📬 Mom and dad fight sometimes...

I’ve never met a finance leader who enjoys audit season. The best case is they just went ‘fine’.

It’s the prep for year end and the endless queries that follow that hurt. Maybe not you directly (although sometimes), but it will gobble up your team’s time like a hungry hippo.

Ledge have put together a short walkthrough of how their accounting agents handle it. Reconciliations tied, working papers built, journal entries drafted… with every step documented as it happens.

PS - It’s under 3 minutes, so you’ll be done before your coffee goes cold.

👉🏼 Feeling the itch of a complicated problem and need advice? Send me your questions, and you might just see yourself in next week’s Mailbag. Submit anonymously using the button below:

Here’s what’s on the menu:

Now, let’s get into it.

D from Toronto, Canada

I’m about to make the jump from mostly VC-backed companies to a Head of Finance role at a majority PE-owned software company, and I’m trying to understand who I actually work for.

In my previous roles, the CEO was clearly my boss, while the board and investors were important stakeholders. In this new role, the PE sponsor led the hiring process and was effectively the decision-maker in bringing me into the business. I’ll work closely with the CEO day-to-day, but my relationship with the sponsor will be much more direct than anything I’ve experienced in VC.

How should a finance leader navigate that dynamic? How do you build a strong, direct relationship with the sponsor while still being fully part of the management team and maintaining the CEO’s trust? And when the CEO and sponsor disagree on priorities, messaging, timing, or handling issues, where does the finance leader’s allegiance actually sit?

I’m excited about the move, but this is a very different environment from the VC-backed companies I’ve worked in. What would you want someone making this transition to understand about the PE/CEO/CFO dynamic from day one?

Lol, welcome to the world of PE, D.

You now have both a Mom and a Dad. And I have bad news for you. Mommy and Daddy fight sometimes.

In a PE-backed business, the sponsor is not just another stakeholder. They control the asset, they hired you, and they will expect direct access to the financial truth.

So the move is transparency. Maximum transparency. Minimum side-channel nonsense.

The more you can force that transparency into the boardroom, the less likely you are to get trapped between Mom and Dad when the crockery starts flying.

A few specific tactical points:

First, prepare to be the voice of reason.

There will be a moment in a board meeting where your PE board and CEO disagree. They will try to work it out, but both sides will get more entrenched. And probably get louder too. Then, when it becomes clear no one is budging, someone will turn to your sorry ass and ask: “What do you think?”

How you answer in that moment is important.

If you sit on the fence, they will assume you have nothing useful to say and may not ask again. But if you take sides clumsily, you can damage trust with either the CEO or sponsor.

So you need a considered, independent point of view based on the facts, while showing proper respect for both sides. Do that well, and it will not take long for you to become an important voice in the boardroom.

By grounding your response in the value creation plan, and exit ramp, you can’t go far wrong. When everyone committed to this journey it was bound around a shared objective of delivering a profitable exit inside a time frame. So, it’s a good way of reminding people ‘hey, we all want the same things here.’

Second, set the ground rules early.

I would tackle this head-on with both the CEO and the PE operating partner during your induction meetings. Do not just ask them what they expect. Tell them how you work, then let them correct you if they disagree.

With the sponsor, I would say something like:

“Can we talk a bit about how we work together around Board matters? I have always found it best to operate with full transparency across the boardroom. So my assumption is that anything we discuss can also be discussed with the CEO, unless you specifically tell me otherwise. Does that work?”

You can ask the CEO the same question in reverse.

That is an elegant way of forcing the real conversation:

Then, with the CEO, I would be even more direct:

“This sponsor clearly likes having a close relationship with the finance leader. How would you like me to keep you in the loop on those conversations?”

The CEO needs to know you are not running a parallel management channel with the sponsor behind their back. And the sponsor needs to know you are not filtering reality to protect the CEO.

Your allegiance is to the business. Not to the CEO’s ego, nor to the sponsor’s internal deal narrative.

In practice, day to day, you work as part of the management team. The CEO is your operating boss. You need their trust. If that breaks, life gets miserable quickly.

The precise approach will depend on the personalities involved. Some CEOs are secure enough to handle direct CFO-sponsor relationships. Some are not. Some sponsors are mature owners. Some behave like toddlers.

But make no mistake, this is a very real dynamic. Decode it quickly.

TLDR: In PE, you serve the business. Build CEO trust, give the sponsor truth, and avoid messy side-channel politics if you can.

Sherlock from Europe

I was group CFO of a vertical SaaS business for many years that got acquired by a smaller strategic; we were the bigger of the two. Since close, I've been running the entire finance integration and doing what is functionally the group-level job.

The new org was announced six months after close. My title came out as VP Finance, not CFO; their CFO kept the Group CFO title. I later found out the CFO title had been in the draft and was removed shortly before publication. I report directly to the owner, dotted line to the Group CFO. I've been told there's a path to the title through reviews over the next twelve months, and there's retention money that keeps me whole into early 2027. Meanwhile the group is going into a full finance transformation that I will lead—systems, processes, people, AI-first.

So do I stay and earn it, push for the title now rather than waiting twelve months, or is there a third option I'm not seeing? Interested in how you'd read the walk-back—leveling mechanics, or the ceiling telling me something.

Thanks for the question, Sherlock.

Early in my career I was involved in a reverse takeover too. I was junior at the time, but I saw enough.

The CFO of the acquirer, which was the much smaller business, was appointed Group CFO despite being wildly out of his depth. But he had the relationship with the CEO, whose deal it was, and the PE backer. Naturally, he did not last. I chose to bolt out to something else, because I could see it was not the right place for me to learn.

I have also been in the room when boards are finessing announcements and people’s job titles get moved around in real time. Sometimes those people find out when the announcement hits the wires. Brutal, but it definitely happens.

So first up, I suspect the title change was probably about making sure there was no ambiguity over who the finance boss was. That may not be a bad thing for the organization as a whole, even if you are the casualty. Also the dotted line is interesting, that’s clearly deliberate and tells you this isn’t a simple old skool big-dogging.

Two CFOs wandering around a newly combined group is confusing. Especially when the acquired business was larger, you are running the integration, and everyone knows where the operational finance muscle actually sits.

So yes, the title walk-back may just be leveling mechanics. It may be about giving the existing Group CFO authority and avoiding a power mess.

But there is another point.

The fact the announcement went out without you being crystal clear on your title, role, reporting line, and path is strange. Given your history in the acquired business, and your importance to the integration, someone should have sat you down properly and said: this is the job, this is the title, this is the comp, this is the path.

That apparently did not happen.

That does not mean they are definitely screwing you, it might just be clumsiness in the chaos. But it is enough evidence that you need to look after yourself.

So I would not storm in demanding the CFO title tomorrow. That probably creates a fight you may not need to have yet. But I would absolutely not sit passively for 12 months waiting to see whether the grown-ups remember their promise.

There is a third option.

Stay, but professionalize the arrangement.

I would ask for a proper sit-down with the owner and the Group CFO. Calm, direct, no drama. Something like:

“I’m committed to making this integration and transformation work. But given the title changed late in the process, and given the scope I’m actually carrying, I want to make sure we are aligned on the path from here. What are the specific criteria for moving to CFO? Who decides? When will it be reviewed? And how should my compensation reflect the transformation delivery in the meantime? What is your own long term plan with the business”

If they are serious, they will be able to give you an idea of milestones, timing, decision rights, and economics.

In the short term, make sure you grab the bag. Is the retention payment enough to keep you properly aligned through early 2027? If not, now is the time to raise it. You are clearly crucial to the plan. A transformation completion bonus, retention top-up, or milestone-based payment would all be reasonable asks.

If you have taken a title hit and are carrying the load, the money has to work.

Then you can afford to sit and watch how the next six to twelve months play out. Maybe the current Group CFO struggles, maybe they are even on an exit plan you haven’t seen.. Maybe the owner sees who is really driving the machine. Maybe the transformation gives you the platform to earn the title cleanly. Or maybe you learn that they like your labor more than they like your ambition.

Either way, you will know.

And mean time, keep the market warm. Start telling your story. There is a danger that if you sit in the VP of finance title for 12 months that the market sees you’ve accepted that’s your level for a company of this size. So you need to be telling your story into a couple of recruiters as you go, so if you decide it’s time to activate the job market, it’s already warm to your narrative.

TLDR: The walk-back is not proof of a ceiling, but it is definitely a signal. Treat it seriously. Get the path written down. Get paid for the work you are actually doing. Then you can decide later whether this is something you like or not.

Jiang from Singapore

A new board member joined. I'd been Finance Manager for 12 months at a small org that, for statutory reasons, needs a full board of NEDs.

At that point we were:

None of it landed. What followed was four months of reputational demolition over email, with half the org CC'd. An unqualified audit opinion didn't help; they said they wouldn't approve the AGM without multiple rounds of presentation-style amendments. 

I was shouted at in an official committee meeting ("So what you're saying is [horrific misrepresentation of what I'd said]"), and they eventually accused the audit partner directly of being non-compliant (?!).

Inside four weeks, the CEO went from "I have your back, I recognise how professionally unsafe this has become," to "I'm working on the votes to remove the new treasurer, this was a mistake," to me being banned from the office under a bogus misconduct investigation. Six weeks, no allegations ever substantiated to me, then I was out.

The odd part: a cursory Glassdoor search of this individual's previous workplaces would have thrown up serious red flags very easily.

Your post invited questions about deteriorating relationships with CEOs. Honestly, I'm still in whiplash. I feel like there's a whole side to this I'm not seeing - any thoughts?

Thanks. Long-time fan, currently picking up the pieces of my career. Phew.

Jiang, I’m sorry to hear what you’ve been through here.

I’ll keep it brief. This is toxic. Maybe you got some things wrong, maybe you didn’t. It’s hard to tell, but it sounds like you did a bunch of good stuff, and have been chewed up and spat out by someone else’s political bullshit.

Don’t let this knock your confidence, take your skills elsewhere, and I wish you all the best.

TLDR: Get the fuck out of there.

A few of the biggest stories that CFOs should pay attention to. This is also the section you might not want to see your name in.

Accountants are (kinda) getting that bag

It’s still not rock star money but even small salary bumps for accountants are a step in the right direction. Entry level salaries still suck though.

Rivian’s CFO drives off into the sunset

Her replacement is going to have a helluva time reining in a complicated supply chain and taming cashflow issues

This CFO found his bliss in slinging salami

Keep your minds out of the gutter.

ICYMI, here are some of my favorite finance/business social media posts from this week.

Let me know what you thought of today’s Mailbag. Just hit reply… I read every message.

Last weekend’s Playbook was the grand finale to our four-part deep dive into the business of Manchester United.

Disclaimer: I am not your accountant, tax advisor, lawyer, CFO, director, or friend. Well, maybe I’m your friend, but I am not any of those other things. Everything I publish represents my opinions only, not advice. Running the finances for a company is serious business, and you should take the proper advice you need