CFO Interview Questions – Cowen Partners Executive Search
By CFO Recruiter Shawn Cole — Top CFO Recruiter Shawn Cole is a trusted thought leader and premier authority on CFO recruitment across all industries. As President & Co-Founder of Cowen Partners, Shawn Cole is a trailblazing leader in the CFO recruiting space, known for finding exceptional talent while uncovering key insights about today’s C-suite leaders.
Cowen Partners is a national CFO search firm and has put together a list of great CFO Interview Questions you can use to hire a qualified Chief Financial Officer.
Functional Experience
Competency Area: Strategy
Ask Questions About:
- Key strategic initiatives candidate has worked on
- How/whether candidate has simplified a process within an organization
- How candidate has solved a finance/accounting-related problem
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- Appropriate examples of key strategic projects, details about candidate’s role in those projects
- Evidence that candidate can streamline processes, help organizations be more efficient
- Evidence that candidate has a strategic perspective on problem-solving (rather than just a technical perspective)
Competency Area: Partnership with Senior Leadership
Ask Questions About:
- Candidate’s relationships with leadership of prior employer organizations
- Example when candidate problem-solved in collaboration with senior leadership
- Candidate’s greatest professional contribution to an employer
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- How candidate relates to senior leaders, ability to act as partner
- Clarity in how candidate collaborates with senior leadership in problem-solving
- “We” rather than “I” language in description of greatest contribution
Competency Area: Financial and Operational Management
Ask Questions About:
- Candidate’s experience working in a cash-constrained environment
- The areas of financial and operational management that candidate is most and least comfortable and experienced with
- Candidate’s technical expertise with overseeing or configuring financial systems
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- Evidence that candidate can work in often cash-constrained nonprofit environment
- Checklist assessment of what financial and operational management skills candidate does and doesn’t possess
- Whether candidate knows how to configure or can knowledgeably oversee financial systems
CFO Interview Questions – Cowen Partners CFO Search Firm
Competency Area: Finance/Technical Abilities
Ask Questions About:
- The toughest finance project candidate has worked on (cash flow, cost containment, budgeting, cost allocation, other)
- Candidate’s approach to working with accounts receivable (A/R) and accounts payable (A/P)
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- An appropriately “tough” example and clear articulation of how candidate’s finance knowledge helped solve the problem
- Technical knowledge of A/R and A/P
Competency Area: Leadership
Ask Questions About:
- Candidate’s relationships and management style with peer colleagues and direct reports
- Example when candidate problem-solved in collaboration with peer colleagues and direct reports
- Candidate’s approach to recruiting, hiring, coaching finance team members
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- Candidate’s comfort level with decision-making process within organization
- Positive problem-solving skills, collaborative approach to working with peer colleagues and direct reports
- Fit with organization’s approach to recruiting, hiring, coaching
Competency Area: General Breadth of Experience
Ask Questions About:
- Shortcomings in candidate’s experience compared to job description
- Candidate’s career progression
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- Qualifications that may not have come out in resume and cover letter; also candidate’s humility, self-awareness of gaps, and ability to recognize opportunities for growth
- Logical progression, no unexplained gaps
CFO Interview Questions – Cowen Partners CFO Search Firm
Personal Qualities
Competency Area: Drive for Excellence
Ask Questions About:
- How candidate deals with high expectations and time pressure
What to Look for in Candidate Answers
- Ability to prioritize and a commitment to excellence despite pressure
Competency Area: Collaborative and Interpersonal Skills
Ask Questions About:
- Candidate’s ideal decision-making environment
- Candidate’s ideal relationship with boss, colleagues, and direct report(s)
- Example of an instance in which candidate faced interpersonal conflict
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- Fit between candidate’s ideal decision-making environment and that of organization
- Fit between candidate’s ideal relationship structures and existing personalities/styles
- Positive approaches to interpersonal conflict
Competency Area: Commitment to Vision & Mission
Ask Questions About:
- Why candidate is passionate about organization’s mission
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- Clearly articulated passion for and understanding of specific mission of organization
Competency Area: Core Values
Ask Questions About:
- Candidate’s experience with an unethical action or situation and how s/he handled it
What to Look for in Candidate Answers:
- Clarity about what is and isn’t ethical behavior, courage to speak and act appropriately
CFO Interview Questions – Cowen Partners CFO Search Firm
Cowen Partners is a national CFO search firm and has a strong record of identifying and recruiting Chief Financial Officers for public, private and non-profit organizations. Contact us if you would like to discuss recruiting an exceptional CFO for your organization.
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