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This article is part of our CFO succession series, examining the distinct succession challenges facing boards and finance leaders across EMEA and APAC.
According to RRA’s Global CFO Turnover Index, global CFO turnover has reached a seven-year high among the world’s top listed organizations, driven by higher retirement rates and CEO turnover.
Australia reflects the same trend. In 2025, 25% of CFOs were appointed across the ASX 200, the highest level in seven years and up from 18% in 2024. Departures in 2025 remained high at 38, while global CFO appointments also hit a seven-year high of 18%, suggesting this is not a one-off spike, but part of a broader reset in expectations around the role.
That broader reset came through clearly when we spoke with Alistair Macrae, who leads RRA’s Australia operation and Financial Officers Practice. One thing was clear: the CFO role is evolving quickly, and many organizations are still catching up.
Multiple forces are reshaping the role simultaneously.
In private capital-backed businesses, CFOs are being asked to prepare assets for exit, sharpen performance, and demonstrate value creation. At the same time, listed companies are looking for CFOs with similar capabilities, making CFOs from private capital-backed business, more attractive to a broader set of organizations. Technology is another big shift. CFOs are now expected to engage with AI and digital transformation—not just within finance, but across the whole organisation.
As Alistair puts it, the pace of change is not slowing down. If anything, it is accelerating, and the level of uncertainty is only going to increase while geopolitical and economic uncertainty continues to rise. The implication is clear: CFOs are now expected to operate as enterprise leaders in ambiguous, fast-moving environments, not just functional experts.
Technical excellence is now table stakes. Organizations are seeking CFOs who can execute, make sound decisions, adapt quickly, and lead across the enterprise. In Australia especially, transformation often goes hand in hand with cost pressure, meaning CFOs are deeply involved in restructuring and performance improvement efforts.
Yet, Alistair shared there simply aren’t enough experienced CFOs in Australia with the expanded capability set to meet demand. As demand rises, competition for experienced CFOs intensify—making early succession planning essential.
Heightened geopolitical uncertainty, rapid technological change, and ongoing volatility have increased the complexity of the CFO role.
Due to this shifting environment, many organizations are looking for experienced CFOs who can navigate that uncertainty. CFOs with track record of value creation, especially in private capital-backed businesses where the mandate is often tied directly to preparing assets for exit and driving performance, are being sought after.
The Global CFO Turnover Index data supports that shift. Across the seven years tracked by the Global CFO Turnover Index, 54% of ASX 200 CFO hires were experienced CFO, suggesting that many organizations are seeking leaders who can deliver impact immediately.
In Australia, Alistair suggests the future-ready CFO profile has at least five dimensions.
— Alistair Macrae
In light of these challenges, what can organizations do today to ensure they have the right CFO tomorrow?
One risk for Australian boards is assuming market stability equals CFO succession stability. Australia can be difficult to read by sector, with many industries dominated by oligopolies. CFO changes often come down to company-specific factors. That makes robust assessment even more important.
It’s no longer enough to evaluate candidates purely on technical finance skills. Organizations should be looking at whether successors can operate externally, think laterally, lead change, and bring a market-facing perspective into the organization. This means widening the lens when identifying successors. Future CFOs may not always come from traditional backgrounds, particularly if businesses need leaders with stronger transformation capabilities or broader enterprise judgment.
Begin with defining the future CFO profile, revisiting it on an annual basis, and an honest assessment of where internal talent might be. In the case where the internal bench strength isn’t as robust as desired, organizations need to decide quickly whether to develop or hire.
— Alistair Macrae
One thing is clear: waiting until a CFO resigns is too late.
As expectations of the CFO role shift, some organizations are placing greater emphasis on capabilities such as technology curiosity, forward-thinking, and the ability to operate through ambiguity. As a result, organizations may need to think more laterally about how future CFOs are identified and developed.
The Global CFO Turnover Index data shows that succession pressure is real, with appointments outpacing departures in 2025: CFO appointments globally outpaced departures by the widest gap in the seven-year series at 21%, while the ASX 200 an even larger gap of 29%. This suggests more complex transitions, longer handovers, and, in some cases, interim solutions while companies search for the right finance leader to take on the top finance role.
Boards and CEOs need to work closely with CHROs, and the incumbent CFO to define the future CFO profile early, identify potential successors early, and build targeted development pathways to close capability gaps.
— Alistair Macrae
Alistair described a common succession plan that organizations tend to put in place: bring in a CFO with the hope they could eventually step into the CEO role, while an internal successor is developed to step into the CFO role. This often proves more complex in practice. Timelines shift, readiness can be overestimated, and business needs can change.
That is why transition planning needs to be thoughtful.
Organizations should treat CFO succession as a multi-step process, not a single appointment decision. They need to consider not only who can perform the CFO role today, but whether that person strengthens or complicates future CEO succession, and whether the finance function beneath them is being developed with enough depth to avoid creating a second succession gap.
The Australian CFO market is going through a broader shift, not just a temporary spike in turnover. In 2025, CFO appointments across the ASX 200 reached 25% — the highest level in seven years — while departures also stayed elevated. The trend reflects growing demand for finance leaders who can make an impact quickly in a more unpredictable environment. Increasingly, boards are treating CFO succession as an ongoing governance priority rather than something triggered only when a role becomes vacant.
Source: RRA Global CFO Turnover Index
Strong technical finance skills are still critical, but they are no longer enough on their own. Today’s CFOs are expected to lead through uncertainty, support digital and AI transformation, drive enterprise-wide change and bring a sharper focus on value creation. In many organizations, the CFO is also being considered as a potential CEO successor, which is making the role even more central to long-term leadership planning.
There is a limited pool of experienced CFOs in Australia with the breadth of capability now expected of the role. According to RRA’s Global CFO Turnover Index, 54% of ASX 200 CFO hires over the past seven years were already sitting CFOs. Internal candidates may have strong technical foundations, but boards also need to assess them against future leadership requirements — including transformation experience, stakeholder management, digital fluency and the ability to operate effectively in uncertain conditions.
Source: RRA Global CFO Turnover Index
CFO succession is rarely a single-step transition. In many organizations, the CFO may be part of the CEO succession pipeline, while another finance leader is being developed to eventually step into the CFO role. That can create valuable flexibility, but it can also introduce risk if readiness is misjudged, timelines change or the finance leadership bench lacks depth. Boards should consider whether each CFO succession decision strengthens broader leadership continuity or creates additional complexity down the line.
Start earlier. Boards, CEOs, CHROs and incumbent CFOs should align on what future success in the CFO role looks like, revisit that profile regularly and actively assess and develop internal talent. Development plans should include exposure to transformation, capital allocation, stakeholder engagement, AI and technology, sustainability reporting and enterprise-wide operating decisions.
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