CFO Search

CFO searches have a specific failure mode that is different from most other executive searches: the company hires for the stage it wants to be at, not the stage it is at.

A Series B company that wants to IPO in four years hires a CFO with public company experience. The candidate has run investor relations, managed SEC compliance, and navigated quarterly earnings calls. They are genuinely excellent at these things. They have almost no experience building a finance function from a spreadsheet and a part-time controller — which is what the company actually needs for the next 18 months before any of the public company experience becomes relevant.

The mismatch isn't obvious in the interview process, because the candidate's credentials are real, their communication is polished, and the hiring team is thinking about where the company is going rather than where it is. The mismatch becomes obvious six months in, when the finance infrastructure the company needs isn't being built because the CFO is optimising for a stage that doesn't exist yet.

The stage-specific nature of the CFO role

The CFO function changes more across company stages than almost any other C-suite role.

Early-stage (pre-Series B): The priority is building the financial infrastructure that doesn't yet exist — accounting systems, cash flow management, financial modelling for fundraising, and the controls that will survive due diligence. The right CFO at this stage is often a builder: someone who has stood up finance functions before and can operate without the support infrastructure that a more senior CFO would expect.

Growth-stage (Series B to D): The priority shifts to strategic finance — using financial data to inform business decisions, building the reporting infrastructure that allows the leadership team to manage the business, and beginning to think about capital structure. The CFO at this stage is a partner to the CEO on strategy, not just the head of accounting.

Scale-stage (pre-IPO or significant revenue): The priority is operating a finance organisation at professional management standards — investor relations, audit management, financial planning across a complex organisation, and the compliance infrastructure that comes with being a large company. This CFO is managing a significant team and a significant external stakeholder set.

A brief that doesn't specify which stage the company is at will attract candidates from all three — and the evaluation process will struggle to find a legitimate basis for comparison.

The controller vs. CFO confusion

Many companies that think they need a CFO actually need a VP Finance or a strong controller. The difference matters.

A controller is accountable for the accuracy and integrity of financial reporting — bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, month-end close, and tax compliance. This is essential work and requires significant expertise. It is not what a CFO does.

A CFO is accountable for financial strategy: capital allocation, fundraising, investor relationships, financial planning, and the analytical infrastructure that drives business decisions. A CFO who spends their time doing controller work is an expensive controller. A controller doing CFO work is a significant organisational risk.

Companies that post a CFO search when they need a controller, or a controller search when they need a CFO, are starting from the wrong problem definition. The intake conversation needs to establish which function is actually needed before it can define the right candidate profile.

What strong CFO candidates evaluate

At the growth stage, strong CFO candidates evaluate the quality of the CEO relationship above almost everything else. The CFO-CEO partnership is the most important working relationship in the executive team, and a CFO who has observed what a poor CEO-CFO relationship looks like will spend significant time in the process assessing whether this CEO is someone they can work with effectively.

They evaluate the quality of the financial data that already exists — because it tells them something about the discipline of the organisation they would be joining. A company with clean books, a coherent financial model, and clear management reporting is a different organisation from one where the numbers live in multiple spreadsheets and no one is certain of the cash position at any given moment.

They also evaluate the scope of the role relative to their experience. A CFO who has managed investor relations for a listed company will not take a role where the primary challenge is standing up basic accounting infrastructure — not because that work is beneath them, but because they know they are not the right person for it.

What closes the CFO search

Resolve the stage question and the scope question before the search begins. Write a brief that describes what the finance function looks like today, what it needs to look like in 24 months, and what the CFO will need to build to close that gap. This brief attracts candidates who have done that specific kind of building before — which is the most reliable predictor of success.

Majhi Group runs retained CFO searches. The engagement begins with the stage and scope conversation, not with candidate sourcing.

If a CFO search is attracting candidates who look right but aren't engaging seriously, request an assessment.