They buy a sense of security. When a client hires me they are usually in a state of uncertainty and need to replace an outgoing CFO or hire their first CFO. This results in there being a period of not knowing what they are getting, everyone has had those bad hires, which is the dread of all senior managers. My job is to give the client a sense of security as quickly as possible; they need to know that all matters of finance will be taken care off to a high standard, without any need for the CEO to worry. This allows the CEO to think about running the business rather than also running the finance department.