A remedy for the overworked CFO?

The key to keeping a CFO around might have been found, or at least according to a 2025 study. According to the research, the answer may be for an organization to hire a chief accounting officer or controller so that a CFO can delegate tasks.

Retaining finance talent has been a challenge in recent years: CFO turnover hit a seven-year high in 2025, 12% above the seven-year average, and the average tenure of a CFO in 2025 across Fortune 500 and S&P 500 companies was only 4.7 years, according to a study from Crist Kolder Associates, nearly three years shorter than the average CEO stint.

The study found that companies where a CFO delegated significant oversight or policy decisions for the accounting function, likely to a CAO or controller, were 17.8% less likely to see their CFO voluntarily depart.

The study presented two theories as to why: First, offloading the accounting “likely reduces [CFO] burnout and increases engagement.”

The study cited a 2020 survey from NetSuite, in which 51% of CFOs said their main challenge was “juggling too many responsibilities.” These days, companies have long wishlists for desirable qualities in a CFO that include everything from being a strategic advisor to getting in the weeds of tariffs.

“What you’re starting to see is people were asking the CFO to do too much,” Connor Augustyn, director of finance transformation at the consultancy West Monroe, told CFO Brew. “Whereas what they need to do is be able to properly allocate responsibilities. And that’s where, CFO role is changing a little bit. The CFO is becoming like that chief allocation officer for the organization.”

The second theory presented by the authors in the study that might explain their findings is that delegating accounting can advance a CFO’s career. CFOs who delegated accounting were more likely to become CEOs both internally and externally. By delegating accounting tasks , CFOs can focus on strategy, investor relations, and board engagement, aka more executive-level skills.

Between 2000 and 2016, only 36% of companies had delegated accounting away from the CFO, the study found. And this tactic was most common with “older, more leveraged, and better governed firms,” according to the study.

Replacing a CFO can be a lengthy and costly process. Ash Athawale, the senior group managing director at Robert Half, told CFO Brew in October that it was taking his firm 20% longer to find a CFO for its clients and that the time needed to find a CFO began lengthening in 2023.

Delegating accounting sounds like a win for the CFO and the organization. Ready to let go, CFOs?