Big 4 Partner or Director to CFO: What Changes When You Move Into Industry
Many successful CFOs in Australia and New Zealand started their careers in one of the large accounting firms. Some left early as managers. Others stayed to become directors or partners before moving into industry. For those who stayed longer, the move to a CFO role can be more difficult than expected.
Big 4 partners and directors bring deep technical knowledge, broad exposure to different businesses, strong client skills and often significant commercial and deal experience. Those are valuable. But boards and CEOs appointing a CFO sometimes worry that a long advisory career has not prepared the candidate for the day-to-day reality of running a finance function inside a business.
Understanding those concerns, and addressing them directly, is the key to making the move.
What boards value in Big 4 candidates
Before looking at the concerns, it is worth recognising what boards value. A Big 4 background usually brings:
Strong technical expertise in accounting, audit, tax, transactions or restructuring
Experience across many businesses and industries
Credibility with boards, audit committees and investors
Experience managing complex projects under deadline pressure
Commercial and deal experience, especially for those in transaction or advisory practices
Client relationship skills and the ability to explain complex issues simply
An established professional network
For some CFO roles, particularly those involving transactions, restructuring, listing or complex accounting, a Big 4 background can be a significant advantage.
What boards worry about
The concerns boards raise about Big 4 candidates usually include:
Advisory versus ownership. Advisers recommend. CFOs decide and then live with the result. Boards want to know whether you are comfortable owning outcomes over years, not just delivering advice over weeks.
Operational finance. Running month-end, budgets, forecasting, systems, payroll, procurement and a finance team is different from advising on them. Boards may worry that you have not done the operational work.
Leading a large team. Partners lead teams, but often teams of professionals working on client projects. Leading a larger, more varied finance team inside a business is different.
Pace and resources. Inside a business, resources are limited. Boards may worry that you are used to large teams, specialist support and the backing of a big firm.
Commercial partnership. Boards want a CFO who works alongside the CEO and operational leaders to run the business, not an external expert who advises from the side.
Cultural fit. Moving from a partnership to a corporate or private company can be a significant cultural change.
Address the concerns on your resume
A resume written for a Big 4 career often lists clients, engagements and technical expertise. That format does not help you move into industry. It reinforces the adviser label.
When you target CFO roles, restructure your resume to show:
Leadership and management. The size of the teams you led, how you developed people and how you managed a practice or service line as a business, including revenue, margin, pricing and resourcing.
Ownership of outcomes. Where you were accountable for a result, not just a recommendation.
Commercial experience. Deals, restructures, turnarounds or transformations you worked on, described in terms of the business outcome.
Operational exposure. Any secondments, interim roles or engagements where you worked inside a business, running part of its finance function.
Board and audit committee work. Your experience presenting to boards and committees, which is usually significant for partners and directors.
Our piece on balancing leadership and technical finance on your resume explains how to shift the emphasis.
Before and after: one engagement, rewritten
Here is an illustrative example of how an advisory line can be reframed for an industry reader.
Before: “Led financial due diligence engagements for private equity clients across consumer, industrial and healthcare sectors.”
This tells the reader you are a capable adviser. It does not tell them what you would be like inside a business.
After: “Ran a transaction services team of 25 as a business unit, owning revenue, pricing, margin and resourcing. Led due diligence on more than 30 acquisitions, and spent six months on secondment as interim finance lead for a portfolio company after purchase, running month-end, the 100 day plan and lender reporting.”
The second version shows management of a real business unit, ownership of results and time spent inside a company with the pressure that comes with it. Those are the three things a CFO panel is looking for from a Big 4 candidate.
Mistakes Big 4 candidates make
A pattern I see often is a partner or director who is strong on paper but presents in a way that confirms the board’s doubts:
Listing client names. A long list of well-known clients reads as a sales credential. A board wants to know what you owned, not who you served.
Using firm language. Words like engagement, pursuit, practice and service line are clear inside the firm. Outside it, they signal adviser. Translate them into business terms.
Underplaying the practice as a business. Many partners run a unit with its own revenue, costs, people and targets. That is management experience. Describe it that way.
Sounding as if industry is a step down. Panels notice quickly when a candidate sees the move as slower or easier. Show respect for the work of running finance inside a business.
Leaning on the brand. The firm’s name opens doors. It does not close the deal. Your own evidence has to carry the case.
Use secondments and interim roles
If you have been on secondment to a client, or acted in an interim finance role, present it prominently. It is direct evidence that you can work inside a business.
If you have not, and you are planning a move to industry, consider whether an interim or project-based CFO role could help. Our guide to interim, fractional and permanent CFO roles covers how these roles can support a transition.
Choose the right first industry role
Not every CFO role suits a Big 4 partner or director. Roles that often do include:
CFO roles in businesses going through a transaction, listing, refinancing or restructure
CFO roles in PE-backed businesses, where sponsors often value deal and reporting experience
CFO roles in high-growth businesses that need to build finance capability quickly
CFO roles in businesses with complex accounting, tax or regulatory needs
Deputy CFO or divisional CFO roles in larger organisations, as a step into industry
Roles that may be harder for a first move include those that need deep operational finance experience in a specific industry, such as manufacturing or retail, unless you have relevant client experience in that industry. Our piece on the four CFO briefs covers how different CFO roles read your experience.
Prepare for the interview questions
Expect direct questions about the move. Panels will ask:
Why do you want to move into industry now?
How will you handle the day-to-day operational side of finance?
How will you adjust to having fewer resources?
How will you work with a CEO as a partner, rather than as a client?
How will you handle being accountable for results over a long period?
Prepare honest answers with specific examples. Show that you understand the difference between advising and owning, and that you are ready for it. Our guide to CFO interview questions covers the common questions.
Think about the financial and personal change
The move from partnership to industry often involves changes in income, structure, status and lifestyle. Partners may be used to a particular kind of autonomy and profile. Inside a business, you report to a CEO and a board, and your role is less visible externally.
Think this through before you commit. Boards and search consultants will ask about it, and they will want to know that you have made the decision deliberately. Our piece on salary expectations at senior level covers how to handle the remuneration conversation.
Questions to ask yourself before you leave
The move is easier when you are clear about why you are making it. Before you start conversations, answer these for yourself:
Do I want to run a finance function, or do I mainly want to leave the firm?
Which industries do I know well enough, through clients, to be credible from day one?
Am I ready to be measured on results over several years, not on one project?
How will I feel about a smaller team and fewer specialists to call on?
Would a deputy or divisional CFO role be a better first step than a group CFO role?
Your answers will shape which roles you target and how you explain the move. They will also help you speak with conviction when the panel asks why now.
Use your network wisely
Your Big 4 network is one of your greatest assets. Former clients, colleagues who moved into industry and contacts in private equity and search firms can all help you understand the market and identify opportunities.
Be careful about confidentiality and professional obligations while you are still in the firm. But once you have decided to move, let the right people know. Many Big 4 partners and directors move into CFO roles through former clients who already know their work.
Make the move with evidence
Big 4 partners and directors can make excellent CFOs. The ones who make the move successfully usually show clear evidence of leadership, ownership and commercial partnership, choose a first role that suits their background, and prepare carefully for the questions boards will ask.
If you want a CFO resume that positions your Big 4 experience for industry, see how I approach CFO resume writing.
If you are a Big 4 partner or director considering a move into a CFO role, book a complimentary Clarity Session and we will look at how boards are likely to read your experience and where to start.
