CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Interview Questions

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CFO (Chief Financial Officer) Interview Questions

Hiring a CFO may take longer than typical hiring processes. With this level of responsibility, it’s important to ensure the selected candidate has the skills and abilities to be trusted in this role. We recommend group hiring or a series of interviews for this role. Ask questions to help you understand the candidate’s level of experience and determine whether you’d be confident having them in this role.

Here are some fantastic questions we suggest for hiring a CFO:

• How has your previous experience prepared you for this role?
• Please describe your experience with strategy development.
• What do you know already about our company’s financial success, initiatives, and business strategy/goals?
• Why do you feel you are capable of accepting a role with this level of responsibility?
• Please tell me about your experience with risk management.
• What will you need from us to be successful in this role?
• Do you have any prior experience managing employees/teams?
• What is your biggest asset that you’ll bring to this role?
• What has been the biggest failure in your career to date, and what did you learn from it?
• Please tell me about your experience working with third parties. What would you say is the key to success in these communications?
• How do you minimize the risk of errors in your work?
• Are you able to simplify and explain complex financial information? (Here is an opportunity test the candidate.
• Give them an example and ask them to explain it. Please allow adequate time for them to interpret the data first.)
• Can you tell me about a time you helped increase efficiency/cut costs effectively?