Finance Managers in a Restructure or Turnaround: Protecting the Business and Your Career
When a business gets into trouble, finance moves to the front line. Cash is tight. The bank is asking questions. Costs have to come down. Suppliers want to be paid. Staff are anxious. Decisions that once took weeks now need to be made in days.
For Finance Managers and Financial Controllers, a restructure or turnaround can be one of the most stressful periods of their career. It can also be where they prove what they are capable of.
This article explains the Finance Manager’s role in a restructure or turnaround, and how to protect the business and your career at the same time.
What finance does in a turnaround
Cash management. Daily or weekly cash forecasting, payment prioritisation and working capital actions.
Lender relationships. Covenant reporting, waivers and regular updates to the bank.
Cost reduction. Identifying savings, modelling options and tracking delivery.
Scenario planning. Best, base and worst cases for the board and lenders.
Restructure costs. Redundancy costs, site closures and asset sales.
Stakeholder reporting. Clear, honest information for the board, owners, lenders and sometimes advisers.
Cash first
In a turnaround, cash matters more than profit. A business can survive losses for a while. It cannot survive running out of cash.
A 13-week cash flow forecast, updated weekly, is usually the central tool. It shows when cash will be tight and what actions are needed. Finance Managers who can build and maintain a reliable forecast become essential. For more, see cash flow forecasting on your resume.
Working with the bank
Lenders become much more involved when a business is struggling. They may ask for more frequent reporting, covenant waivers or independent reviews.
Honesty and reliability are critical. Provide accurate information on time, explain problems early and follow through on commitments. A bank that trusts the finance team is more likely to support the business.
Working with advisers
In more serious situations, the business may bring in turnaround or restructuring advisers. Finance will work closely with them. Share information openly, learn from their experience and make sure day-to-day finance processes keep running.
Leading the team through it
Your team will feel the pressure too. Some may worry about their own jobs. Be as open as you can, within confidentiality limits. Share what you know, acknowledge uncertainty and keep people focused on what they can control.
If the restructure affects finance roles, handle it with care and fairness. How you lead through difficult times will be remembered.
Protecting your integrity
Turnarounds can create pressure to present results optimistically. Stay honest. Directors have legal duties, and in serious situations, insolvency rules may apply. Accurate, timely information protects the business, the directors and you. If you are unsure about your obligations, seek advice.
Protecting your career
A turnaround can end well or badly. The business may recover, be sold or fail. Protect your career by recording your achievements, keeping your network active and keeping your resume current.
If the business recovers, you will have powerful evidence of leadership under pressure. If it does not, your experience is still valuable, and many employers respect people who stayed and helped during hard times.
How to present turnaround experience
Turnaround experience is highly valued, especially for private equity backed businesses and organisations facing change. Present it with specific results.
“Built and ran a weekly 13-week cash forecast during a turnaround, keeping the business within its facility limits and supporting a covenant waiver from the bank.”
“Identified and tracked $4.2 million in cost savings through a restructure, delivering 95 per cent of the target within 12 months.”
For more on explaining difficult periods, see presenting a turnaround that did not succeed.
Payment prioritisation
When cash is tight, not every supplier can be paid on time. Finance usually has to prioritise payments. Staff wages, superannuation and tax obligations usually come first, followed by critical suppliers who keep the business running.
This needs careful judgement and clear communication with suppliers. Honest conversations about timing often preserve relationships better than silence. Directors should be involved in major decisions, especially where tax or super obligations are at risk.
Cost reduction that works
Turnarounds almost always involve cost reduction. Finance helps identify options, model impacts and track delivery. The best programs focus on sustainable savings, not just quick cuts that damage the business.
Track savings rigorously. Many cost programs announce big targets but deliver far less. A finance team that shows exactly what was saved, month by month, builds credibility with the board and lenders.
Communicating with the board
In a turnaround, board members need clear, frequent and honest information. Short, focused reports on cash, covenants, savings and risks are more useful than long packs. Highlight decisions they need to make.
Finance Managers who can communicate calmly and clearly under pressure often earn significant trust from directors, which can shape their careers for years.
What you learn
People who have worked through a turnaround often say it was the most educational period of their career. They learn how cash really works, how lenders think, how to prioritise and how to lead people through uncertainty. Those lessons make them stronger finance leaders in any environment.
A worked example
Financial Controller, manufacturing business in turnaround
Key Achievements and Projects
Built and ran a weekly 13-week cash forecast that kept the business within its facility limits through a 12-month turnaround.
Secured two covenant waivers by giving the bank accurate, early reporting and a credible recovery plan.
Tracked $4.2 million in savings, delivering 95 per cent of target within 12 months.
Kept month end on day five throughout, while supporting a site closure and restructure.
A turnaround in numbers
Consider a Financial Controller at a $48 million building products business in Adelaide. Sales have fallen 18 per cent in a year. The business has a $10 million facility, and headroom is down to $600,000. The bank has asked for monthly covenant reporting.
Here is what the first 90 days might look like for her.
Weeks 1 to 2: Build a 13-week cash forecast from the bank statements up, not from the budget. Share it with the MD and the bank.
Weeks 3 to 4: Chase overdue debtors, which releases $1.3 million. Agree payment plans with three large suppliers.
Weeks 5 to 8: Model three cost options for the board. The chosen option removes $2.4 million of annual cost, including one site consolidation.
Weeks 9 to 12: Report actual savings against target each month and update the forecast weekly.
By the end of the quarter, headroom has grown to $2.1 million. The bank agrees to a covenant reset. None of this is glamorous. It is careful, steady work, done every week.
What hiring managers look for afterwards
When you apply for your next role, hiring managers will want to know three things about your turnaround experience.
What you owned. Did you build the cash forecast, or just update it? Did you present to the bank, or prepare slides for someone else?
What changed because of you. Cash released, costs removed, covenants met, reporting days saved.
How you behaved. Did you stay calm, tell the truth early and keep the team working?
Prepare a clear answer for each. Private equity firms in particular will test the detail.
Likely interview questions
“Walk us through your 13-week cash forecast. How did you test its accuracy?”
“Tell us about a time you had to give the bank bad news.”
“How did you decide which suppliers to pay first?”
“Which cost savings did not deliver, and why?”
“How did you keep your team motivated when jobs were at risk?”
Here is a sample answer to the bank question.
“In month four, it was clear we would breach our interest cover covenant. I told the CFO the same day and we called the bank that week, rather than waiting for the quarterly report. We brought a revised forecast, the cost plan and a clear timeline. Because we raised it early, the bank granted a waiver with a tighter reporting condition. It taught me that lenders will work with you if you give them time and honest numbers.”
Size and sector differences
In a small private business, you may be the only senior finance person, working directly with the owner and the bank. In a larger group, you may work alongside restructuring advisers and a CFO who leads the lender relationship. Not-for-profits face similar pressures, but the key stakeholders are often funders and a volunteer board. Adjust how you describe your role so the scale is clear.
Common mistakes
Focusing on profit instead of cash
Delaying bad news to the bank or board
Letting core finance processes slip under pressure
Neglecting the team’s wellbeing
Not recording achievements during the turnaround
Your next step
If your business is under pressure, make sure a reliable weekly cash forecast is in place. Then agree with your CFO or MD how and when bad news will be shared with the bank and board.
If you want your resume and LinkedIn to show your experience leading through difficult times, my Gold package covers your resume, cover letter, LinkedIn and positioning strategy.
If you are in a turnaround and thinking about your next move, book a complimentary Clarity Session.
