The Role of the CFO in PE-Backed Businesses

August 31, 2026 – The role of the CFO in private equity-backed businesses has shifted materially in recent years. Historically a function for financial stewardship, the CFO role is now defined by operational accountability, value creation and the ability to translate investment strategy into outcomes. A recent report from U.K.-based executive search firm The Barton Partnership (TBP). The study examined how that shift is playing out in practice, drawing on a survey of 258 CFOs across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

It explored how the mandate is evolving across the investment lifecycle, how CFOs engage with sponsors, how finance functions are structured and resourced, and where CFOs are most exposed to risk as expectations rise. The findings point to a role that is broader in scope, more integrated into business decision-making and more directly accountable for delivery. CFOs are no longer operating alongside the value creation agenda, they are increasingly responsible for enabling and evidencing it.

The Barton Partnership found a consistent pattern emerges: effectiveness is shaped as much by the conditions of the mandate as by the capability of the individual. “Where expectations are clearly defined, the function is sufficiently resourced and alignment between sponsors and management teams is maintained, CFOs are able to mobilize quickly and drive impact,” the report said. “In these environments, the role operates as intended, enabling value creation, improving decision-making and supporting delivery of the investment plan. Where these conditions are absent, time is diverted into aligning stakeholders and rebuilding foundations, rather than advancing the agenda.”

Sixty-seven percent of CFOs told The Barton Partnership that the scope of their role has changed materially in recent years. “That view holds across all experience levels, indicating a structural shift in sponsor expectations rather than a learning curve,” the study explained. “In many businesses, the role is converging with COO responsibilities, particularly at smaller scale. Data ownership is an equally defining shift, with CFOs now expected to lead the business’s information architecture rather than simply report on it.”

Areas of Focus Today

The Barton Partnership also found that value creation initiatives are now the primary area of day-to-day focus (67 percent), closely followed by cash flow and liquidity (57 percent) and financial reporting and controls (54 percent). M&A, integrations and exit activity are also high on the agenda at 53 percent. Financial reporting and controls remain fundamental, but no longer define the role. CFOs’ priorities vary by company size. In businesses with a turnover below $100 million, value creation and cash management dominate (61 percent and 60 percent). In the $100 million to $250 million band, value creation peaks at 78 percent. In $250 million to $500 million businesses, value creation leads at 70 percent with cash close behind. At $500  million+, value creation remains top at 77 percent, alongside an elevated cash focus.

In addition, 87 percent of CFOs describe themselves as strong contributors to or leaders of the Value Creation Plan, with 27 percent leading it outright. Only 13 percent report limited or no involvement. The pattern is largely consistent across company sizes. VCP engagement is a baseline expectation regardless of scale. In large businesses with a turnover of $500 million+, CFOs are generally leaders (36 percent) or strong contributors (55 percent). In smaller businesses, they are more often contributors, though some still play a leading role.

Alignment with Investors

Misalignment is most pronounced at $100 million–$250 million, where 26 percent report frequent or significant misalignment. This may reflect the governance and reporting demands at that scale, combined with sponsors who retain high expectations without always providing adequate support, according to The Barton Partnership report.

How PE-Backed Businesses are Redefining the Interim CFO Role

Interim CFOs are increasingly central to the performance and stability of private equity-backed businesses. As deal cycles extend and operating conditions tighten, they are deployed not only for financial stewardship but also as value creation partners across the investment lifecycle. “Today’s interim CFOs are increasingly deployed as execution-focused operators responsible for stabilizing performance, improving financial visibility and driving value creation across the investment lifecycle,” said a new report from The Barton Partnership.

When the firm asked CFOs what they needed most from PE sponsors, clear and realistic performance expectations top the list by a wide margin (79 percent). Strong partnership between the sponsor and the CEO and board is the second most valued condition (76 percent), reflecting how much the CFO’s effectiveness depends on the quality of the relationships at the top of the business.

“Where relationships are strained or unclear, the CFO is often left managing the gaps,” the report noted. “As the CFO takes an increasingly prominent role in value creation planning and execution, challenging sponsor dynamics are an important factor at play. CFOs must report to and manage PE investors as the role evolves.”

Faster Growth

PE-backed businesses frequently grow faster than their finance infrastructure. The Barton Partnership found that 59 percent of respondents describe the function they inherited when taking on the role as weak and requiring a rebuild. A further 28 percent say it was adequate but under-resourced. Only 13 percent inherited something strong and scalable, concentrated in larger businesses.

Even in larger portfolio companies, the picture rarely starts from a position of strength. Only 19 percent of CFOs in the highest turnover businesses say they had a strong finance function when they took up the role. The CFO is expected to address that capability gap while driving the broader value creation agenda.

Systems and data capability is the most commonly cited gap (50 percent), followed by FP&A at 48 percent . These gaps are likely to divert a CFO’s focus away from strategic planning or VCP execution, so critical blockers to the evolution of the role. Leadership capability (37 percent) reflects a different kind of scarcity. The Barton Partnership explained that technical competence in PE-backed environments is increasingly available; what is harder to find is the combination of commercial judgment, stakeholder management and operational credibility that distinguishes true finance leadership

Overall, The Barton Group found that the first hire CFOs prioritize is a head of FP&A (44 percent), ahead of a financial controller (42 percent) and a commercial finance director (12 percent). In businesses with a turnover of less than $100 million, the financial controller is prioritized almost as highly as FP&A. For mid-sized businesses, FP&A takes clearer precedence, peaking at 54 percent in the $250 million to $500 million band. The smaller the business, the more foundational the control environment needs to be before analytical capability can be built on top of it.

Related: The Evolving CFO: Seven Traits Defining High-Impact Finance Leaders

“Beyond the immediate finance hire, CFOs describe a much wider set of capabilities prioritized to support VCP execution: data analysts and BI leads, PMO resource, commercial finance business partners, and IT and systems specialists,” The Barton Partnership report said. “The CFO is frequently the architect of the business’s broader analytical infrastructure. The CFO who can build this infrastructure quickly, and do so while simultaneously managing investor reporting, resetting financial controls and supporting the CEO, is materially more effective than one who cannot.”

Base Salary and Equity Dominate Remuneration Priorities

CFOs are optimizing for immediate income and long-term aligned upside, not short-term cash performance, according to The Barton Partnership report. When evaluating potential roles, base salary (73 percent) and equity (69 percent) are by far the most important considerations. Annual bonus, despite being near universal in practice, is prioritized by only 35 percent, and LTIPs by 40 percent.

“Base salary scales with portfolio company size in every region, but levels and currency differ,” The Barton Partnership report noted. “Each chart uses the salary bands offered in that region’s survey: European packages were collected predominantly in euros and are shown in euros, while North American and Asia-Pacific packages are shown in U.S. dollars. Revenue bands are shown in the currency in which each region reported company turnover (sterling in Europe, U.S. dollars elsewhere).”

In Europe, The Barton Partnership found that base salaries are concentrated between €150k and €250k across much of the market. In businesses below £100m, the largest proportion of CFOs earn between €150k and €200k, with a further quarter earning €200k–€250k. Compensation increases steadily with company size, shifting towards the higher salary bands in larger portfolio companies, reflecting the broader scope, complexity and accountability associated with these roles.

The Barton Partnership also found that North American remuneration sits at the highest end of the three regions and increases consistently with portfolio company size. While most CFOs in businesses below $100 million earn below $300k, compensation rises rapidly beyond this point, with salaries increasingly concentrated above $400k in larger businesses. Among companies with revenues above $500 million, more than a third of CFOs earn in excess of $500k.

Asia-Pacific exhibits the greatest variation in remuneration, reflecting the diversity of markets represented across the region, according to The Barton Partnership report. “Salaries generally increase with company size, although differences between local markets create a broader distribution than in Europe or North America,” it said. “As with the other regional analysis, the overall trend reflects increasing compensation as business scale and complexity grow.”

“Across all three regions, the compensation profile reflects the broader evolution of the role itself,” The Barton Partnership report said. “PE-backed CFOs are increasingly expected to operate beyond traditional financial stewardship, and compensation reflects not only the scale of the business but also the intensity of the environment and the level of accountability attached to the mandate.”

Related: The Expanding CFO Mandate: From Scorekeeper to Value Creator

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media