While CEOs play musical chairs bouncing from company to company, the finance chief can be the one without a seat when the music stops.

In 2025, CEO turnover hit a record high, with 234 CEOs exiting their roles, up 16% from 2024 and 21% above the eight-year average, according to management consulting firm Russell Reynolds. It was the second consecutive year CEO turnover reached record levels.

For the CFO and the rest of the organization, getting a new CEO can be a time of massive change. The culture, the rhythm, the expectations, the business priorities, and the strategy may all be in flux.

These changes can be stressful for the CFO, but also a moment of opportunity.

Keep reading.—JK

Remember a few years ago when the pandemic messed up freight schedules, and everyone ended up with a lot more inventory than they needed?

Well, call it déjà vu, but inventory—specifically how much of it is on hand and how quickly companies can get through it—will likely be top of mind for retail CFOs again in 2026.

One supply chain expert predicted that inventories are likely to remain low across retailers this year, because they aggressively pulled stocks forward ahead of tariffs in 2025.

CFOs who wish to win the supply chain game this year will need to be focused on “dynamic inventories,” Zac Rogers, an associate professor of supply chain management at Colorado State University, told CFO Brew.

Keep reading.—DL

Companies with federal government contracts may want to beef up their cybersecurity. The US Treasury is talking about “waste and fraud” again.

According to a Monday press release, the Treasury Department canceled all its contracts with consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, alleging that the firm failed to protect sensitive taxpayer information it accessed from the Internal Revenue Service.

“President Trump has entrusted his cabinet to root out waste, fraud, and abuse, and canceling these contracts is an essential step to increasing Americans’ trust in government,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in the release.

The Treasury said it canceled 31 separate contracts worth $21 million with Booz Allen Hamilton, specifically citing the case in which a former Booz Allen employee, Charles Littlejohn, stole and leaked tax returns from the IRS between 2018 and 2020.

Keep reading.—DL

Finance chiefs are increasingly landing the top job—but it’s not by accident. Explore the common path CFOs take to the CEO role, why internal promotions dominate, and how gaining operational and general management experience can turn financial expertise into a broader leadership playbook.