Hiring a CFO Who Can Address Your Business Issues is Essential

March 19th 2024 | Posted by Phil Scott

Whether you are hiring a replacement for a CFO who has left your organization, you want to replace the individual who currently has the role, or this is your first time recruiting a CFO, hiring an individual who understands your business issues is essential.

If they have this understanding, they are more likely to be able to address concerns and problems, providing they have the required attributes.

If you had a good CFO previously, you probably have a stable financial environment, and you already know what to look for during your recruitment because you have experienced it. However, if this is not the case, you may need help with the recruitment process and with understanding why not every CFO will be a good fit for your business, even if they have an excellent reputation.

Why hiring a CFO who can address your issues is not always easy?

The issues that an incoming CFO will be faced with will usually fall within certain areas,

  • Bringing in a new Enterprise Resource Planning system or making better use of one that is already in place.
  • Improving the management of cash within the business.
  • Ensuring the right people are in the right roles in the organization.
  • Improving financial processes in the business.
  • Ensuring accurate and informative dashboards and KPIs are in place.
  • Enhancing financial planning within the organization by improving modeling and analysis.

However, it’s important to realize that each issue within these areas is different. So, the issues in your organization will be very different from those in other businesses. You need a CFO who can address your specific concerns and problems. This is a consideration that should be at the forefront of any hiring decisions made.

Why personalizing your choice of CFO is essential

We have touched on the fact that any professional you hire must be able to address your specific issues. But why is this so vital? The fact is that a candidate may have an amazing resume but limited experience in areas relevant to your requirements.

For example, some CFOs are good at maintaining the status quo but are not confident about change. Other CFOs have an excellent reputation as technical experts but lack strategic decision-making experience. The moral of this story is that just because someone has a successful career as a CFO does not mean they will succeed in your organization.

There are some challenges that most companies face. But you will also have issues and challenges that are specific to your organization. During your recruitment process, you should be looking for an individual who has experience dealing with issues that match the ones you currently have.