Finance & Accounting
A Chief Financial Officer leads the finance function and advises the CEO and board on strategy, capital and risk. The role owns financial reporting, planning, funding and the controls that investors and lenders rely on.
Ways to hire
4options
contract, contract-to-hire, full-time and executive search
The role
Companies hire one when growth, financing, an acquisition or an audit requirement demands executive finance leadership beyond what a controller provides.
Typical responsibilities
Core skills
Tools and systems
Related titles
Typical background
Typically ten or more years in finance with senior leadership experience; a CPA or MBA is common, and industry background matters.
At a glance
The essentials for planning the hire: level, background, how you can hire and what the role typically pays.
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What happens next
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FAQ
Straight answers to the questions employers and candidates ask about this role.
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A Chief Financial Officer leads the finance function and advises the CEO and board on strategy, capital and risk. The role owns financial reporting, planning, funding and the controls that investors and lenders rely on. Typical responsibilities include: set financial strategy with the CEO and board; lead budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning; manage banking, debt and equity funding relationships.
Look for financial strategy, capital raising, board reporting, m&A support, risk management and executive leadership. Experience with NetSuite, SAP, Workday Adaptive Planning, Excel and Power BI is common in this role.
Yes, for interim leadership. Many employers bring in an interim Chief Financial Officer to steady a team during a search, a transition or a major project, then hire permanently through an executive search. A specialist recruiter can scope either route with you.
A fractional or interim CFO often fits companies that need strategy, fundraising or reporting oversight but not a full-time executive. A full-time CFO makes sense once finance has a team to lead and decisions come up daily.
A CFO usually carries board, investor and financing responsibility and reports to the CEO. A VP of Finance often runs operations of the function and may report to a CFO or CEO. Choose based on how much strategy and external funding work the role includes.
Related roles
Every role in the practice is recruited by the same specialist team.
