Harper May

There is a moment in many PE-backed businesses when the finance function hits a structural ceiling. Up to that point, it is about control. Reporting. Visibility. Keeping pace with the day-to-day. Then the investment cycle starts to turn towards exit. Suddenly, the numbers are not just being reviewed. They are being challenged. Assumptions are tested. Gaps that felt manageable internally begin to carry far more weight when seen through the lens of diligence, valuation, and deal certainty. This is where the right CFO matters most. Not simply as the person leading finance, but as the person who can defend the quality of earnings, bring clarity to performance, and keep momentum through a process that can quickly become reactive. A lot of businesses discover that gap too late. They assume a strong operator will naturally become the right exit leader. Sometimes that is true. Sometimes it is the difference between a smooth process and a difficult one. We’ve shared a short article on finance leadership ahead of a Private Equity exit. Link in the comments for anyone who would like to read it.

🚀 CASE STUDY: £90m PE-Backed Business — Why Internal Promotion Wasn’t the Right Move In PE-backed businesses, progression often looks obvious. You have a strong Finance Director. Close to the business. Trusted by the leadership team. So when the question came up — should they step into the CFO role? At first glance, it made sense. Continuity. Experience. A deep understanding of the numbers. But the role had already moved on. The business wasn’t standing still. It was entering a new phase of growth. Greater investor scrutiny. More complex reporting requirements. Increased pressure around strategic decision-making. The expectations had changed. We were engaged to support the process. After benchmarking the business against others at a similar stage, it became clear this wasn’t simply a progression decision. It was a leadership requirement. The focus shifted to identifying a CFO with experience operating in PE-backed environments: • Investor reporting — beyond the numbers to the strategic “so what” • Performance challenge — driving EBITDA with commercial rigour • Scale and complexity — operating at £100m+ demands The outcome wasn’t about capability. It was about fit for the next phase and ensuring the business had the leadership it needed moving forward. Progression isn’t always the answer. Sometimes, the role outgrows the structure around it. Are you hiring for the business you have today, or the exit you want tomorrow? Read the full case study in the comments below. 👇 #PrivateEquity #CFO #FinanceLeadership #Strategy #HarperMay #EBITDA

🚀 Finance Professionals on the Move 🚀 A range of finance appointments across different organisations, each adding to the ongoing movement within finance functions. Congratulations to: Sarah Mahtalla → Head of Finance, Benugo Robert Bourne → Chief Financial Officer, Ghelamco UK Antony Brister → Chief Financial Officer, Hamberley Development Daniel Strathearn → Chief Financial Officer, The Barrister Group Steven Farley → Financial Controller, Rothschild & Co Wishing each of them every success as they step into their new roles.

The jump from Finance Director to CFO is one of the toughest moves in finance. At some point, the shift becomes less about the numbers in front of you and more about the decisions around them. Not because the technical work gets harder. Because the expectations change. Most Finance Directors are exceptional at running the engine. A CFO is expected to help decide where the business goes next. It is not just a step up. It is a shift in mindset. Three changes tend to define that move: 1. From reporting the past to shaping the future A Finance Director ensures accuracy, control, and clarity on what has happened. A CFO is expected to take a view on what happens next. Forecasting, judgement, and commercial insight become just as important as the numbers. 2. From protecting value to creating it Saying no is part of the role. Knowing when to say yes and where to invest is what sets CFOs apart. It is the move from cost control to value creation. 3. From leading finance to influencing the business A Finance Director leads the finance function. A CFO operates across the entire business. Time with the CEO, board, and operational teams becomes critical. The reality: The CFO role is not about being the best technical accountant in the room. It is about being one of the most commercial voices at the table. For those who have made the move, or are working towards it: What was the biggest shift in your thinking? #CFO #FinanceDirector #FinanceLeadership #CommercialFinance #CareerProgression

You don’t get promoted to CFO. You’re seen as one first. By the time someone is being considered for a CFO role, technical competence is rarely the issue. They can run reporting, manage cash, lead budgeting, tighten controls, and keep the numbers moving. That earns respect. But it does not automatically make people see them as a CFO. That shift usually happens earlier. It happens when they stop being seen as the most senior person in finance and start being seen as one of the most important people in the business. They bring clarity when things are uncertain. They influence decisions, not just explain the numbers. They speak commercially, not just technically. They stay calm when the pressure is highest. That is what changes perception. And in most businesses, perception comes before promotion. The title tends to follow once people already trust you at that level.

💡 Capital Moves: This Week’s Funding Rounds Worth Noting Looking across this week’s funding rounds, the pattern feels clear. Capital is still moving, but it is doing so with greater focus. Leading the way: 💱 MillTech secured $60M (Private Equity) — reinforcing continued investor confidence in FX and treasury solutions. 🤖 Trent AI raised €11M (Seed) — early-stage backing for AI with practical, commercial application. 📊 Oh secured $7.5M (Series A) — supporting the next phase of structured growth. 💼 Round Treasury raised $6M (Seed) — further interest in finance and treasury platforms. 🔗 Tok-Edge secured $1.5M (Seed) — targeted backing at the early stage. 🥣 Froot Pops raised £1.1M (Seed) — showing consumer businesses can still attract capital where the proposition is clear. What stands out isn’t just the spread of sectors, but the shape of the funding. A meaningful round at the top. Measured early-stage activity beneath it. And a consistent focus on businesses with defined use cases. This doesn’t feel like a slowdown. It feels more considered than that. Capital is still being deployed — but with greater discipline, clearer intent, and a stronger emphasis on execution. Curious — are you seeing the same shift in your market?

🚀 CASE STUDY: CFO Placed | £60m Retail — Margin Drift Went Unchallenged There are businesses where performance looks stable on the surface… but the underlying numbers tell a different story. This £60m retail business was growing. Revenue was strong. But margins were gradually slipping. Not enough to trigger concern. But enough to compound over time. Reporting was in place. The data was visible. But it wasn’t being challenged. Cost increases were absorbed. Pricing decisions weren’t fully tested. And commercial assumptions went largely unexamined. Nothing appeared broken. But that’s often how margin erosion starts. We were engaged to support the appointment of a CFO. During the process, it became clear the issue wasn’t visibility. It was ownership. No one was truly accountable for protecting margin. The focus shifted to identifying a CFO capable of bringing discipline to pricing, cost control and trading decisions. • Clear ownership of margin across product and channel • Greater scrutiny of pricing strategy and cost base • Consistent challenge of commercial performance Over time, the shift was noticeable. Margins stabilised. Decision-making improved. And accountability strengthened across the business. It’s a useful reminder. In retail, margin rarely collapses overnight. 👉 It drifts when no one owns it.

The most expensive finance hiring mistake we see in £50m–£100m businesses? Hiring for stability when the business really needs scale. At this stage, finance rarely looks broken. Reporting is going out. Month-end is done. The team is coping. That is often the problem. Because coping is not the same as being built for growth. Too many businesses hire someone who can keep things running, when what they really need is someone who can build, improve visibility, and support better decisions as the business scales. It feels like the safe option. Usually, it is the expensive one. The best finance hires at this level do more than maintain the function. They create capacity, strengthen decision-making, and give the business confidence in what comes next. Has your finance team been built for where the business is now, or where it needs to get to next?

Weak CEO–CFO alignment. That was the clearest message from our latest poll, with 48% saying it is the first thing that quietly kills confidence in a CFO. Not lack of reliable data. Not unclear board expectations. Not constant second-guessing. Alignment. And that says a lot. By CFO level, technical ability is usually taken as a given. What people notice after that is whether the leadership at the top feels aligned. Confidence in a CFO rarely disappears overnight. It tends to erode in the gaps. Mixed messages. Unclear priorities. A sense that the CEO and CFO are not fully moving in step. Once that happens, people notice. Decision-making slows down. The board senses it. The wider leadership team feels it. And the CFO’s influence can start to weaken, even when the numbers are right. The strongest CFOs do more than protect the numbers. They create clarity. They challenge when it matters. And they stay closely aligned with the CEO when the pressure is highest. Because in the end, confidence in a CFO is not just about competence. It is about whether the people around them believe the leadership at the top is joined up. Would you agree?

Is your CFO an overhead or an asset? 🏗️ Most CEOs look at a CFO's salary and see a cost. The best CEOs look at the impact and see a multiplier. When you hit the £10m–£50m turnover mark, your business enters the "complexity trap." Your current finance team might be great at reporting the past, but can they architect your future? The "CFO Shift" isn't about paying for a better accountant. It’s about investing in a commercial co-pilot who pays for themselves by: ✅ Unlocking "Lazy" Capital: Shaving days off your Cash Conversion Cycle to inject liquidity without new debt. ✅ Protecting the Multiple: Removing the "management risk discount" applied by investors. ✅ Refining Unit Economics: Identifying "Zombie" revenue streams that drain your net margin. ✅ Negotiating the WACC: Professionalising banking relationships to lower interest rates. At Harper May, we’ve seen the right CFO pay for their entire annual salary within the first 180 days. They find the "hidden" profit leaked through poor pricing or inefficient capital structures. If you are winning new work but cash flow feels tighter than ever, or if you are preparing for a Series B/Exit... You don't need a better bookkeeper. You need a navigator. 🧭 We’ve just published a full deep-dive on this transition. 👇 The link to the article can be found in the comments below.