CFOs have done an exceptional job stepping up to the challenge of working remotely full-time. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic forced companies and funds across the country to acknowledge that working remotely is not only feasible but can also increase productivity in their workforce. But after a year and a half of semi-lockdown, private equity funds are ready to get their CFOs back in the office.
Most sponsors still expect their CFOs to relocate to their companies’ HQ at some point, ostensibly after the threat of COVID has decreased or when the majority of the workforce is vaccinated. CFO candidates, on the other hand, are looking for positions that grant them work from home or remote possibilities. Lindsay Guzowski, a partner at FALCON, has found the conflict of these two interests increasing in executive searches.
“A number of CFO candidates tell us that they are okay relocating or commuting, but why should they when they have been doing remote work successfully for a year?” Guzowski says. “They wonder, ‘why does the private equity firm care?’ Meanwhile, all of our private equity clients say they understand that the CEO and CRO are fine to commute in or work remotely. But the CFO needs to be on site.”
Why Funds Think It Is the CFO’s Responsibility to Be Onsite
In Guzowski’s eyes, there are several reasons for this divergence. Funds view the CFO as their eyes and ears in the portfolio company. To know what is going on, the fund often believes that a CFO needs to be onsite. There is an expectation that the CEO needs to fly out to meet key clients and suppliers and attend key meetings. Particularly in smaller companies, where there is not a true President or COO to step into the empty seat on a daily basis, the CFO is expected to assume the role as the face of the company in the CEO’s absence. What is more, CEOs like to have local CFOs to use as a sounding board; they are s...