Tips
For Hiring The Best
Finance Folks For
Your Business
THIS IS PART ONE OF A FIVE-PART
SERIES ABOUT THINGS YOU CAN
DO TO REDUCE RISK WITHIN
YOUR SMALL BUSINESS.
W
hether you’re hiring your first chief financial officer (CFO) or for another finance
position or you’re looking to replace your current finance folks, the prospect of
hiring is probably not too appealing. After all, you’ve got a business to manage. But
it’s something that needs to be done. And done right.
By Annie Yoder,
CPA, CFE, CFF,
principal (New
Philadelphia
office)
Why is it so important to find the right people to manage and oversee your company’s finances?
Your business depends on it.
According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) 2014 Global Fraud Study,
Report to Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, “77 percent of all occupational frauds
originated in one of seven organizational departments: accounting, operations, sales, executive/
upper management, customer service, purchasing and finance.” Of those seven departments,
your CFO or an employee in a similar role probably manages the majority of those areas. That’s
why it’s critical that you find the right person to oversee these areas.
HERE ARE SEVEN TIPS THAT WILL HELP YOU FIND YOUR PERFECT IN-HOUSE
ACCOUNTING OR FINANCE EMPLOYEE(S):
If you’re hiring someone for CFO, define what you are really looking for. Do you know what
you’re looking for in your CFO? Do you have a job description that outlines what you want your
CFO to do? Do you want this person to oversee and manage just the finance function, or do you
want someone to take on a more expanded role where they oversee more than just the finance
department? It’s important you know what you’re looking for.
Ask lots of questions and listen very closely to how they answer. The more questions you
ask, the better you’ll get to know your candidate. You need to find out if your candidate really
knows what they’re talking about and has true CFO-level (or related) experience, or if they’re
just blowing smoke.
Conduct multiple interviews. Make sure that you interview your candidates more than once
before making a hiring decision. And have your candidates interviewed by other employees
too, especially employees that will be working closely with the candidate. They’ll provide some
valuable insights. Candidates are usually on their best behavior and will put their best foot
forward during the interview. So take your time and have more than one interview with the
candidate before deciding who to hire.
four
Bring in a trusted advisor to interview the candidate(s) and ask your network of business
contacts if they are familiar with him or her. Get someone else’s opinion on your candidate.
Someone who might work closely with them. Perhaps your accountant or other financial advi ͽ