Former Citigroup executive Hugo Doetsch, after taking over as CFO of audit software provider AuditBoard, told CFO Dive that building a strong team is his top priority.

In the interview, Doetsch shared lessons from his past CFO experiences, including most recently as CFO at healthcare software company Symplr: "You have to build the team you want, and that gives you leverage." He admitted, "The biggest mistake I probably made as a first-time CFO was trying to do everything myself."

"I tried to carry the whole world on my shoulders, but what I really should have done was acknowledge the need for additional investment," he said. "I needed more people to support that area."

Continuous learning

Los Angeles-based AuditBoard, a software company providing an AI-driven internal audit and connected risk platform, announced Doetsch's appointment in a press release on Tuesday, as the company seeks to accelerate growth.

Doetsch said his first priority is to familiarize himself with the company's product portfolio and understand the senior leaders in key functions and their spending. Before making any strategic moves, "I have to learn, absorb, fully grasp, and become an expert in every functional area, not just finance," he said, describing himself as a "continuous learner."

"On day one, I like to understand the processes," Doetsch said. "Whether it's the close process, the budgeting process, the board reporting cadence, or the format of reporting packages, I want to figure it out."

According to his LinkedIn profile, before joining AuditBoard, Doetsch served as CFO of corporate wellness software company symplr. His past experience also includes serving as CFO of cloud content management provider NetDocuments, where he drove the company's sale to Warburg Pincus in 2021, as well as Senior Vice President of Finance at Ping Identity, and holding several senior positions at Citigroup, including Global Head of Investment Banking Services.

On the finance function side, Doetsch aims to understand "how to be a closer strategic thought partner to the business so we can make better decisions and deliver more value across the organization."

When identifying key value-add points, "it's a lot about engaging deeply with the team to understand how the team is organized... to understand what great talent we have and what new roles need to be created because of a lack of capability within the team," he said.

Strategic priorities

Doetsch's appointment is the latest in a series of executive changes at the audit software provider over the past year. Since the company appointed former Paycor executive Raul Villar Jr. as CEO in July 2024, AuditBoard has also appointed Paaras Parker, also from Paycor, as Chief People Officer, and former ADP executive Jim Sperduto as Chief Growth Officer, according to company press releases.

One benefit of joining a newly formed leadership team like AuditBoard's is that "nobody comes in with preconceived notions," Doetsch said. "We're all energized and share a common goal and mission."

Part of that mission is continuing the company's growth: AuditBoard recently announced that its annual recurring revenue has exceeded $300 million, while the company also faces "significant international expansion opportunities," Doetsch said.

To successfully seize these growth opportunities, a CFO must also remember that "everything has a financial perspective," he said. "It has to deliver value, whether it's higher bookings, higher retention, or a better product for customers, but it also has to have a financial impact."

Over the past few years, the role of the finance executive has evolved to span both finance and operations, with companies increasingly expecting financial leaders to drive strategy. Doetsch said the key to being an excellent strategic CFO is the ability to partner with other business leaders to achieve these goals together.

Take sales and marketing, for example: finance executives need to examine and answer these questions—whether these functions have a reasonable compensation structure, whether they incentivize the team in the right way, and how to improve efficiency as the company scales.

"These questions clearly have a financial perspective, but you almost have to go deep into every function and ask, 'Hey, where are the marginal gains?'" he said. "How do we get better? How do we create more value for shareholders or customers?"