How the CFO role is evolving to drive value in private equity

Highspring Team

Today’s chief financial officers (CFOs) are doing more than reporting numbers. They’re driving strategy, surfacing insights, and helping portfolio companies grow—and exit—with confidence.

Key takeaways

The modern office of the CFO (OCFO) is responsible for driving growth, not just maintaining compliance.
Strategic CFOs equip their teams with modern technology tools to free up time for more critical initiatives.
Private equity (PE) firms should position the finance function as a core part of their value creation thesis from Day 1.

In private equity, there’s no room for functionally siloed leadership. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the OCFO. Historically responsible for financial reporting and internal controls, the traditional OCFO acted as the steward of financial discipline but rarely as a driver of growth. Today, that’s changed.

Now, the CFO is expected to move beyond managing the books. The modern OCFO must operate as a strategic partner to the chief executive officer (CEO) by uncovering inefficient spend, flagging underperforming investments, and identifying opportunities to drive revenue and EBITDA expansion. In a private equity context, a misaligned CFO can tank a company. However, the right one can be a catalyst for transformation and long-term value creation.

A global survey by Egon Zehnder—a leadership advisory firm—found that 82% of CFOs said their roles grew significantly over the past five years, taking on new responsibilities in areas such as environmental, social, and governance (ESG), mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and corporate strategy. To meet these new expectations, finance leaders must evolve their operating models to be more agile, insight-driven, and aligned with business strategy.

In this blog:

Modern finance functions demand more than control
OCFOs as strategic partners
Delivering value through actionable business insights
What private equity investors should look for
Put finance at the center of value creation

Modern finance functions demand more than control

The modern OCFO must move beyond compliance to deliver insight-led finance strategies that accelerate business performance and unlock exit value.

Legacy finance functions were built around risk mitigation. They primarily focused on ensuring generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) compliance, maintaining internal controls, and staying audit ready. These responsibilities remain essential, but they’re no longer sufficient for modern finance functions.

Control-focused finance organizations often struggle to meet the demands of modern PE-backed operations. Many still function as cost centers that are often reactive, backward-looking, and disconnected from commercial strategy. That model falls short in an environment that demands real-time decision making, cross-functional collaboration, and forward-looking insight. That’s why today’s finance leaders must look beyond control and focus on driving business strategy.

OCFOs as strategic partners

Strategic CFOs distinguish themselves not just by what they control, but by what they enable. They collaborate across functions and bring clarity to complex datasets. They think in terms of enterprise value, and their teams are equipped with modern technology tools like cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, automated close processes, and business intelligence (BI) platforms that free up capacity for high-impact analysis and scalable growth.

Value-creating CFOs guide pricing strategies, support diligence processes and manage integrations during M&A, inform working capital optimization opportunities, and help refine the product roadmap. They also enable go-to-market (GTM) and sales operations to run more efficiently—both in how people are deployed and how processes are run.

How strategic CFOs make an impact

An increasingly common strategic approach involves CFOs partnering directly with sales to accelerate the order-to-cash cycle. By addressing contract friction, billing inefficiencies, and credit management gaps, they help improve speed to cash and overall working capital performance.

A joint survey from American Express and PYMNTS Intelligence found that 43% of small business owners prioritize simplicity in their financial tools, while 36% look for affordability. And among mid-sized companies, one third of respondents said they still rely on manual or paper-based processes. Meanwhile, a Cash & Treasury Management File report discovered that 40% of CFOs don’t trust their firm’s financial data.

That’s why it’s critical for finance leaders to champion the integration of systems and processes that drive toward a single source of truth. This foundation ensures that when business leaders ask strategic questions—whether about margins, product performance, or capital needs—finance has the answer, and the data to back it up.

Delivering value through actionable business insights

OCFOs that consistently deliver value do more than report on performance. They generate timely, actionable insights that guide strategic decisions across the business. Here’s a few examples of high-impact insights that set top finance functions apart:

Customer-level margin analysis to guide go-to-market spend and pricing models

Real-time cash forecasting to inform investment timing and capital allocation

SKU-level profitability dashboards that sharpen product strategy and resource deployment

These capabilities depend not only on technology, but on clear ownership, defined governance, and strong financial infrastructure. Internal controls represent the foundation, but when they’re embedded within a modern, insight-rich finance function, they do more than support audit readiness. They empower faster, more confident decisions across the C-suite and in the boardroom.

What private equity investors should look for

For private equity sponsors, there’s a clear message. A high-functioning OCFO represents a value creation lever. Here’s what to look for to ensure your OCFO is positioned for success:

A finance function that enables insight, not just compliance
Systems that support real-time reporting and data traceability
Leaders who are plugged into operations, not isolated from them

There are also red flags to watch out for. Legacy systems with weak lineage, backward-looking reporting, and finance teams that need weeks of spreadsheet manipulation to answer critical questions may indicate your OCFO is falling behind.

Put finance at the center of value creation

To set the OCFO up for success, it’s important to position the finance function as a core part of the value creation thesis from Day 1, not just a post-close afterthought. Rem, but as a core part of the value creation thesis from Day 1. Remember, control is table stakes. Insight is the differentiator.

In today’s environment, private equity firms need finance leaders who do more than close the books. They need partners who understand the business, challenge assumptions, and equip leadership teams with the clarity needed to grow—and to exit.

Contact us to learn how our Private Equity experts can help you build a finance function that drives smarter decisions and sustainable value.