Businesses approaching £30m in revenue now need to start their CFO search around 12 months earlier than they would have five years ago, because the finance leadership demands of that stage have moved forward while the hiring market has slowed down. In practice, that means beginning the process when you are still an FD-led business, not waiting until the gaps in reporting, cash forecasting and board confidence are already visible.
This is not about vanity hiring. It is about matching the seniority of your finance function to the decisions the business is about to face.
What has actually changed at the £30m mark?
The £30m revenue point used to be a comfortable place for a strong Financial Controller or a hands-on FD. The finance job was largely about accurate reporting, payroll, compliance and keeping the auditors happy.
That has shifted. A business at £30m today is usually doing several things at once: raising or refinancing debt, integrating an acquisition, expanding internationally, or preparing for a sale or investment round. Each of those requires a finance leader who can model scenarios, hold a room of investors, and make trade-offs under uncertainty.
The work arrived earlier. So the hire has to arrive earlier too.
Why hire 12 months before you think you need to?
There are three reasons the timing has moved.
First, the search itself takes longer. A credible CFO at this level is almost always employed, often on a notice period of three to six months. Add the search, the interview process and the handover, and you are realistically looking at six to nine months from first conversation to full contribution.
Second, the value of a CFO is front-loaded around events. If you want a CFO to lead a fundraise or a sale, they need to be in the business well before the process starts. Bringing someone in the month before you go to market means they are learning the numbers while trying to defend them. That rarely ends well.
Third, the cost of a mis-timed hire is high. Hire too late and you either overload an FD who was never built for the role, or you parachute someone in during a crisis. Both damage board confidence at exactly the moment you need it.
What does the earlier CFO actually do in year one?
A CFO hired ahead of the curve spends the first six to nine months building the machine, not fixing it.
They put in place a forecasting model the board can trust. They tighten cash and working capital. They professionalise the monthly reporting so that when a lender or investor asks a question, the answer is already in the pack. They also build the finance team beneath them, which is often where the real leverage sits.
The difference is visible when pressure arrives. A business that hired early goes into a fundraise or a diligence process with clean numbers and a leader who knows them cold. A business that hired late spends the first month of any process apologising for the data room.
Does this apply to PE-backed businesses too?
Yes, and often more sharply. PE operating partners increasingly want the CFO in place early in the hold period, not in the final year before exit.
The reason is simple. Value creation plans depend on finance being able to measure and report against them from day one. A CFO brought in twelve months before exit inherits three years of decisions they cannot unwind. A CFO brought in early shapes those decisions and builds the equity story as it happens.
We see the same pattern on the buyer side across our own searches at Harper May. Boards that plan the finance hire around the business plan, rather than around the crisis, get better people and pay less to secure them.
What are the risks of hiring too early?
The honest answer is that you can hire too early, and it costs money. A full CFO on a £30m business with a stable, simple model may be underused for a while.
There are ways to manage that. Some businesses bring in a CFO on a part-time or fractional basis first, then move to full-time as the workload grows. Others hire a strong FD with clear CFO potential and back them with a non-executive or an advisory board.
The point is to plan the sequence deliberately. The mistake is to leave it to chance and then scramble.
How should a board start the process?
Start with the next 18 months of the business plan, not the current org chart. Ask what finance-led events are coming: a raise, a deal, a refinance, a systems change, a new market. Then ask whether your current finance leader can lead those, not just support them.
If the answer is uncertain, that is your signal to begin. Beginning early does not commit you to hiring tomorrow. It gives you the room to find the right person rather than the available one.
If you want to understand what is realistic in the current market, it helps to look at the live CFO and senior finance roles being worked on, which gives a sense of who is moving and why.
Common questions
When is it too early to hire a CFO? It is rarely too early to start the conversation. It can be too early to hire full-time if the business has a simple model and no major events on the horizon. In that case a fractional CFO or a strong FD with a clear development path is often the better first step.
Can an existing FD grow into the CFO role instead? Sometimes, and it is worth testing seriously before going external. The question is whether they can lead investor and lender conversations and shape strategy, not just run reporting. If there is doubt and a major event is coming, back them with external support or plan the hire.
How long does a CFO search realistically take? Expect six to nine months from first conversation to full contribution, once notice periods and handovers are included. That timeline is the main reason to start roughly twelve months before you need the person delivering.