How to choose a CFO

What to pay attention for when choosing a financial Director?

На русском языке: Как выбрать финансового директора.

 Experience

 You must consider the experience of the candidate — desirable experience of 3-6 years as a financial Director. Although the length of time in office are primarily important, the progress in this period is of equal importance. You should request reviews, recommendations from previous employers. The candidate who "jumps" from place to place and holds a position for not more than a year, explaining this by giving such reasons as poor relationships with colleagues or superiors, small wages, conditions, etc., should arouse suspicions. Even being a good financier (CFO — Chief Financial Officer), but with bad nature, superiority complex and huge demands, will not be a valuable acquisition for the company.

  It is advisable to choose applicants with experience in companies from the same industry as the firm — the employer and preferably approximately of the same size, with a similar financial policy and strategy development.

 Education

 Priority should be given to candidates with higher education in Finance or mathematics, and to those who have held courses on financial management and professional development, desirable degree MBA.

 Commitment, result orientation

 On of the key skills is the ability to think strategically and systemically. A candidate should be able to articulate the objectives of the firm, to assess the overall economic situation and know what to do in case of certain occasions.

 To correctly assess the possibility of development of the company, the employee must see the whole picture:  

What the current market status is; 
What position the firm is in; 
What the threats are; 
What factors can contribute to the strengthening/weakening of the influence of the company on the market; 
How to optimize financial policy, in order to reduce costs and increase profits;
 The knowledge of accounting. A financier needs to understand the accounting records and to detect errors in accounting, to supervise the work of accountants;
Knowledge of tax laws is also highly desirable.The employee has to understand the tax policy — this will help reduce the company's costs, assess the risks, determine the best ways to organize financial activities, taking into account tax revenues;
 Knowledge of the basics of financial management. Specialist has to understand where and how to direct the cash flows in order to effectively use financial resources to optimize the risks, costs, and what the best way to achieve the goals of the company is. He should be able to manage the capital investment portfolio, working capital, make strategic decisions, conclude profitable contracts with banks and funds.

 Experience with banks

 CFO should be able to attract external funding, so you need to pay attention to his experience with banking institutions, credits and documentation.  

Managerial skills, ability to lead, to manage. The impact of the financial Director on the staff of the company is of considerable importance— it needs to create pleasant atmosphere in the team, be able to maintain control over the quality of the work (but without undue pressure), plan, formulate goals and instruct. A financier needs to understand people and to find an individual approach to each, be able to assess the degree of involvement required in the work of subordinates, the ability of an employee to perform various kinds of tasks, and so on.

 Commitment, result orientation

 The main purpose of Finance Director is to effectively use the resources of the firm to obtain the best results and increase profits. An employee has to not only clearly articulate the goals of the company, but also to be able to properly implement and translate them into specific tasks for subordinates.  

Company Top-fin is ready to help you find the best candidate to your team. Call us at 88005111030 or write to info@top-fin.ru.

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