Free tool
Can't match the top salary?
Enter the role and what you can pay. See where it sits against comparable companies, then what closes the gap: bonus, equity, flexibility and who to target.
Check your budgetHarper May Insights
Senior finance hiring, pay and leadership.
Sharp, practical reads for the people who hire CFOs, FDs and finance leaders. Written by the team that does the placements. If you have a role to fill, we should talk.
Free tools for companies hiring
The full hiring guide →Free tool
What is your job spec costing you?
Paste your spec. See how much of the available market each essential line removes, then get the requirements rewritten.
Check your specFree tool
Build your interview kit
The role and what the hire is for, in. The areas to weight, the questions to ask, what good and bad answers sound like, and a scorecard, out.
Build the kitFree tool
Benchmark your finance team's pay
Send us each role and its basic. We compare every one against the market and flag anyone below the lower quartile. Free.
Request your benchmarkLatest
The One Number A New CFO Should Fix In Month One
Not the reporting pack. Not the audit relationship. Not month-end. There is one specific number that, fixed in month one, pays back for the rest of the tenure.
Read the article →More insights
The Chair Habit That Extends Every CFO Tenure By 12 Months
One small chair habit, kept up consistently, adds roughly a year to every CFO's average tenure. It takes 20 minutes a month. Most chairs do not do it.
Read →
Why Your Auditor Relationship Is A CFO Interview Question
Every board asks CFO candidates about strategy, IR and team building. Almost none ask about the auditor. It is the fastest read on operational maturity.
Read →
The Three Types Of CFO Who Do Not Belong In A Founder-Led Business
Three CFO profiles that are strong hires in institutional businesses and consistently wrong hires in founder-led ones. Naming them upfront saves the mismatch.
Read →
Why Interim CFO Bridging Is Getting Cheaper Than It Used To Be
The interim CFO market has shifted materially in the last 18 months. Day rates are down, availability is up, and the quality bar is higher. Here is why, and what to do about it.
Read →
The Warning Signs In A CFO Candidate's Own Financial Judgement
How a CFO handles their own compensation negotiation, notice period, and career choices tells you how they will handle yours. Here is what to watch for.
Read →
The Board Pack Rewrite Every New CFO Should Do In Month Two
Not month one - that is too early. Not month six - that is too late. Month two is when the board pack rewrite lands and sets the tone for the rest of the tenure.
Read →
Why Founder-Only CFO Interviews Consistently Miss The Wrong Signals
Founders read for chemistry. That is not the signal that predicts CFO success. Here are the three specific things they systematically miss.
Read →
The Retention Conversation Every Chair Should Have At Month 18
Most CFO departures are set in motion between month 15 and month 20. The chair conversation that prevents them is short, direct, and rarely happens.
Read →
Why The Best CFO Interviews Now Include A Live Modelling Question
Interviewing a CFO without seeing them work is like hiring a chef without tasting the food. Here is how to run the live modelling section without it feeling like a hazing.
Read →
What The First Bad CFO Hire Actually Costs A Mid-Market Business
The visible cost is the severance and search fee. The invisible cost is 3x larger and hits the P&L for 18 months. Here is the honest number.
Read →
The Interview Question That Reveals A CFO's Cash Discipline
One question, asked in the second interview, tells you more about how a CFO will handle a working-capital squeeze than three references will.
Read →
The CFO Retention Bonus Structure That Actually Works
Most retention bonuses fail because they are structured as pay-to-stay. The version that works is structured as pay-to-hand-over. Small difference, big outcome shift.
Read →
The One Month-One CFO Habit That Pays Off In Year Three
Most CFOs never do this. The ones who do build a specific credibility that only comes from remembering the small things. It takes ten minutes a meeting.
Read →
What Audit Committee Chairs Are Quietly Asking For In 2026
Three things audit committee chairs now want that they were not asking for two years ago. CFOs still framing audit committee prep the same way as 2023 are quietly falling behind.
Read →
When Should The CFO Stop Attending Detailed Operational Meetings
Most new CFOs attend every operational meeting for six months. The strong ones step back sooner. The signal that tells you the time is right.
Read →
When To Hire A Group Financial Controller Before A CFO
For businesses at £15m to £30m, the fashionable answer is a CFO. The right first hire is often a Group Financial Controller. Here is why the sequence matters.
Read →
The Pre-Close CFO Checklist Most Offers Skip
Every CFO offer has a package checklist. Most boards skip a second checklist that predicts first-year outcomes better than references do.
Read →
Why The M&A Capability Of Your Finance Function Now Decides Valuation
In the last three exits we have supported on the CFO side, buyer diligence teams named the finance function itself as a valuation factor. Not the numbers being sold, the team behind them.
Read →
How Much Notice Does A Departing CFO Actually Give
Contractual notice for a CFO is usually six months. Actual notice on departure is almost always shorter. Why the gap matters, and what to do about it.
Read →
The Compensation Clause Boards Forget To Negotiate In Every CFO Offer
Most mid-market CFO offer letters cover base, bonus, equity and notice. Almost none of them cover the fifth clause that matters most through an exit or refinancing.
Read →
The Signal That Predicts A CFO Will Leave In Year Two
Every CFO who leaves in year two gives the same signal at month five or six. If the chair catches it early, the hire can usually be saved. If not, the departure follows at month nine or ten.
Read →
Why Boards Over-Index On IPO Experience They Will Never Actually Use
In the last 18 months, four out of five CFO briefs we ran with IPO experience as a must-have never went to a listing. The requirement cost the businesses meaningfully. Here is what to look for instead.
Read →
Which Board Meeting Actually Tells You If Your New CFO Is Working
Boards form a view on a new CFO fast. But not at the meeting most people think. The specific board meeting that matters is the one at month four.
Read →
The Three Things A Chair Now Looks For At A CFO's 12-Month Mark
The chair conversation about a new CFO at month 12 centres on three specific things. Their presence or absence tells the chair whether the hire is landing.
Read →
The Board Tension Every Mid-Market CFO Has To Manage
The CEO wants speed. The board wants control. Both flow through the CFO. How the best CFOs live inside that tension without picking a side.
Read →
Redesign The Finance Function After Every Fundraise, Not Just The Cap Table
Every fundraise changes what the finance function has to do. Boards that treat the round as a redesign trigger rather than a capital event avoid the year-two rehire.
Read →
What Triggers A Mid-Year CFO Conversation With Your Board
The mid-year CFO review conversation is rarely a scheduled event. Something specific triggers it. Here are the five triggers we see most often, and which of them are early warnings.
Read →
The Unglamorous Work That Dominates A First-Year CFO's Calendar
The strategic work is what boards hire a CFO for. The unglamorous work is what actually fills the first year. Boards that ignore that gap keep rehiring.
Read →
When The CFO Should Own Investor Updates Instead Of The CEO
Most mid-market investor updates default to the CEO. There is a moment in every business where they should shift to the CFO instead. Here is when, and why.
Read →
Why CFO-To-CFO Handovers Are Getting Shorter, And What That Says About Boards
CFO handovers are shrinking from months to weeks. Here is what shorter transitions reveal about board readiness, succession planning and finance risk.
Read →
What Boards Now Ask On CFO References They Didn't Ask A Year Ago
Boards are asking sharper CFO reference questions than a year ago. Here are the exact prompts now separating strong hires from expensive mistakes.
Read →
The One Board Preparation Habit That Makes A New CFO Look Ready
The single board prep habit that makes a new CFO look ready: brief the board before the meeting, not during it. Why it works and how to coach it.
Read →
What Family Businesses Should Actually Test For In A Non-Family CFO
How family and founder-led businesses should assess a non-family CFO: the real tests for trust, judgement and change beyond the CV.
Read →
Build the Team, Not Just the Hire: A Finance Leader's Guide to the Next Twelve Months
A practical guide for CFOs and Finance Directors on building a finance function over the next year, not just filling a single vacancy.
Read →
Why PE Portfolio CFOs Now Move In Threes, Not Ones
Portfolio CFOs increasingly arrive with a controller and an FP&A lead. Here is why PE-backed boards now hire finance leadership as a small team.
Read →
The Signs Your Transactional Team Has Outgrown Its Structure
How to spot when your transactional finance team has outgrown its structure, and the practical fixes that free up your week.
Read →
When To Let An FD Run Finance For A Year Instead Of Hiring A CFO
When a strong FD can run finance for a year instead of hiring a CFO, and the signals that tell a board it is time to search properly.
Read →
The Most Under-Hired Finance Role In The Mid-Market Right Now
The Head of FP&A is the most under-hired finance role in the mid-market. Here is why it matters, when to hire, and what good looks like.
Read →
Interim Cover Is Not a Failure: When a Contractor Buys You the Right Permanent Hire
Why bringing in an interim to cover a finance gap protects your standards and buys you time to make the right permanent hire.
Read →
How to Interview a Head of Finance When You Are the Only Finance Person in the Room
A practical guide for CFOs and FDs interviewing a Head of Finance solo, with tests, questions and structure to hire the layer below you well.
Read →
Sequencing Hires as You Scale: What to Add at 20m, 50m and 100m Revenue
How finance leaders should sequence team hires across 20m, 50m and 100m revenue, and which roles actually free up your week at each stage.
Read →
The Interview Question That Separates Operators From Reporters
The one finance leadership interview question that reveals whether a CFO candidate drives the business or just describes it. Advice for hiring boards.
Read →
Why 'Cultural Fit' Ends Up Meaning 'Founder Fit' In 90 Percent Of CFO Hires
Cultural fit in CFO hiring often collapses into founder fit. Here is why that happens, why it costs boards, and how to hire for the business instead.
Read →
Talent Spotlight: London Financial Controllers Who Have Scaled a Team Through Growth
What separates London Financial Controllers who can scale a team through growth, and how to spot them when you hire the layer below you.
Read →
Why The Best Finance Function Redesigns Start With The CFO Job Spec
The strongest finance function redesigns begin with the CFO job spec. Here is why the spec sets the ceiling for every hire, system and process below it.
Read →
What Great Chairs Do Differently In A CFO First 60 Days
How the best chairs set up a new CFO to succeed in their first 60 days, from clear mandates to board access and early wins.
Read →
Should Your Financial Controller Be Technical or Commercial? You Cannot Have Both Junior
A senior recruiter's honest take for finance leaders on whether your next Financial Controller should be technical or commercial, and why junior means one.
Read →
Boards That Rehire From The Interim Seat Almost Always Get Burned
Why converting an interim CFO into the permanent hire without a proper search usually backfires, and how boards should test the seat instead.
Read →
The Mid-Year Board Review Question Every CFO Fails On
The mid-year board question that trips up most CFOs is about the forecast they no longer believe. Here is how strong finance leaders answer it.
Read →
Why a Diverse Finance Team Makes Better Numbers, Not Just Better Optics
A diverse finance team spots errors faster and challenges weak assumptions. Here is how variety in the layer below you improves the numbers.
Read →
Why Governance-First CFOs Are Now A Distinct Hiring Track
Governance-first CFOs are now a separate hiring track. Learn why boards and PE firms are prioritising control, assurance and reporting discipline in finance leaders.
Read →
Hiring for a Function That Will Double: Build for the Business You Are Becoming
How to hire finance roles for a function set to double, building for the business you are becoming rather than the one you have today.
Read →
Why The Best CFO Hires Start With The Outgoing CFO
The strongest CFO hires begin with a proper handover from the departing finance chief. Here is how boards turn an exit into a better appointment.
Read →
The Most Common Mis-Hire Finance Leaders Make at the Financial Controller Level
The most common Financial Controller mis-hire is picking a technical accountant when your team needs an operator. Here is how to spot it before you offer.
Read →
The Hidden Signal In Every CFO Cover Letter Boards Miss
The strongest signal in a CFO cover letter is not achievement. It is how a candidate frames ownership. Here is what boards routinely overlook.
Read →
Why Founders Keep Underestimating What A First CFO Costs In Total
The true cost of a first CFO is rarely the salary. Here is what founders miss on bonus, equity, hiring fees and the cost of a wrong hire.
Read →
The Two Reference Questions That Predict CFO Success Best
The two reference questions that predict CFO success: how they handled bad news, and whether the referee would hire them again in a crisis.
Read →
Head of FP&A vs FP&A Manager: The Difference Is Not Just Seniority
A CFO's practical guide to the real difference between a Head of FP&A and an FP&A Manager, and how to hire the right one for your team.
Read →
The Interim CFO Trap Boards Keep Falling Into
Interim CFOs solve short-term gaps but boards often mistake stability for a permanent solution. Here is how to avoid the trap.
Read →
The Transactional Team Is Not an Afterthought, It Is Your Foundation
Why your transactional finance team underpins reporting, forecasting and your own week, and how to hire and structure it well.
Read →
CASE STUDY: £75m Healthcare Group Where The Board Hired Interim, Then Realised Why
A £75m healthcare group hired an interim CFO to bridge a gap, then discovered what the role actually needed. The lesson for boards and PE operating partners.
Read →
What Good Actually Looks Like in a Financial Controller in 2026
A practical guide for CFOs and Finance Directors on what a strong Financial Controller delivers in 2026, and how to hire and spot one.
Read →
The Two Weeks After A CFO Signs An Offer That Predict Retention
The fortnight after a CFO signs, not the first 90 days, predicts whether they stay. Here is what board members and CEOs should do in that window.
Read →
How to Structure a Transactional Finance Team That Scales Past 100m Revenue
A practical guide for CFOs and FDs on structuring a transactional finance team that scales cleanly past 100m revenue without adding headcount blindly.
Read →
CASE STUDY: £65m SaaS Group Where The Internal FD Beat Four External CFOs
How an internal FD outperformed four external CFO candidates at a £65m SaaS group, and what the board learned about promoting from within.
Read →
The Boardroom Question That Reveals A CFO's Real Strategic Depth
The one question that separates a strategic CFO from a capable accountant. What to ask, why it works, and how to read the answer.
Read →
Why Your Head of FP&A Should Not Report Into Your Financial Controller
Your Head of FP&A and your Financial Controller do different jobs. Making one report to the other quietly weakens both. Here is why, and what to do.
Read →
The New CFO Search Timeline That Actually Works
A realistic CFO search runs 12 to 16 weeks from brief to signed offer. Here is the timeline that works, and where most boards lose momentum.
Read →
Why Boards Now Interview For The Second CFO Hire, Not The First
Smart boards hire a CFO who can survive their own succession. Here is why the second-hire lens produces better first appointments.
Read →
When To Add A Head Of FP&A, And What Changes When You Do
When to add a Head of FP&A to your finance team, the signals that say it's time, and what shifts in your week once the role lands.
Read →
When to Hire a Financial Controller and When You Actually Need a Head of Finance
A practical guide for CFOs and FDs on choosing between a Financial Controller and a Head of Finance, with clear signals for each hire.
Read →
The Finance Hire That Gives A CFO Their Week Back
The right number two frees a CFO from month-end firefighting. Here is the hire that gives you your week back, and how to get it right.
Read →
What UK Finance Leaders Actually Earn in 2026
Live median pay for CFOs, Finance Directors and Finance Managers in the UK, drawn from verified submissions to our live UK finance pay benchmark.
Read →
How To Hire A Financial Controller Who Takes Work Off Your Plate
A finance leader's guide to hiring a Financial Controller who owns the close, runs the team, and genuinely frees up your week.
Read →
FC Or Head Of Finance? Which Your Function Actually Needs Next
A practical guide for CFOs and FDs deciding whether to hire a Financial Controller or a Head of Finance for the layer below them.
Read →
Why £30m Businesses Now Need To Hire The CFO 12 Months Earlier
Mid-market and PE-backed firms are hiring CFOs a year sooner. Here is why the timing has shifted and what it means for your board and hiring plan.
Read →
The Investor Meeting Style That Kills Second-Time CFO Applications
Why the presentation habits that impressed one board can sink a second-time CFO's next application, and what hiring boards actually watch for.
Read →Browse by topic
Work with Harper May
Three ways to put this to use.
Hiring a finance leader?
Send us the brief. We reply the same working day with a view on the market and how we would run the search.
Tell us about your vacancyWant the fortnightly brief?
Market reads, pay data and live roles, for the people who hire finance leaders. No fluff.
Subscribe free →Scoping a finance role?
Use our finance leader scorecard to pin down the remit, the must-haves and the pay range before you start.
Build your scorecard →