Eight Advisory launches the CFO practice in the DACH region – Appointment of Christoph von Klimesch as CFO Director

Eight Advisory, a leading independent consulting firm specialising in Transactions, Restructuring, and Transformation, proudly announces:
• launch of a CFO practice in the DACH, which will complement the existing offering of the M&A Transaction Services, Private Equity Services, Strategy & Operations and Restructuring practices,
• the appointment of Christoph von Klimesch as CFO Director.

Before joining Eight Advisory as a director, Christoph von Klimesch worked as a senior manager for PAS, a company specialising in financial optimisation and CFO consulting. Prior to this, he held positions at WTS Advisory and EY. His clients include medium-sized companies and corporations, which he advises on a wide range of CFO topics. Among other things, von Klimesch supervised the introduction of management and legal reporting for a medium-sized company and the conception and roll-out of a fast-close concept for a listed group. He additionally managed projects to change accounting methods and introduce digital financial statement solutions.

CFOs face immense challenges, especially after a merger or acquisition: accounting and reporting must be consolidated and controlling standards standardised. The teams also have to work together differently than before. To ensure that the integration is successful, resilient processes and a clear focus on best practices are needed. This is where the new team from Eight Advisory comes in: with expertise and an independent view it analyses existing structures, formulates recommendations for action and actively supports implementation.

Eight Advisory has so far been able to successfully draw on the support of experts from the German Strategy & Operations practice and the Transaction Services team, as well as specialists from European locations, to cover these competencies. With the establishment of the CFO Advisory practice, led by experienced finance expert Christoph von Klimesch, and the recruitment of three high-profile finance experts, Eight Advisory is now able to offer its clients comprehensive CFO advice from a single source. In addition to process analyses, the range of services includes optimising the preparation of financial statements, reporting, budget planning and organisational structures in the finance department. This makes the Eight Advisory experts sought-after partners for both new and experienced financial managers looking for an independent assessment of finance processes. The team is complemented by managers Julien Bohnhoff, previously with Ebner Stolz and CONET Technologies, Benedikt Fritzsche, formerly with GFGI Germany and WTS Advisory, and analyst Dominic Dahinden-Schupp.

Curt-Oliver Luchtenberg, Strategy & Operations Partner at Eight Advisory DACH, said: “I am delighted that Christoph von Klimesch joined us as a particularly high-profile expert to lead our German CFO Advisory practice. He has extensive experience in all areas of financial consulting – from reporting and IT to organisational development. This will provide our clients with the big-picture view of finance that many CFOs ask for. Together with his team of experts, Christoph will also provide first-class advice in areas such as accounting and controlling„

Christoph von Klimesch adds: “Particularly in economically challenging times, companies need a high-performing finance department. We see this in the strong demand for advisory services from CFOs who want to optimally position their department. I am all the more pleased to support them and their teams in all challenges. Our team combines comprehensive accounting and controlling expertise and is therefore ideally positioned to offer our clients excellent advice„

The experts at Eight Advisory see a particularly strong need for advice on the topic of data integration. “Many finance directors want to automate finance processes as quickly as possible while also taking advantage of the opportunities created by AI. However, this can only be achieved if the data quality is right. In many cases, the processes to standardise data bases are still lacking,” explains Christoph von Klimesch. It’s not just about the comparability of data. In the current challenging economic climate, the profitability of individual products is coming into focus as an important key figure for financial analyses. “In many companies, margin reporting is not granular enough. They often only show the margin across the entire offering. It is becoming increasingly important for companies to be able to evaluate the economic performance of individual products in detail in order to make informed decisions and identify growth opportunities.”

Accelerating the financial close process (fast close) also remains an important topic for CFOs. Currently, monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements are prepared in a relatively time-consuming manner in many companies and with a corresponding time lag. Particularly in volatile times, more and more CFOs are no longer willing to accept these time discrepancies and are striving for real-time reporting in order to be able to react quickly to possible undesirable developments.

Michael Wahl, Managing Partner at Eight Advisory DACH, comments on Christoph von Klimesch’s arrival: “Christoph von Klimesch brings a wealth of experience to his role as CFO Director, positioning Eight Advisory to better serve our clients in the DACH region. The launch of our CFO Advisory practice is a strategic response to our clients’ growing need for comprehensive financial advisory services. This expansion complements our existing offering in M&A Transaction Services, Private Equity Services, Strategy & Operations and Restructuring and enables us to provide end-to-end solutions across the finance spectrum. With Christoph at the helm, we are well equipped to guide companies on their financial transformation journey, accelerate the integration of the finance function, improve reporting, strengthen working capital processes, and optimise treasury positions„

https://www.8advisory.com/en/2025/01/08/eight-advisory-launches-the-cfo-practice-in-the-dach-region/