Not the tidy version. The real, uncomfortable one.
The investment team made representations. They relied on advisors, they wrote the investment plan, they presented it to the IC. Now the cheque is written and their credibility is on the line. Every week of underperformance is a question mark over their judgement. Every green light is validation.
They project that pressure downward.
The management team feel it. The CEO feels it. But the CFO feels it first, because the CFO is the one who has to explain why the numbers don’t quite match the investment plan.
The CFO who took the business through the deal is uniquely exposed. During the process they had to be captain positive. “Here’s how we’ll unlock the value.” “Here’s why the churn is fixable.” “Here’s the evidence behind the margin expansion story.” They were a full partner in selling the deal.
Now the deal is done. The investment team is nervous. The board is watching. And the numbers — as they always do in the first few months post-close — are telling a more complicated story than the investment plan told.
Suddenly it’s the CFO’s fault. Not explicitly. But the questions get harder. The calls get more frequent. The patience gets shorter.
The CFO often doesn’t survive it.
And here’s the thing — sometimes that’s not even unfair. The CFO who sold the deal is not always the right person to deliver it. Those are different skills. Different temperaments. A different relationship with uncomfortable truths.
So they leave. Or they’re moved on. Quickly, and quietly, and usually within six months of close.
The Problem That Creates
The PE house now has a problem. The CFO is the second most important hire after the CEO. You cannot run a board, manage a lender relationship, or credibly execute a value creation plan without one. The permanent hire — if they’re any good — is on six months’ notice somewhere else. You need time to get this right.
That’s where the interim CFO comes in.
The interim CFO isn’t a gap-fill. Done properly, it’s the thing that buys the business the breathing space to make a good permanent hire instead of a rushed one. Someone who can walk in, stabilise the investor relationship, take ownership of the 100-day plan, and leave the business better than they found it — without any expectation of staying.
The Real Job
An interim who has been there before — who has stood in that boardroom, managed that investor relationship, built that first management pack from scratch — gives the PE house something they desperately need in that moment: confidence.
Confidence that the business is in safe hands. Confidence that the reporting will be credible. Confidence that they can take their time and get the permanent hire right.
Speed kills. Patience wins.
That’s the job.
Mark Hendy is an interim CFO specialising in PE-backed businesses. He writes about finance, private equity, and the reality of post-deal life at markhendy.com. Connect on LinkedIn.
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