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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 the RRA' Global CFO Turnover Index, global CFO turnover is at a seven-year high of 18% among the world’s top listed organizations, key drivers include higher retirement rates, CEO turnover and CFOs transitioning to non-CFO roles. However, in Singapore, CFO turnover remained steady for listed organizations. But that stability masks a more urgent reality unfolding beneath the surface.
We spoke with RRA leadership advisor, Lin Liu who leads our Financial Officers Practice in Singapore and Southeast Asia, to understand what's shaping CFO demand across the region today, and what organizations operating in Singapore and Southeast Asia should be doing now to ensure they have the right CFO ready to step up and hit the ground running tomorrow.
While CFO turnover for listed organizations across Asia has remained steady over the last year, demand for experienced CFOs beyond the large, listed organizations is surging. There’s been a significant spike in demand for experienced CFOs in Singapore and Southeast Asia across privately-owned, family-owned—and especially, PE-backed portfolio businesses.
What’s driving this demand? First, as interest rates begin to decline, PE-backed businesses are under pressure to value create, exit and redeploy capital, fast. These organizations need to grow through M&A, reach scale, and execute an IPO or trade sale. Many organizations prefer a CFO with experience to lead them through that journey.
Second, five years on from COVID, many businesses—including public listed organizations—are reaching a critical refinancing stage in their cycle. They need a CFO who can successfully lead that process and secure favorable terms. In many cases, having the right CFO proves even more critical than the CEO.
While demand for experienced CFOs may be rising, the pool of experienced CFOs isn’t large enough to satisfy this demand. “There’s a genuine shortage of seasoned CFOs across Asia, reflecting the region’s market structure — fewer globally headquartered companies, a high prevalence of family-led or privately held businesses in parts of Southeast Asia, and generally less exposure to international capital markets. As a result, there are fewer finance leaders with the full breadth of strategic, investor-facing, and cross-border experience seen in more mature U.S. and European markets. Hence, we’re seeing a growing focus on internal development over external hires,” said Lin.
While this shift may be partly borne out of necessity, having an internally developed CFO can have its advantages.
-Lin Liu
But here's the challenge: developing internal talent take times—sometimes years. It needs to be planned deliberately, underscoring the need for organizations to take a pro-active, long-term approach to CFO succession planning, rather than waiting until the current CFO announces they’re leaving.
In light of these challenges, how can organizations ensure they’ve planned for CFO succession when the time comes?
Before you can develop or hire the right CFO, you need alignment on what "right" means for your organization. One of the first steps in a robust succession plan is agreeing on the success profile for your future CFO.
- Lin Liu
Remember, your next CFO will likely need different skills and experience than the current one. Consider where your business might be a few years from now and be prepared to adapt as the market evolves. For example, technological expertise—such as AI and digital transformation capabilities—will become increasingly important.
Yet while digital fluency matters, having the right mindset is even more critical. Look for senior leaders who demonstrate strong leadership skills, growth orientation, learning agility, and genuine curiosity—those with these foundational strengths are best equipped to guide transformation without sacrificing the human-first aspects that make their organizations unique.
With all that in consideration, the ideal CFO success profile is iterative and should be reviewed on a regular basis.
With experienced CFOs in high demand and short supply, developing your internal pipeline becomes even more important. The first step is assessing the top candidates against the success profile. Once you’ve identified any gaps, you can create individual development plans, which will need to be monitored regularly.
Rotate high-potential finance leaders through crucial experiences—such as leading business units, M&A transaction exposure, driving investor relations, and taking on P&L responsibility. This builds the business acumen and strategic thinking that distinguish exceptional CFOs from good ones.
Finally, when developing internal candidates for that coveted CFO role, let them know they’re in the running. Consistently recognizing, empowering, and coaching leaders is critical for their retention, especially in a fiercely competitive market.
While ideally, organizations want two to three internal successors, sometimes your bench strength isn’t as robust as desired. In that case, assessing whether you have the runway to develop those gaps on your team immediately or whether you must hire externally is paramount.
If you need to hire externally, expand your search parameters. Consider candidates from adjacent industries who bring fresh perspectives. Look at finance leaders who have successfully navigated similar challenges, even if they haven't held the CFO title. In a constrained talent market, flexibility in your candidate profile can uncover exceptional leaders others have overlooked.
The CFO role has never been more critical or more challenging to fill. The most common pitfall we observe in CFO succession is waiting until it’s too late.
Given the structural shortage of seasoned CFOs in Singapore and Southeast Asia, companies should begin CFO succession planning much earlier — ideally three to five years in advance of an expected departure — by rotating high-potential finance leaders across functions, business units, and geographies. While many Asian finance leaders possess strong technical and operational expertise, fewer have developed the cross-border, investor-facing, and strategic capabilities common among their Western counterparts. The priority, therefore, is to broaden their experience base — cultivating CFOs who can combine global financial fluency with a nuanced understanding of local ownership models, family-led governance, and the diverse regulatory and market environments that define the region.
While turnover among listed companies has remained relatively stable, underlying demand for experienced CFOs is accelerating—particularly in private equity-backed, family-owned, and mid-market organizations. Singapore and Southeast Asia face a limited pool of experienced CFOs. It is essential for organizations to plan succession earlier and more proactively.
Succession planning should begin as soon as a new CFO is appointed. Preparing a successor can take as long as five years, requiring deliberate rotations across functions, business units, along with exposure to board interaction, structured development, and coaching to build the necessary strategic and investor-facing capabilities.
Without clear alignment between the board, CEO, and HR on what “good” looks like, organizations risk developing or hiring the wrong capabilities. A well-defined success profile ensures the next CFO is equipped not just for today’s role, but for the future strategic needs of the business.
In a highly competitive talent market, top finance leaders have multiple opportunities. Without clear career pathways, stretch roles, and ongoing coaching, organizations risk losing their strongest successors before they are ready to step into the CFO role.
The most common pitfall is waiting until the CFO departure is imminent. This leaves organizations without a ready pipeline—both internally and externally. Strong succession planning ensures leadership continuity and accounts for different scenarios—reducing execution risk and strengthening investor confidence.
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