Interviewing for a finance leadership role
By the time you reach FC, FD or CFO interviews, technical competence is assumed. Nobody is checking whether you can run a month-end. They’re working out something harder: whether they can put you in front of a board, hand you the numbers, and trust your judgement when it matters. The candidates who understand that, and prepare for it, are the ones who get the offer.
1. Know what each stage is actually testing
A senior finance interview is rarely about accounting. The first conversation tests whether you’re commercially credible and easy to talk to. The second usually probes judgement: how you’ve handled a crisis, a fundraise, a difficult board, a turnaround. The final stage, often with the CEO or investors, is about fit and trust at the top table.
Work out who you’re meeting and what they’re really screening for at each step, and answer that question rather than the one on the page. A CFO is hired for commercial judgement, board credibility, and the ability to handle a fundraise or an exit, not for technical accuracy alone.
2. Tell your numbers story, don’t list your duties
The single most common failure at this level is reciting responsibilities. “I was responsible for the budgeting process, the management accounts, the audit.” Everyone at your level did those things. They tell the panel nothing.
Lead with outcomes, in numbers. “I took gross margin from 38% to 44% over two years by renegotiating supplier terms and killing three loss-making lines.” “I cut the month-end close from fifteen days to five.” “I led the raise that took us from eight months of runway to a Series B.” Before, after, and how you did it. That is the shape of every answer that lands.
3. Prepare for the case study or model test
Many PE and VC-backed roles include a practical exercise: a three-statement model, a board-pack critique, a 100-day plan, or a commercial scenario to talk through. Knowing it’s coming is half the battle, so ask the recruiter what to expect.
They’re not testing whether your formulas balance. They’re testing how you think, what you prioritise, and whether you can explain a complex picture simply to a non-finance audience. Talk through your reasoning out loud. The thinking is the point, not the spreadsheet.
4. Ask the questions that mark you out as senior
You are interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you, and good questions signal seniority. Ask the CEO what success looks like in twelve months. Ask why the role is open and what happened to the last person in it. Ask what the board is most worried about, how decisions really get made, and where finance is currently letting the business down.
These are the questions of someone who thinks like an owner, not an applicant. They also tell you whether the job is what it claims to be.
5. Spot the red flags in the business
A senior finance role gives you a rare licence to ask hard questions before you join, so use it. Understand the cash position and runway. Ask about the relationship with investors and the bank. Find out why the last finance leader left, and listen carefully to how they answer.
You are about to put your name against this company’s numbers. Better to find the problems now, while you still have a choice, than three months in when they’re yours.
The honest summary
Work out what each stage is really testing and answer that. Tell your story in numbers, not duties. Treat any exercise as a test of thinking, not formulas. Ask the questions an owner would ask. And interview the business as hard as it interviews you.
Get all that right and the offer usually follows. Which is when the next skill matters most.
And before you get to the offer, know your worth. The Finance Pay Index shows you exactly what your role pays across the real UK market, so you walk into the final conversation with a number, not a guess. Free and anonymous, two minutes.
Check where I rank →