Tackling your board's next big question

The realities of burnout are brutal—checking sales reports at 4AM, cancelling family holidays, and even physical collapse. As the pressures and complexities of an ever-expanding role mount, CFOs are tapping out in greater numbers. Increasing demands are wearing them down over time.

In this two-part series, we start by digging into what’s causing this trend. And next time, we look at how to reduce burnout in finance, recognize the signs, and what to do if it hits you.

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Mike Kovar seized up on the touchline, only five minutes into the game. Something was wrong.

He’d played soccer for years, and was a top scorer for this team, known for his stamina. Suddenly the goals dried up. Then one day he felt inexplicably exhausted.

Kovar, who was divisional CFO of a very large company at the time, thought it must be a heart problem. But medical tests showed his heart was fine. The problem was stress and overwork.

He realized he’d been working 60 hours a week for two years with relentless stress levels; even cancelling multiple family vacations due to work issues. 

“In the previous 18 months, we’d implemented a new ERP, and had a management buyout. Making the numbers work and spinning out a new company was intense. Plus I was doing lots of non-value activities, like having to fight HR just to recruit new talent,” said Kovar. “I had to drag myself into work, and I even developed a twitch from the stress.”

Mike had to face the facts, he was burnt out, physically and mentally.

And he’s not the only one…

Burnout doesn’t have to be part of the CFO job description. The challenges can be energizing; the personal and financial upsides plenty; and done well, it’s a springboard to the next thing.

But a growing number of finance leaders are getting knocked flat by rising internal and external pressures. Korn Ferry data from 2025 showed CFOs are leaving in record numbers, often citing burnout as a factor. Rapid business changes and increasing macro crises have impacted finance functions since Covid, according to the recruiter’s research. 

“Every CFO I speak to says there’s been no downtime for the last five years and more. That’s catching up with people,” said Jim McGlone, head of UK CFO practice at Russell Reynolds. “High performers enjoy crises. But when they happen time after time, it ramps up pressure hugely. The marathon has turned into a series of sprints.”

Russell Reynolds' research found that short-term triggers are colliding with deeper pressures to drive a spike in early CFO retirements in 2025, often tied to exhaustion and burnout.

McGlone said warning signs typically include:

You may spot these yourself, or others may notice them first.

If any of the following combine, it’s a sign the CFO could be about to throw in the towel, wrote the firm.

Company support isn’t keeping up with expectations on the finance function either. 

“Boards and investors increasingly expect a much broader CFO role. Technology and AI have reduced some manual aspects of finance, but also raised expectations for better, faster information and insights,” said Maurizio Raffone, managing director of fractional CFO service Aprilis. “Not every organization has adapted to this—they expect CFOs to operate as strategic partners while giving them a function built for bookkeeping and reporting.”

Nadim Ahmad, founder of CFO-led management consultancy Clyde Moray, said fatigue is natural in such intense conditions and it’s easy to let your own health take a back seat.

“I work in turnarounds where the buck stops with you. I don’t consciously sacrifice personal well-being, but… you’re eating and sleeping badly, not exercising, just to prioritize [the company’s survival]. Sometimes I’ve worked 24 hours or more straight. Many can’t do that. But that’s where burnout creates CFO churn,” he said.

Kovar, who is also now a fractional CFO, didn’t. But what saved him was becoming a partner in the new MBO he’d helped to create. 

That enabled him to cap his weekly hours at 50, take more lunch breaks, and play tennis outside work, he said. He started work in the new entity with renewed energy. 

And on the soccer field… he started hitting the back of the net again.

Check in for part two of this series on how to recognize the signs of burnout and what to do about them.

Answering your board’s next big question.

Last week’s Playbook got into how to decide what to grow (and more importantly when) as CFO.

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