Why hire a Chief Financial Officer?

The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your bottom line.

A great Chief Financial Officer can help your business:

• Generate the requirements for operational and departmental budgets
• Create and enforce operational policies that increase systemic efficiency and reduce costs
• Manage or co-manage all banking activities, financial agreements, and funding as well as debt sources

Skills to look for in a great Chief Financial Officer

A great Chief Financial Officer candidate will possess the following skills and work experience that reflects:

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree (or higher) in finance, economics, business or accounting
• CPA certification may also be preferred
• A minimum of five years of applicable experience as a CFO or in accounting
• Strong leadership
• Collaborative problem solver
• Multitasking is essential

Writing a Chief Financial Officer job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified Chief Financial Officer candidates. A compelling job description for a Chief Financial Officer includes a complete summary of the role, a comprehensive list of duties and responsibilities, both the required and preferred skills for the position, and compensation information.

Consider including keywords that job seekers are using to search for Chief Financial Officer jobs, such as:

• Chief Financial Officer
• CFO
• Financial Controller

Interviewing Chief Financial Officer candidates

Strong candidates for Chief Financial Officer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Prior successes they’ve had as a CFO
• Their leadership principles and how they’ve previously approached their leadership role
• Advanced budget analysis and financial reporting techniques

See our list of interview questions for more examples.