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Director of Finance Interview Questions

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  1. What is your process for ensuring that your organization is compliant with all applicable financial industry standards and laws? See answer
  2. Your CEO wants you to give a quick explanation of the company’s finances. What financial statements do you show the CEO and why? See answer
  3. Upper management has asked you to evaluate whether or not to continue selling an existing product or replace it. How do you answer? See answer
  4. What happens to financial statements when a company purchases a new plant? Would you advise your management team to make the purchase? See answer
  5. What are the main keys to helping an organization establish an effective budget? See answer
  6. How would you develop your financial team for continued success? See answer
  7. How do you stay up to date on the latest tax regulations?
  8. What’s your process for evaluating negative cash flow?
  9. As a director, you’ll interact regularly with other department heads. How will you maintain consistent and useful communication?
  10. Describe your budgetary experience.
  11. Are you comfortable with QuickBooks? What about other accounting software?
  12. What metrics do you use to assess financial success on a departmental level and an organizational level?
  13. Describe the metrics and information you would include in a presentation for an interested investor.
  14. Please write out the Free Cash Flow to the Firm, or FCFF, formula. Why is this is an important formula to know and use?
  15. What do you think about mentoring? Would you implement a program for this organization?
  16. Describe a situation in which a project you were leading either dramatically changed or failed. How did you recover?
  17. What is your leadership philosophy?
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6 Director of Finance Interview Questions and Answers

Q:

What is your process for ensuring that your organization is compliant with all applicable financial industry standards and laws?

A:

One of the key duties that your director of finance will perform is ensuring that your organization is performing tasks while following applicable laws and regulations. The last thing you would want is for your clients or activist groups to bring a lawsuit against your firm. Since your director of finance will be monitoring your organization’s central financial activities, it’s important that they’re aware of what your company needs to do in order to stay compliant when audits arise. What to look for in an answer:

  • Shows understanding of regulations applicable to your firm’s industry
  • Cites examples of past work in ensuring compliance
  • Is detail-oriented and thorough
Example:

“Before I allow any funds to be disbursed for projects, I review the industry and country laws applicable to the project’s focus area to ensure my team is compliant.”

Q:

Your CEO wants you to give a quick explanation of the company’s finances. What financial statements do you show the CEO and why?

A:

Your director of finance is one of the key players in helping your organization’s most important decision-makers understand the current state of the company. Many of your other upper management folks, including the CEO and individuals like the marketing head, may not be deeply versed in financial analysis. Your director of finance should be able to pinpoint the information most important to understanding your company’s financial health and explain what he or she says in a way that’s easy to understand. What to look for in an answer:

  • Lists key financial statements
  • Strong communication skills
  • Good grasp of the underlying connection between financial statements and business performance
Example:

“I would show my CEO the statement of cash flow, income statement and balance sheet. This will allow the CEO to see how much cash we are generating and get a big-picture understanding of our assets and liabilities.”

Q:

Upper management has asked you to evaluate whether or not to continue selling an existing product or replace it. How do you answer?

A:

Since your director of finance will be your management’s go-to person to understand the company’s financial health, key decisions about cutting out products and services that aren’t profitable and implementing new ones will need your candidate’s input. Your applicant’s expertise in finance and corporate budgets should allow him or her to make concise and logical recommendations based on financial facts and figures relating to the products and services in question. What to look for in an answer:

  • Discusses the process for evaluating the product’s profitability
  • Understands how the product fits into the overall business strategy
  • Gives a direct, actionable recommendation
Example:

“I would first look at the product’s cost and revenue to see if it is currently profitable. Then, I would see if we have a better alternative to the existing product before recommending whether we should continue to sell it.”

Q:

What happens to financial statements when a company purchases a new plant? Would you advise your management team to make the purchase?

A:

Your candidate will need to be well-versed in these topics to perform the work necessary to monitor your organization’s financial health. The answer to this two-part technical question will first test your applicant’s knowledge of financial terms and then allow you to see if he or she is able to draw concrete, actionable conclusions from the data at hand. Your candidate’s ability to communicate recommendations based on your organization’s current financial position will be key to allowing upper management to make the best business decisions possible. What to look for in an answer:

  • Identifies the plant purchase’s effect on financial statements
  • Shows a clear understanding of the connection between financial statements and business strategy
  • Logical steps leading to recommendations
Example:

“Purchasing a new plant increases the company’s plant, property and equipment in the balance sheet and is a capital expenditure. My advice would be based on whether or not the business has the future expected cash flows to pay off the purchase.”

Q:

What are the main keys to helping an organization establish an effective budget?

A:

Your director of finance will be in charge of making budget recommendations based on your company’s current financial positions, growth prospects and future business strategy. This budget will limit the scope under which your organization’s other departments can operate and is vital to the success of your firm’s operations. Your candidate will need to showcase his or her ability to ensure that financial strategy aligns with growth goals. What to look for in an answer:

  • Understanding of a budget’s importance to businesses
  • Strong knowledge of financial terms
  • Ability to reason logically
Example:

"The key to establishing an effective budget is to ensure that it is viable and sustainable, factors that are determined by a firm’s sales revenue and costs."

Q:

How would you develop your financial team for continued success?

A:

Directors of finance have a number of duties as a part of their role, one of which is ensuring the junior members of their team receive the training and support they need to develop successfully. Asking candidates how they help to improve the department through training and education can give you insight into their overall leadership philosophy and how they'll interact with others in their department and the company overall. Great candidate answers should include:

  • Reference to the importance of professional development
  • An example of past strategies
  • How they would implement training in this position
Look for an answer that emulates this example:
Example:

"When I was just starting out in my career, I had an exceptional director of finance offer their guidance to me. I took a few additional classes and sat in on high-level meetings as a junior employee, both of which gave me the knowledge and experience to confidently develop my career. I am passionate about giving those same opportunities to the junior employees I oversee now. It benefits the company and the industry as a whole. For this organization, I think a formal mentorship program would be a great approach."

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