The interview process is one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the hiring process. Even the most confident financial professional can feel stressed under the pressure to perform in front of a hiring manager or their potential employer. The stakes are even higher during a CFO or FD interview.

You’ll be up against highly qualified financial professionals with a proven track record and the ability to perform. Many of them will have the same qualifications and a similar CV to you. It’s why the interview is the best opportunity for you to prove your compatibility with the role.

We’re breaking down what candidates need to know to be successful in a CFO or FD interview, along with example questions you should familiarise yourself with. At FD Capital, we’re committed to empowering our candidates to reach their potential and take the next step in their careers.

Join our talent pool by submitting your CV to our team at recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk.

Here are a few top tips on how to succeed in an interview for a CFO or FD role:

Take a different approach to your interview preparation by thinking from the company’s point of view. Put yourself on the other side of the table and the company’s financial goals and potential development strategy. It’ll help you choose potential questions for your interview prep that are more likely to come up.

The best way to prepare for a CFO or FD interview is by practising popular questions and doing a mock interview with your mentor or the help of a friend. We’re sharing the most common types of questions we see candidates get asked when applying for CFO and FD roles.

Most interviews will touch on the following topics:

• Communication and leadership
• Business management
• Financial competence
• Personal skills
• Business culture

Below is our in-depth guide on common interview questions for CFO and FD recruitment. We recommend familiarising yourself with a variety of these potential questions and planning suitable answers.

Interviews will want to determine your capability as a communicator with stakeholder engagement becomes a central responsibility of the role, as well as your overall leadership potential. Here are some likely questions to familiarise yourself with:

1. How do you interact with colleagues in your current role? What steps do you take to encourage your team to share their ideas and needs in their roles to create value?
2. Do you believe that being ‘likable’ is crucial to the success of your financial management as a CFO/FD?
3. Tell us about how you have built relationships with external partners, your finance team, and senior management within your current role.
4. What is your experience of managing the financial expectations of investors, stakeholders, and your c-suite colleagues?
5. Can you provide an example of a time when your department was able to use data or forecasting to highlight a risk management issue within your company?
6. Have you handled any external communication in your current position?
7. How would you promote employee retention and invest in human capital if you were to take on this role?
8. How do you prefer to receive and give feedback to your colleagues? Would you be comfortable taking on a mentoring role as part of this job?

Business management will make up the bulk of your day-to-day responsibilities as an FD or CFO. You’ll want to be able to articulate examples of your business management and point to skills and experience you can bring to the role.

1. In recent years has your company performed in line with your financial forecasting, both in terms of revenue generated and expenses? Did your forecasting vary from your eventual revenue ratio? If so, what factors caused this?
2. What method do you use for approaching financial forecasting? What systems would you put in place and what chain of communication would you establish?
3. How do you utilise data analysis in your financial decision making and strategy? Would you be comfortable leveraging AI and automation as part of your financial forecasting and analysis? Do you think it would have any impact on the accuracy of your forecasting?
4. Describe a finance operation you have previously implemented.
5. How have you been staying on top of changes within the industry, including technological trends, shifting consumer behaviour, and regulatory compliance?
6. How would you work with your C-suite colleagues to implement a new financial system within our organisation?

A company may be recruiting a CFO or FD to fill a large gap in its financial literacy and competence. You can expect to receive more questions that focus on your financial management skills.

1. What technical experience do you have in accounting?
2. Describe your experience of dealing with regulatory compliance.
3. What systems would you put in place to ensure financial accuracy and transparency in the company’s financial reporting?
4. What do you predict the industry’s economic situation to look like over the next two years? What steps should our company be taking to prepare for any upheaval or growth?
5. Have you ever been responsible for communicating a company’s financial results to a third party, such as external stakeholders and investors? Explain how you have supported the company’s position while engaging with stakeholder concerns or queries.

Companies want a candidate for CFO or FD who they can work alongside and build a winning partnership with. You’ll likely receive several questions that focus on your personal attributes, your career progression, and your previous relationship with C-suite professionals.

1. What characteristics do you believe make you an ideal team leader? Provide an example of how you have built relationships with your team.
2. What is your approach to decision making in time-sensitive and financially tricky situations? Do you prefer to work through the problem strategically or make a decisive decision quickly? Share examples of complicated situations where you have been responsible for deciding the next steps.
3. Have you ever taken a big risk in your role that has paid off for the company long-term?
4. What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your career so far and how did you overcome it?
5. What do you enjoy outside of your career?
6. How satisfied are you with your current career progression? Where do you see yourself in the next 5 to 10 years?
7. Describe your relationship with your current or more recent CEO and C-suite team.

Companies want to find a candidate who will fit into their wider culture and become part of their long-term team. Most CFO and FD interviews will feature a few questions that focus on company culture to access compatibility.

1. What do you think your current company CEO would say about their experience of working with you?
2. If you weren’t a CFO/FD, what career would you be perusing?
3. What are your current career goals and non-career aspirations?

Join Our CFO and FD Talent Pool

Take the next step in your career by joining our talent pool of senior financial executives, including CFOs and FDs. Submit your CV to our team at recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk.

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