Is Your Private Equity CFO Doing Too Much? How to Know and What to Do About It

In many lower middle market and middle market private equity portfolio companies, the Chief Financial Officer isn’t just running finance. They're also leading HR, IT, Legal, and sometimes even operations. While that may seem efficient on paper, stretching your CFO across too many functions is one of the fastest ways to stall value creation.

So, how many responsibilities are too many for a PE-backed CFO? And how do you solve for it without overbuilding the team?

Let’s break it down.

The CFO Conundrum in Private Equity

Private equity firms often rely on lean organizational models to preserve EBITDA, but that efficiency can backfire. CFOs are frequently tasked with:

• Core finance and accounting

• Human resources and talent

• Technology and systems

• Legal, risk, and compliance

While CFOs in large enterprises may have entire departments for each, in the PE-backed mid-market, they’re often flying solo or close to it.

How Many Hats Is Too Many?

Three functions is often the ceiling. Anything beyond that and even three, if the business is scaling rapidly, can cause performance degradation.

Company Profile	Recommended CFO Scope
<$30M, low complexity	Finance + 1 adjacent area
$30–$100M, active growth/M&A	Finance only or Finance + light HR/IT (via support)
>$100M or platform play	Dedicated leaders under CFO

A CFO can temporarily absorb multiple roles in a stable environment, but when growth, transformation, or integration comes into play, overextension becomes a risk.

Signs Your CFO Is Overloaded

Watch for these red flags:

• Strategic finance work (e.g. forecasting, scenario planning) gets sidelined

• Tech initiatives are delayed or under-resourced

• HR issues persist or culture feels misaligned

• CFO appears reactive, not proactive

• Missed KPIs, board prep delays, or quality slip in reporting

  
  

How to Fix It Without Overbuilding

1. Clarify the Business Needs

Start with the investment thesis. Is the company in a growth phase? Turnaround? Platform build? The CFO’s role should align with what the business needs most over the next 12–36 months.

2. Bring in Fractional or Interim Leaders

Bridge the gap with:

• Fractional CHROs for talent and org design

• Contract CIO/CTOs to lead digital upgrades

• Outside general counsel for legal risk management

3. Strengthen the Second Layer

Ensure there’s a strong:

• Controller to own accounting and reporting

• HR business partner or IT director to manage tactical load

4. Redefine the CFO Role

Is the CFO meant to be a strategic partner, a builder, or a tactical executor? Align scope and team around that definition. Mismatched expectations are often the root cause of CFO failure in PE settings.

Don’t Let CFO Overload Kill Momentum

Your CFO is a strategic lever not a catch-all operator. Overburdening them with every back-office function may save salary lines today but can cost you millions in lost focus, missed opportunities, or failed integrations tomorrow.

How We Can Help

At Kirkland West, we partner with private equity firms and portfolio CEOs to:

• Assess CFO capacity and role design

• Structure functional leadership to match investment goals

• Place fractional or full-time leaders in HR, IT, and Legal

• Evaluate and coach finance leaders to scale with confidence

If your CFO is wearing too many hats, let’s talk. We’ll help you create the right leadership model to support growth without overbuilding. Contact Kirkland West