The right shape of finance function at each scale
The finance function that works at £10m turnover looks very different to the one that works at £50m, and different again at £150m. Boards that keep the same shape of function as the business scales usually find themselves with a CFO trying to hold too much and a second layer that has not grown into the depth the business needs.
Which roles to hire in what order
The sequence that works, based on the placements we have made in businesses across the £5m to £250m turnover range:
- Under £10m: bookkeeper plus part-time controller or outsourced finance. No permanent senior hire yet.
- £10m to £25m: Financial Controller as the first senior finance hire. Full ownership of close, controls, audit, reporting.
- £25m to £50m: add a Head of FP and A or a Head of Finance above the Controller. Forecasting and business partnering start to matter.
- £50m to £100m: the true CFO seat opens. The Controller and Head of FP and A remain, both reporting to the CFO.
- £100m to £250m: add a Group Financial Controller if the group structure demands it, add a Head of Tax, potentially add a dedicated Treasury lead.
- £250m plus: a mature finance function with specialist heads under the CFO.
Every stage transition is usually triggered by a specific event (a fundraise, an acquisition, a listing) rather than by turnover crossing a threshold. Use the sequence as a shape guide, not a prescription.
When to hire a Group Financial Controller before a CFO
For businesses at the £15m to £30m mark, the fashionable answer is to hire a CFO. The right answer is often a Group Financial Controller for 12 to 18 months, then a CFO once the function has been properly built. Hiring a CFO into a business that needs Controller work usually results in a miscast hire who leaves inside a year.
The number two below the CFO is the most under-hired role right now
The single most common gap we see in mid-market finance functions is the layer directly below the CFO. Boards are usually looking at the wrong seat: they think the answer is a better CFO when the answer is a stronger number two, freeing the current CFO to actually be a CFO.
What the articles below cover
Practical guidance on the shape of the finance function at each business scale, which role to hire next, how to time each transition, and how to keep the function scaling with the business rather than lagging it.
