INTHEBLACK June 2026 - Magazine - Page 27
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The most effective way to
build a talent pipeline is
to identify a number of
potential CFOs internally
and build their expertise.
Up-and-coming CFOs need
more than just finance
experience. They ideally need
to understand how the whole
business works.
Strong talent pipelines and
long-term planning are
essential to ensure smooth
leadership transitions and
business continuity.
to this story
The appointment of a new CFO
should be relatively straightforward
in a well-managed business.
Whether this transpires as such
depends on long-term planning
and an adequate talent pipeline.
Words Alexandra Cain
THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME
when it comes to developing staff to step
into the chief financial officer (CFO) role,
with promoting from within often the best
way to prime someone for the top finance
job. Preparing a candidate for this position
should be a routine aspect of running
a finance team, unless there is a reason
to recruit externally for a specific skill set.
Yet the data shows that there is plenty
of room for improvement across corporate
Australia when it comes to succession
planning in finance teams. Research indicates
that 97 per cent of Australian and
New Zealand organisations report difficulties
finding candidates for senior roles. Of these,
more than half (56 per cent) link it to a lack
of clear succession planning.
Infrastructure services firm Ventia’s
approach is to promote from within.
“To do that, you need a really good pipeline
of up-and-coming, high-potential and
well-developed finance professionals,” says
Ventia’s CFO, Mark Fleming CPA.
“In the two years I have been here, I have
not employed anyone from outside into
a senior role — it has all been through
internal succession planning.”
VENTIA CASE STUDY
Ventia’s general manager of treasury,
Jake Stawiski, is an example of a senior team
member who has risen through the ranks.
Stawiski joined Ventia as a graduate more than
a decade ago, coming up through its business
units into senior finance manager roles.
Katrina Hamilton Lang, group manager
of financial planning and analysis at Ventia,
is another example. She joined the company
three years ago from Real Pet Food Company
as group financial controller, before being
promoted into a senior operational
finance role.
Then there is group finance controller,
Victoria Maru, who has been with the
company for four years after being the head
of finance for Savills Australia and
New Zealand. Hamilton Lang, Maru
and Stawiski are all in contention for
the CFO role in the future.
Fleming says all three team members have
the potential to be company CFOs one day.
With risk top of mind, it is no surprise
his preference is to develop potential CFO
talent internally. “It is always a safer bet to
have someone from inside. They understand
the business — and our business is quite
complicated. You know that they are a cultural
fit and it is almost like an extended interview.
“There is no better endorsement if someone
has worked for the company for five or ten
years with various managers and they are
well regarded.”
While promoting from within makes
sense for many businesses, there are reasons
to recruit from outside, for instance if
the business needs a specific skill set
or a “fresh pair of eyes”.
THE CFO SKILLS NEEDED
The skills businesses look for when recruiting
into the CFO role include intelligence,
application and the ability to think laterally.
Candidates also need a breadth of experience.
“To be a good CFO, you need to be very
broad,” Fleming says. “You need to have an
understanding of treasury, tax, financial control,
accounting and strategy. For a listed entity,
you need investor relations experience and the
ability to speak to the market. Increasingly, you
need operational experience as well, because
the CFO has become the second-in-charge
and the adviser to the CEO.”
Crucially, CFOs need a strong
understanding of how the business runs.
“It is no longer just about analysing
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au 27
