Finding and hiring top talent

Today's strongest finance professionals are rarely actively searching for their next opportunity. Building a high-performing finance team requires a proactive approach to attracting, evaluating, and hiring talent—not just filling open roles.

By combining intentional talent sourcing, structured candidate evaluations, and a consistent hiring process, CFOs can make stronger hiring decisions that support both immediate business needs and long-term growth.

Building a talent pipeline

An effective talent pipeline starts long before a position becomes available. Developing multiple talent channels helps shorten hiring timelines while expanding access to highly qualified candidates.

Strategies for building an effective talent pipeline:

Professional networking platforms
Employee referrals
Professional associations
Industry conferences and events
University and alumni networks
Specialized recruiting partners

While active candidates are important, many of the strongest finance professionals are passive candidates who aren't actively applying for new roles. Maintaining relationships with high-performing professionals before a hiring need arises helps organizations move quickly when opportunities emerge.

Evaluating talent

Technical expertise is only one part of a successful hire. The strongest finance professionals combine accounting knowledge with leadership, communication, adaptability, and business partnership skills. A structured evaluation process should assess both technical qualifications and long-term potential.

Key areas to evaluate include:

Technical accounting expertise
Leadership capability
Communication skills
Problem-solving
Business partnership
Adaptability
Cultural alignment

Behavioral interview questions and structured interview scorecards can also help create a more consistent hiring process while reducing bias across interview teams.

Behavioral interview questions to consider:

Tell me about a time you faced a difficult leadership challenge. How did you approach it, and what was the outcome?
Describe a project that didn't go as planned. What did you learn, and how have you applied those lessons since?
Can you share an example of how you navigated conflict within your team? What was the result?
How have you motivated and developed a team during a period of change? What approach did you take, and how did your team respond?

Hiring mistakes to avoid:

Prioritizing speed over quality
Overvaluing technical expertise
Overlooking cultural alignment
Using inconsistent interview processes
Failing to properly assess leadership potential
Delaying reference checks
Moving too slowly with top candidates

Recruiting is a two-way process. Top candidates are evaluating your organization just as carefully as you're evaluating them.

When to engage a recruiting partner

Hiring needs change as organizations grow. Recruiting partners can help CFOs access specialized talent, fill critical skill gaps, and develop hiring strategies that align with evolving business priorities.

Common hiring solutions include:

Contract staffing

Direct hire

Interim leadership

Executive search

Specialized project support

Beyond identifying candidates, experienced recruiting partners bring deep technical expertise and a strong understanding of your business, helping align talent strategies with organizational goals. They also provide valuable market insights into hiring trends, candidate expectations, and workforce dynamics to support more informed hiring decisions.

Why clients value Vaco as a recruiting partner:

4.64/5 Understanding of the business

4.84/5 Communication throughout the process

4.56/5 Candidates align with company culture

Source: Vaco’s 2026 Voice of Customer Survey