The new CFO's 100 day cost review

Why a new CFO's first 90 days matter for cost

A new CFO arrives with permission to ask uncomfortable questions. Suppliers expect a review, managers expect scrutiny, and the board expects a point of view on the cost base within the first quarter. That permission has a shelf life - by month six it's gone, and the next opportunity to reset cost is usually the next budget cycle.

The new CFO cost review, week by week

Weeks 1-4: baseline and prize sizing

The first four weeks are diagnostic. The output is a defensible view of the cost base and a sized prize with a confidence range - not a plan yet.

• Full spend cube - vendor, category, cost centre, GL
• Top 20 supplier contracts pulled and reviewed
• Headline benchmarks on the top 10 categories
• Sized cost reduction prize with a range, not a single number

Weeks 5-8: quick wins and mobilisation

By week eight the review needs visible momentum. Quick wins fund credibility with the CEO and the board for the harder work in months 3-12.

• Renegotiate the 5-10 contracts with the clearest overpayment
• Consolidate obvious duplicate suppliers
• Freeze non-essential discretionary spend categories
• Stand up a lightweight savings tracker signed off by finance

Weeks 9-13: lock in run-rate

The last month converts activity into P&L - finance-validated run-rate savings, updated forecasts, and a clear owner for every workstream that continues past day 100.

• Finance-validated savings tracked to the ledger, not the spreadsheet
• Policy changes (approvals, PO thresholds, preferred suppliers) documented
• Named owner and cadence for each ongoing workstream
• Board-ready readout: delivered, in-flight, year-two pipeline

New CFO cost priorities: where to look first

• Indirect & tail spend - the fastest source of unopposed savings
• Duplicated SaaS and telco - almost always over-licensed
• Professional services - legal, audit, advisory - rarely competitively tested
• Property, facilities, energy - contract cycles usually offer a near-term window
• Working capital - payment terms and DSO/DPO are CFO-owned levers

What a realistic first-90-days prize looks like

For a UK mid-market business with £20-100m of addressable spend, a well-run new-CFO cost review typically lands 3-6% run-rate savings by day 100, with a further 4-8% in the pipeline for months 4-12. Newly-appointed FDs at businesses that have not been touched in three years should expect the top of that range.

Common new CFO cost review mistakes

• Announcing targets before the baseline is signed off
• Skipping quick wins in favour of a "proper" multi-year plan
• Cutting into commercial capacity or brand-critical spend
• Tracking savings in a spreadsheet the finance team never signs
• Waiting for the target operating model before touching supplier spend

Questions new finance leaders ask

Should a new CFO or FD run the cost review internally or bring help in?

Internal teams have the context; external help brings pace, benchmarks and the political cover to challenge existing supplier relationships. Most 90-day cost reviews are hybrid: internal finance owns the baseline and validation, an external team runs the category work and benchmarks.

Does this apply to a new MD or new CEO too?

Yes - the same 90-day window applies to any new leader with cost accountability. The sequence is identical; the sponsor changes.

Where this connects

This overlaps directly with our cost reduction and interim procurement services, and pairs with the 100 day cost plan, cash flow improvement guide and EBITDA improvement guide.