CFO

About the position

Chief Financial Officer
PURPOSE

• Sets out a clarified and amended scope for the CFO role
• Ensures alignment to the operating reality, the type of CFO required, and the non-negotiable capabilities needed for success
• Confirms this is not a conventional corporate CFO role
• Defines an operational, turnaround-oriented mandate focused on stabilisation, rebuild, and execution

OPERATING CONTEXT

• Operates in a low IT maturity environment with weak systems and heavy Excel reliance
• Fragmented data across four related but different operating units
• Requires strong reporting capability and a solid grasp of operational KPIs driving performance
• Mandate to restore confidence in the accuracy of financial results and trading performance
• Focus on streamlining accurate reporting
• Linking financial reporting to appropriate operational metrics
• Tracking turnaround initiatives
• Operating within a working capital constrained environment

THE SIX FACES OF THE CFO – RSA CONTEXT
Transactional

• Ensuring accurate, timely execution of core financial processes through direct involvement
• Journals, accruals, reconciliations, GL clean-ups, Excel-based reporting, fixing errors
• Dependency: None
• Current priority: Very High

Controllership & Governance

• Establishing discipline, controls and trust in the numbers
• Close calendars, balance sheet ownership, audits, SOPs, approval frameworks
• Dependency: Strong FM
• Current priority: High

Turnaround Specialist

• Stabilising a stressed business through decisive, hands-on intervention
• Cash visibility, collections, cost containment, rapid fixes, tough trade-offs
• Dependency: Logistics experience
• Current priority: Very High

Business Partnering

• Supporting operations and commercial teams with insight
• Route, customer and fleet profitability, KPIs, variance analysis
• Dependency: Logistics experience
• Current priority: Medium

Growth & Strategy

• Enabling sustainable long-term growth and value creation
• Capital allocation, pricing strategy, network optimisation
• Dependency: M&A activities, post-merger integrations
• Current priority: Low

Digital & Transformation

• Using systems, data and automation to improve efficiency and insight
• ERP stabilisation, BI, automation, data flow improvement
• Dependency: Background in system onboarding
• Current priority: Low

NON-NEGOTIABLE REQUIREMENTS
Hands-On Transactional Capability

• Willing and able to personally execute transactional finance work when FM capability is weak
• Rebuilding management accounts in Excel
• Reviewing and fixing reconciliations
• Correcting GL mappings
• Working outside the ERP
• Directly stabilising month-end close

Rationale

• Inconsistent FM capability means transactional execution is essential
• Controllership and governance cannot function without hands-on execution
• Someone must physically do the work to stabilise the finance engine

Failure Indicators

• Delegates immediately despite weak execution below
• Has not done transactional work in years
• Frames execution as temporary admin
• Focuses only on review, oversight, or governance
• Month-end issues persist without resolution

Turnaround Grit and Tolerance for Discomfort

• Psychologically and behaviourally suited to operating in a messy, manual, under-developed environment
• Tolerance for poor data, weak systems, slow progress, repeated re-work
• Willingness to do work below traditional CFO status for an extended period

Rationale

• First 6–12 months will be uncomfortable and non-linear
• Progress will be slow and unglamorous
• CFOs expecting structure, automation, or quick wins typically disengage or fail

Failure Indicators

• Visible frustration with chaos
• Premature rush to future-state solutions
• Loss of energy after initial effort
• Defensive or disengaged behaviour
• Discomfort with manual or low-status work

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE PROFILE

• Logistics experience
• CA(SA)
• Proven experience leading turnaround environments
• Proven experience operating in non-system driven, low process maturity and technology environments
• Strong reliance on Excel-based processes
• Demonstrated ability to upskill and develop the finance function

CONCLUSION

• The CFO role is a stabilise-first mandate
• Requires execution capability and personal grit

Desired Skills:

• CA(SA)
• Budgeting
• Communication