The CFO has a clear expectation that a Chief of Staff will play a central role in effectively driving through strategic implementations, ensuring seamless management coordination, and leading the complex, cross-functional coordination across the entire organization. In addition to this, it is of utmost importance that this person carefully and continuously follow up on ongoing initiatives…

The most effective model is for the CFO to be responsible for financial direction, governance model, risk and forecasts, while the Chief of Staff is responsible for implementation, coordination, management processes and follow-up of initiatives. This avoids overlap and increases the speed of decision-making and implementation.… Read more here

The CFO typically seeks strong business acumen, an understanding of finance and governance, execution ability, analytical ability and integrity, as well as intelligence to develop business and investment logic and demonstrate experience with complex transformations.

In the private sector, the role is often assessed based on how it increases speed in implementation, better prioritization, and higher organizational efficiency, as well as returns and investors’ expectations. In the public sector, value creation is more about societal benefit, operational efficiency, transparency, and accountability, where cost arguments may be more prominent but the role still needs to improve in terms of implementation and governance.… Read more here

From the CFO’s perspective, the Chief of Staff is not automatically a cost but a function that is intended to create measurable value by making the organization faster, more focused, and better at implementing decisions. When the role is clear, it is seen as an enhancement of the management’s collective capacity and not as a competitor.… Read more here