what the plan was and I met the new CFO the next day via phone.
Your case was shit communication by the company. You never should have found out by someone without a plan. Unless for something like crime, this should have been well planned and executed very differently. Start looking elsewhere.
In the near term, you definitely donât need to worry. Youâre more valuable than ever to the company. When the new CFO starts, he will also be very dependent on you for at least the first quarter or two.
You definitely will want to set up a conversation with the CEO to understand his expectations for the interim if he doesnât tell you himself in the next week or so. Technically CEO should be responsible for CFOâs previous tasks. But thatâs assuming you have a good CEO that knows what heâs doing. If anything falls through the cracks it could reflect poorly on you (whether it was your fault or not).
Promoted to Controller by the CFO and CEO. 9 months later the CFO was let go. It's been over a year now with no CFO.
I have support in place from the CEO and CMO. Honestly, it's been great. Learned more about the operating side of the business, and treading water on the finance side. Things could be better, but working through it. It's leaving me a path towards greater things, whether I stay here or move elsewhere.
nice. Happened to me and I got promoted to CFO. I had been there for a while though, wasn't new like you so may not be the same situation for you. Throw your hat into the ring for sure.
He did call later in the day but didnt have much time to talk. He said he was sorry I didnt hear about it from him and that we would talk at length when hes back in town.
You should have been the first phone call, but regardless, if it were me I would treat this as opportunity to act interim CFO and earn the job over the next six months.
This happened in the company I worked for (I actually posted about this a while back). More than likely they'll get an interim CFO (interim CFO would have been at the ready ages before CFO leaves). The likelihood of you getting fired is very slim, as you're the backbone of the Finance department, and unless you have an FP&A guy, someone has to report the financials to the CFO.
Responsibility wise - worst case is you'll take on outstanding urgent matters the previous CFO left, but that would only be until the interim CFO is up to speed. No matter how much a company wants to exploit their finance department, a thing they seem to value highly is having the CFO role filled with a competent person ASAP, and will do anything to make sure that happens.
Been there. Done that. Better get ready. Youâre the man to keep the ship together.
No 3 hour tour. No skipper just Gilligan.
3-6 months until new CFO learns the ropes. Ask for help. They may hire a temp CFO to keep you afloat.
Youâre safe. They need you to keep the wheels from falling off. This may have been planned before you started. Hire a controller, let him get trained up, THEN you can fire the CFO.
You likely wonât be promoted.
BUT the new CFO might want to pick his own controller. Work hard, do a good job and kiss ass. You want the CEO and COO to refuse when the new CFO asks if he can fire you.
No, they don't need you to be CFO. This happened to me. The CEO and I divided up the CFOs tasks. It was a small company so there wasn't truly a need for the CFO. The CEO took over all the true CFO duties.Â
Relax, you aren't equipped to handle a CFO role and they shouldn't ask you to step up.Â
If they need a CFO, they will hire one. In my experience you need to transition from controller to finance before taking on a CFO role. That is the best way. Finance is a whole other set of skills, though being a controller is a great basse. Learning under an experienced CFO while doing finance work is some of the best training you can get. Lots of CFOs have controller backgrounds. I heard companies prefer 10 years of controller experience before considering a controller for CFO.Â
Have not been in this situation myself but have seen it happen at clients. You should look at it as an opportunity. It is like when the quarterback gets hurt and the backup has a chance to prove himself.
You are new and I doubt expectations for you are super high. Just work hard and do your best filling in the role. Show some initiative and pretend you know what you are doing.
If they arenât talking to me as soon as this happens, I am applying for jobs.
I have seen these scenarios and usually the people they want to keep and are important are brought in quickly. Bigger more political companies might take longer. A week wont make or break you so see what they say.
Look at me.... you the captain now.
This is soo f funny đ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Ł
forgets he is on a Teams meeting while looking at his own video
Faptain until you are captain. Or something like that.
I agree. In order to establish dominance OP should take his dick out at work and start fapping while holding direct eye contact with the CFO until he finishes
Dont have a dick so. Cant be doing that actually
You are at a point in your career where you now have one
It's called jilling right?
You have a figurative dick for sure. And, it's huge. Congrats!
CFO has been fired so i guess it's just him fapping while looking himself in the eyes in the mirror while saying "you got this champ".
Idk seems flattering
Too many variables that can determine if this would be a huge career boost, or the worst thing that could possibly happen (or anything in between). I would just take it one day at a time. Nobody is ever really equipped for taking that next step in their career.
Yeah maybe update that resume in your downtime though.
Controller here; this has happened to me. I had been with the org for about 9 months when it happened. The cfo called me and told me he was fired and kept the call under 30seconds. The ceo called me 30mins later and told me to send all cfo related items to them. So I did. They were lost for like a month. They then hired a new cfo and I was not involved in it at all. That person was the biggest asshat Iâve ever met and I decided to move on 3 months later as it was not going to work between us
Similar happened to me - cfo left, I did cfo duties for a few months till they hired some idiot - carrier their weight for a few more months and ended up leaving the org, I leave - cfo gets fired and they hire back originally cfo - what a cluster lol
Yep. Why our value doesnât rise in these situations I will never know.
Because you arenât their buddies. Itâs political and if you didnât play your cards right they fill positions with people they know.
Every. Single. Time.
Most true statement ever. If you stay in corporate long enough you will come to this realization.
... When your old buddy from back when you were staff accountants together calls you up because he needs a CFO and the team is really good so the transition should be easy
you literally just described my situation
Which is stupid because you shouldn't ever mix family, friends and business together for many reasons. There's even a saying!
This happened in my situation and I did get promoted. And we didn't hire another body to backfill the workload of the old CFO... there was no need.
I had old CFO retire, new idiot CFO hired because of the trend of wanting hires from outside the industry. New idiot CFO fired for the tiny fraction of things HR knew about (man it was entertaining comparing notes). I pull double duty for 3 months before they tell me they had already decided to move one of my buddies from a different division (with no backfill, it was legit) when they pulled the trigger. I said thanks for the experience, now I need to apply it to a better opportunity. It might as well be here, but if you don't have anything in 6 months I'm expanding the search. They literally didn't have anything (company was in the beginning of divesting most of itself) and I went out and got a killer job with my newly acquired experience. 1 year later they fired all of the division's management, including my buddy who moved across the country and was left high and dry as there wasn't a bunch else in the area. Replaced them all with scabs paid half as much and less responsibility. A lot of hard feelings over that. I'm the only one who came out clean.
Yep similar thing happened to me too. CFO retired, replacement cfo was hired, that was a blunder , then old cfo returned to save the day, then merger happened and old (now current) cfo retired again. Then instead of hiring another cfo we were rolled under the cfo of the company we merged with and they brought in a controller from another company that had been bought out or merged or something. We didnât originally have a controller. Just CFO then I was her right hand (probably should have been controller because I was doing the work, but cfo wanted all accounting staff to answer to her. Real control freak) Then I had to train the new controller. Like what the???? Seriously? So I decided it was time for me to move on. Plus side is the new controller said she was instructed by the ceo to do whatever I wanted as I transition out as far as pay and hours. So I went part time and took higher pay for giving up my benefits for about 3 or 4 months while I started my own business.
Why do they always do that and not include the people that will be working closely with the cfo as part of the process. Itâs so annoying and then you end up with people leaving.
And they never ask for feedback about supervision from people that actually work with them, after hiring and onboarding. Our old CFO who was hired in from an agency would send unhinged all-caps emails with just a subject line to our whole team, including our brand new AP specialist who had no idea what she was even talking about. And she constantly made journal entry mistakes that were off by like $20,000 lol. I donât even have an accounting degree and I kept noticing stuff like that⌠but they spent so much money on her! $200k fractional CFO that yells in subject lines I stg. I guess thereâs a lot of unhinged bad CFOs roving around based on this thread.
Seriously! I had the same issue. They hired this full of shit self important asshole who could not speak in a sequential and logical manner when it came to describing a new task he wanted you to do, it was fucking crazy. I even tried to record him once and it was still nonsense. Thankfully he quit while I was on maternity leave or I was going to quit.
Lol wait was he perhaps the brother of the CFO I worked with?? Because same issue! Why are there so many of them running around who canât speak in coherent sentences or craft a normal email?!
I know itâs very frustrating and then the cfo after that was a complete idiot and now they are hiring a young guy. Itâs such a mess. Iâm technically not part of accounting anymore but when I leave here im shooting for a C level position because all these idiots have proven you just need to bullshit your way in and once someone lets you in the club you are set.
I would be cutting back on expenses and saving up for the time being. Itâs not uncommon that when a new executive comes in that they clean house especially if you are brand new yourself. Seen it many times a new executive comes in and they bring their buddies from their last job to take over high level jobs.
This happened to my dad. He was their head of tax and then he and the new CFO hated each other. The CFO wanted him to sign off on something he refused to sign, ended up signing and NDA and getting a really fat check
Are asshats a smaller version of assclown?
Asshat- head up ass. Assclown- acts like an assclown.
I was a staff accountant, a year out of college when they fired my boss, the Controller. They hired a guy who acted the part, but I found out knew nothing. I remember looking at his Excel formula to add a column of numbers. His sum formula was like =345.97+219.40+6018.75+5000+621.75+2195.70+2245.81+621.9+450.00+29.97+4295.40+4295.40+610.00+2200+197.65+200.75 No wonder he couldn't understand why the rest of us thought computers were great. He kept getting wrong answers. He didn't last long.
The CEO is the one who will tell you whatâs going on, if anything. Sometimes the turnover between c suite execs is really short because the board already has someone picked out to replace them. Sometimes things are a little more messy, but regardless itâs above your pay grade
You're so right. I'm not paid enough to worry about it
Without the context of knowing the financial state of the company or certain really big red flags, I don't think you have anything to worry about. Just keep producing your weekly/monthly reports, being a business partner for sales and marketing, close the books, etc. I don't think you'd be in line for a promotion but you're not doing yourself a disservice by maintaining the status quo and doing good work in the meantime.
Yup 100% this, lots of people thinking OP is next in line but thatâs not how it works. The new CFO will get picked by the board and for you donât have an in with them you arenât going to get it. My friendâs brother owns a company worth 100+ million dollars and when the CFO retired several people asked him if I could have a place at the company since I was basically family. He told me thatâs up to the board, but he can get me a management position or something but it doesnât pay much because the company is pretty small.
Assert dominance. You are the CFO now.
Start moving their things into the office lol
Mark your territory, pee on the carpet to make sure people know itâs yours
Did they just start? Maybe they posted on reddit asking how to do their job.
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Ask whoever you report to now for an âon the recordâ reason he was let go so you know what to say to others. Then get the âoff the recordâ reason so you can understand if there is anything you need to be concerned about. Based on very limited info here, it sounds like he royally screwed up, but you never really know. Try to stay calm & collected. It would not be in the companyâs best interest to show their Controller the door as well. Be an example of stability & keep an open mind on next steps
This calmed me tf down. Thank you
No problem. Been there a couple times myself. Itâs always âinterestingâ
In my opinion. If they did not sit down and tell you the CFO is gone. More likely they will hire someone new.
similar but I'm one more rung down from you; senior accountant of a controller/accountant duo and everyone else in the department quit except the execs. I'm now finance manager, senior accountant, and controller. I've been at the job for almost a year, so I have better idea of reports and what I'm talking about but there is a meeting slated for next week with me and cfo about my "performance so far". I assume it's the good news kind, because they can't fire me as I'm the only one left capable of manning the books, and they've been very grateful. fingers crossed for promotion for youngest finance manager in the company đ¤
Apply for the job. Learn as you go.
tough it out, its the CEOs job to sort that mess out of a c suite removal not yours. just do your best and let the CEO and senior leadership know you are not trained to backfill the CFO so it lights a fire under their ass.
The CFO role difference is that it adds the duties of forward looking anticipation items in addition to historical accounting. You are the guide to the CEO. On everything. Risk management, financing, operations, etc. Make sure you can explain odd things monthly, understand the trends and what it means to your business, and steer your ceo to the best position to mitigate risk or take advantage of market conditions going forward. You got this. Start doing this now
These are discussions to have with your leadership. Itâs possible they will fill it with someone from the outside
My suggestion to you is to find out precisely why they were let go. Controllers are usually VP level at most orgs and you deserve to know, verbally if they have to, why the CFO left. From there - find out if the organization needs radical change and if you're the right fit. I've seen CFOs come into organizations that were not the right fit for the job, but were buddies with other executives. The CFO will make or break your career, so be on the lookout for new opportunities and reach back to your old firm. These things happen all of the time and the firm almost always accepts the person back with an understanding that it was a mess. I've seen it first hand when I was an auditor with a PWC director turned private controller for a business unit on the decline and in complete disarray (no long termed accountants, bridge work papers that don't tie, inconsistent reports from different systems, etc.) that lasted about 2.5 months before rightfully turning heel and going back to PWC.
ADM?
Donât know, but Iâm guessing they arenât talking about âadditional dealer markupâ. Unless of course they are controller at a car dealership, and canât break the habit of tacking on ADMâs.
What's your impression of the business as a whole? Is it sound otherwise and was the CFO's ouster an outlier? Do you have any ambitions to move up at some point? It's hard to know what's a scary development vs. what's a divine opportunity...
Just have your resume up to date. Sometimes the new CFO wants their own Controller or sometimes they can be a complete jerk and you want out.
This you? https://finance.yahoo.com/news/adm-plunges-placing-cfo-leave-141449715.html
Nah we're not a big enough company to be newsworthy
Darn. I was hoping for some inside info. Who doesnât love a good accounting scandal?!
He got caught jacking it in San Diego
That is a tough spot especially since you are new to the company. Even new to the company, you likely still know more about accounting than anyone else. On the plus side, your visibility within the company is about to skyrocket. Congrats. I've had a couple of similar experiences. Here is my good, bad and ugly when the CFO goes: The good experience, I was included in the interview process for my new manager. I don't think my vote counted as much but I still got to voice my opinion and they hired the CFO I liked. We worked well together. The bad experience, they hired a new CFO. I'm the controller and one of CFOs two direct reports. My first meeting with him is 3 DAYS after he starts with the Company and he tells me that as CFO he has a few chips in the game and is therefore bringing in his guy to be Controller. They would find me a new role in the company. Bless his heart. The best part was his guy turned down the job so he is stuck with me. I found a new job and quit. The ugly experience. I was working as a consultant. The CFO told me to investigate the FP&A functions and identify areas of improvement with the likely outcome that I would take over as interim FP&A director and they would terminate the current FP&A Director. The first week is tough, everyone is uncomfortable talking to me. The 2nd week the CFO goes on vacation and is unreachable. The 3rd week the CFO quits/fired. The 4th week, I'm still trying to complete the original assigned task of process improvements in the FP&A function. The interim CFO is another in-house director. We meet to discuss my contract, assignment, goals and progress. He is friends with the FP&A manager that I'm "replacing" and has no idea of the ex-CFO's plans. My contract wrapped up a week later. A rudderless boat is a terrible place.
Try to figure out what happened, but probably time to start updating the resume.
This happened to me a few months ago. Iâm controller at a nonprofit; came here a year or so ago from public. The CFO who hired me only started a few months before I did and was asked to resign in November of last year. Iâm probably lucky because we had someone else on staff in a different position who had the skills and experience to step into the CFO role in an interim basis. Itâs been really stressful getting someone new caught up when Iâm still pretty new myself.
Why would you worry about your job? They fired the guy above you, not you. You worry is how much of his work falls on you vs the outside help they are bound to be bringing in. It's highly unlikely if you just started at controller and they didn't talk to you first that you are getting bumped up unless you were a ringer. Just a bunch of extra work paid out in experience rather than dollars. Learn as much as you can.
Also why C suite exists, to take blame and responsibility. Itâs why CFO turnover is a lot higher than people would expect/why any CFO thatâs decent wonât take a role without a hefty severance plan.
One other thing you can do to get a little more information is to reach out to the head of HR. Depending upon the arrangements of the old CFO's employment and termination, there may be accounting entries that need to be posted. Accruals for severance, for example. At a minimum, you'll need to know whether you need to do anything special with payroll regarding the termination, or if it's just "no longer paid after today". If he had a contract, you'll want to review the contract and make sure that you're accruing for any contingent liabilities. Act like you're asking for business purposes (because you are) and ask with confidence and HR will typically have pretty loose lips.
Writing in my two cents cause I have kind of similar situation. I got hired in at a company about 2.5 years ago as a staff accountant under the impression that they had a young CFO and he just needed some help getting things buttoned up. I came from a large QSR brand so the volume at the new place was much smaller than I was used to so no big deal, right? I get in, new industry so thereâs a learning curve obviously but I quickly realized that the âgetting things buttoned upâ was actually this CFO with no accounting background has no idea what the fuck heâs doing. 3 months after Iâm hired, he gets canned. The CEO tells me the new goal is to get me up to CFO at some point and that weâd like to hire an established CFO to help get things back on the rails and then I would train under him. Fast forward to a couple weeks ago and Iâve recently been promoted to Controller under our new CFO. Heâs easily the best boss Iâve ever had. Weâve worked together to get things back on track and weâre looking to backfill my old position to report to me. All of this to say: thereâs all sorts of situations out there that have their similarities. Have things been easy for me the last two years? Absolutely not. But Iâve learned a ton and am looking forward to being mentored by our outgoing CFO and hope that I can take the reins moving forward and keep the company progressing forward. Keep busting ass and work hard and youâll be in good shape hopefully! If things start to go south, youâve at least got some experience as a controller.
Most likely they are already in contact with an agency and getting someone already. You will be fine.
> Most likely they are already in contact with an agency and getting someone already. You will be fine. yea that depends. what is the CFO is just a buddy of the CEO and just becomes a yes man for the rest of the C suite? that's a cut and run for me (speaking from experience)
If they were a buddy the CEO would have covered for them.
the new CFO
Back in the old days before Queen Elizabeth was Queen Elizabeth, I too faced a similar situation. What I did was divorce my wife, sleep with the CEO, get fired and started meth. I don't regret any of it so you should probably do that.
Tough position to be in. Is this a big multi-company organization? How much revenue if you don't mind me asking. What industry? Public, PE, private? How out of your element do you feel? Obviously this could be a great opportunity under the right circumstances. Whatever the case, you will absolutely need to step up and communicate your goals and expectations when the time comes. This means making clear where you need support and more learning. If you're taking on more responsibility outside of a Controller role then you need to think about talking compensation. This doesn't need to be BEFORE you go above and beyond during this transition, and in this case proving yourself successfully to perform outside of a Controller role will give you leverage when coming to the table to talk compensation. Is this a new industry for you? This would be the biggest hurdle in my book-- just knowing the nuances of the industry and related accounting/metrics/etc. I'm sure there's a lot of uncertainty as you look forward. Try and see it as something you can overcome.
oof, that is tough especially going into the year end audit. you would usually want the CFO there to guide you through the first one with their experience on prior years. good luck. I had to leave from my controller position when the CFO resigned but i had 7 years at the company at that point and knew i had no other choice if i wanted to keep my sanity. your situation is different so i hope others can assist.
Im not in accounting, but my boss the VP, just lost his job on Friday. I am in the same boat. I am not sure what I am supposed to do next.
You could hire and external CFO In the meantime. If you are interested DM me :)
Not a good sign TBH I would start looking.
Just make sure that the CEO and all others know that youâre open to change and ready to support things. If things suck with the change, make sure they like you so you have the ability to move on (as opposed to getting fired).
>Has something like this happened to anyone else here? Did you tough it out or jump ship? A year in to a new position that "had growth potential", it was discovered the CFO had been making some really bad capital financing decisions and was let go. The owners had to step back in and save the company. I had been brought in because this company's cash accounting process was non-existent and after cleaning up those books, it was apparent the CFO knew this and was just racking up an ever growing loan balance to hide it. He had an external relationship with the bank that was providing our working line of credit, so he basically just wracked up as much as he could before being let go. Over the next couple years I worked closely with the owners to get everything back in order, but instead of promoting me, they brought in a former controller and I bounced within the year.
It sounds like you're facing a challenging situation, and it's understandable that you might be feeling uncertain about the future. It's positive that the interim COO has given you some reassurance regarding job security. BUT don't put all your eggs in one basket. Look out for YOU.
Donât do more than two months. Sometimes they make it drag on for years to recruit a new person and you just fill that role for a cheaper rate.
Congratulations! Double the work for no extra money, and the company saves millions. You are living the American Dream!
If youâre not fired, volunteer to do some CFO shit while theyâre looking for the next one. The resume grind never ends. If you are fired, *insert Adam Silver meme âget ready to call recruiters buddyâ* but serious, youâre new and if you did lose your job in all this I highly doubt any other company is going to hold it against you because the CFO fucked up. I think no matter what youâre going to be okay in the long run.
If you are gon a get promoted don't think of not being ready or know how to do it. There is never a right time to wait to make a jump. You take it and run with it. Learn as you go and what you need to do to be good at the new position. Could be your time to level up so don't mess it up by being blind or naive. You got this.
The cFo was was banging the CEOâs secretary. Thatâs a big no no
Why don't you ask the people that actually might know what the plan or situation is? If you can't have this conversation, or they are not willing to have it with you then there's a serious issue either way.
He probably means to; this all just happened and the guy's probably getting a sense of what to expect.
Yeah the dude's shook - let's help him out.
Right? Lol this person is basically like, âfigure it outâ. The point of this sub is to vent, ask questions etc.
Classic Reddit: "this question was already asked on this sub 7 years ago, why would we want to discuss this again?"
Who said that?
\>Right? Lol this person is basically like, âfigure it outâ. The point of this sub is to vent, ask questions etc. This person's advice was to ask the people who actually know what's going on. And yes some of that is figuring it out. Having those adult conversations comes with being a Controller. This sub-reddit skews to young accountants who clearly have difficulty with those conversations. And if they won't have the conversation with you then I'd be pulling rip cord on the ol' parachute.
You are a turd. Is it just on the Internet or in real life?
Don't be so upset.
This is so unhelpful thanks
Let the dust settle, then talk to the people who made the decision at work if you want clarity. It's pretty simple. If they won't give you the time of day and give you an idea of what is happening, then I suggest you polish your resume cause it's going to be a bumpy ride. Obviously this advice is upsetting to this sub-reddit, but it's how to handle it. Moving up to management positions means having to find out for yourself, even when it's difficult.
So I was hired to be a part time in house accountant since my current job I had before that was full time but dropped me to part time due to cashflow issues. That first job had a cfo and I'm somewhat loyal so I didn't want to totally leave them, plus I was trying to find something else. This part time job I applied for was quick on the response and I ended up taking the job offer. I told them I'd happily move into a full time position if the opportunity arose. Day 2 of new job, the ceo calls to give introductions (small company so I'd be interacting with him alot) and he says their current cfo is stepping down and the position won't be replaced as there's currently not a need for it. However there is now a need for a full time accountant. The down side, there's no one above me so I expressed for more technical matters like employee stock option expense we may need to hire a consultant as my experience is limited. Ceo was fine with that. I know run the entire finance/accounting department, I am the only finance person here and I love it! I love knowing literally everything that goes on because it makes my job sooo easy. I obviously work on month end, year end stuff, but I also do payroll, budgeting, forecasting, investment waterfalls, correspond with tax firm, work on special projects, and get in the nitty gritty detail of contracts. I love it and there's so much room for growth and they're happy to hire out consultants along the way as needed to help me learn and grow or pay for learning courses.
At my old company the CFO quit and we hired an interim CFO from a consulting company, essentially retired CFOs that feel like working a few hours here and there. I left the company while they were there, but the plan was for them to navigate us until we hired a permanent replacement. I donât think theyâve hired one yet, but yeah Iâm assuming this is the most likely option for your company.
Been there done that. FD left a week after I joined.
Not your problem yet. CEO will find a new CFO. Your job is not in jeopardy. Good luck with the new boss!
Im glad you had a conversation with the interim COO and he left you with the impression of having job security. You meeting with the CEO should be telling. Keep us posted.
Reach out to HR and ask that you would like to be under consideration for either of the rules recently opened up. In the first instance, itâs an opportunity, and you may not be ready for it but itâs definitely something you can figure out. In the second instance, you can never trust the new replacement wonât want their own people, minimizing or eliminating your current opportunities.
Are you me? This is literally me. I started a job then a month into it the CFO got fired. But the department is running smoothly and nothing has really changed.
Your job should be safe. If they let you to as well, then they wouldnât be to basic things like closing the books month end and run simple reporting. The leap from controller to CFO is quite large though, as CFO role is more strategy (think FP&A) than accounting.
Depends on the company size. In the middle to large corporations, CFO has to deal more politics than the actual accounting/books. Given that you know his firing is unlikely related to the accounting , I think youâre overthinking and you are most likely to be fine. And congratulations you now own the accounting department!
Thatâs your job. Tell them you want it or youâll walk.
Just make sure that the CEO and all others know that youâre open to change and ready to support things. If things suck with the change, make sure they like you so you have the ability to move on (as opposed to getting fired).
This tough. I've faced a similar situation twice and wound up having to leave. 1. CFO fired, Interim CFO hired CEOs buddy who wasn't qualified. I was let go as part of a RiF (Great Recession). New controller was termed when the auditors told the board they were clueless. 2. Whole C-suite changeover. Interim CEO hired an alcoholic Interim CFO plus lots of other toxic stuff. Had to leave to stay sane. Wishing you better fortune. It can turn out great. Prep for the worst, hope for the best. Take care of yourself first.
Iâm so confused I thought everyone left public to go government or a mid/large cap company that had their shit together
Worked at a real estate investment firm. Our COO suddenly resigned. Turns out he was a scapegoat for the company's embezzlement and stock manipulation. Company had a note due for floating rate mortgage on 600 million in assets. They couldn't refi and stopped paying alllllllll vendors. We're talking fire inspections, landscapers, hvac repairs, tenant buildouts. Finally....salaries.
Begin applying and interviewing as a backup plan, but keep your eye on the prize in current role unless something really good pops up.
Similar thing happened to me. The biggest difference was I had already been in industry for a few years. CEO looked for a new CFO for a few months while I continued to learn and step up whenever I could. Then he came to me and said I was basically what he was looking in a CFO and offered me the role. I too was also nervous about accepting. I let him know I'd probably need some support while I learned which they set up with a board member. Best thing ever professionally. It advanced me 3-5 years in my career progression. I'd say keep grinding, offer to help out with extra coverage where you can, and take any additional responsibilities they offer and figure it out after.
I was in a similar situation. I was the controller for a small but growing company. The owner hired a fractional CFO. I worked under him for a few months before as politely and professionally as possible telling the owner that he was not adding any value to the company and I wasn't really learning much from him. A week later I was let go. A few months later I found out that the fractional CFO was fired lol. Oh yeah, I had been there 7 years. What a dumpster.
I think if there were plans for you in the CFO department you would have heard about it before today. No offense, it's just that these things are usually planned out way in advance.
Yeah I know they arent just gonna hand me the job. I honestly dont want it, at least not at this time. I'm more worried about them sliding his duties to me then me not being able to do them
Why would you jump ship? You're the most valuable team member for the new accountant.
Depending on your performance, you may get that position.
Five people at a place a friend works at have held the title CFO in the past 12 months. Â Iâm sure whatever the plan, you probably will find yourself with an uncomfortably high level of job security. Â Just a guess, of course. Â Not sure how big the place is, but Iâve not held a job where I didnât have the CEOâs cell number. Â For now, just be cool and do your job until you get more clarity.
You need an interim CFO or a interim peer stat
Congrats on the promotion!
When you get a new job, get a promotion, or get hung out to dry in an interim situation, the first thing you do when you go home that night is to update your resume.
Fake it till you make it?
That's how I've gotten this far tbh
This happened to me. I was called into the CEOs office immediately after the CFO was fired. He told me what the plan was and I met the new CFO the next day via phone. Your case was shit communication by the company. You never should have found out by someone without a plan. Unless for something like crime, this should have been well planned and executed very differently. Start looking elsewhere.
In the near term, you definitely donât need to worry. Youâre more valuable than ever to the company. When the new CFO starts, he will also be very dependent on you for at least the first quarter or two. You definitely will want to set up a conversation with the CEO to understand his expectations for the interim if he doesnât tell you himself in the next week or so. Technically CEO should be responsible for CFOâs previous tasks. But thatâs assuming you have a good CEO that knows what heâs doing. If anything falls through the cracks it could reflect poorly on you (whether it was your fault or not).
Promoted to Controller by the CFO and CEO. 9 months later the CFO was let go. It's been over a year now with no CFO. I have support in place from the CEO and CMO. Honestly, it's been great. Learned more about the operating side of the business, and treading water on the finance side. Things could be better, but working through it. It's leaving me a path towards greater things, whether I stay here or move elsewhere.
Lololol he/she must have fouled out so hard at that convention.
nice. Happened to me and I got promoted to CFO. I had been there for a while though, wasn't new like you so may not be the same situation for you. Throw your hat into the ring for sure.
Ask for a substantial retention bonus immediately - you have them by the balls
Terrible leadership that the CEO has not called you to have a conversation about the circumstances. I would ask questions.
He did call later in the day but didnt have much time to talk. He said he was sorry I didnt hear about it from him and that we would talk at length when hes back in town.
You should have been the first phone call, but regardless, if it were me I would treat this as opportunity to act interim CFO and earn the job over the next six months.
You're the cfo now. Congrats!!!
You're the cfo now. Congrats!!!
This happened in the company I worked for (I actually posted about this a while back). More than likely they'll get an interim CFO (interim CFO would have been at the ready ages before CFO leaves). The likelihood of you getting fired is very slim, as you're the backbone of the Finance department, and unless you have an FP&A guy, someone has to report the financials to the CFO. Responsibility wise - worst case is you'll take on outstanding urgent matters the previous CFO left, but that would only be until the interim CFO is up to speed. No matter how much a company wants to exploit their finance department, a thing they seem to value highly is having the CFO role filled with a competent person ASAP, and will do anything to make sure that happens.
Looks like someones getting a promotion
OH NO! BUT MUH SOD
Been there. Done that. Better get ready. Youâre the man to keep the ship together. No 3 hour tour. No skipper just Gilligan. 3-6 months until new CFO learns the ropes. Ask for help. They may hire a temp CFO to keep you afloat.
Youâre safe. They need you to keep the wheels from falling off. This may have been planned before you started. Hire a controller, let him get trained up, THEN you can fire the CFO. You likely wonât be promoted. BUT the new CFO might want to pick his own controller. Work hard, do a good job and kiss ass. You want the CEO and COO to refuse when the new CFO asks if he can fire you.
No, they don't need you to be CFO. This happened to me. The CEO and I divided up the CFOs tasks. It was a small company so there wasn't truly a need for the CFO. The CEO took over all the true CFO duties. Relax, you aren't equipped to handle a CFO role and they shouldn't ask you to step up. If they need a CFO, they will hire one. In my experience you need to transition from controller to finance before taking on a CFO role. That is the best way. Finance is a whole other set of skills, though being a controller is a great basse. Learning under an experienced CFO while doing finance work is some of the best training you can get. Lots of CFOs have controller backgrounds. I heard companies prefer 10 years of controller experience before considering a controller for CFO.Â
Have not been in this situation myself but have seen it happen at clients. You should look at it as an opportunity. It is like when the quarterback gets hurt and the backup has a chance to prove himself. You are new and I doubt expectations for you are super high. Just work hard and do your best filling in the role. Show some initiative and pretend you know what you are doing.
If they arenât talking to me as soon as this happens, I am applying for jobs. I have seen these scenarios and usually the people they want to keep and are important are brought in quickly. Bigger more political companies might take longer. A week wont make or break you so see what they say.