Before a Series A, an Australian startup needs four things in finance: accrual books closed every month, a forward model someone other than the founder can defend, core metrics defined once, and clean housekeeping before diligence starts.
Books on an accrual basis, closed every month
The baseline is accrual books. That means historical statements (profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow) prepared on an accrual basis in standard software such as Xero, with a month-end close that runs on a fixed timetable rather than whenever someone gets to it. If revenue and costs are still booked when cash moves, the accruals work comes first. This guide is part of our guide to fundraising.
The part founders underestimate is who does this. An external accountant can tidy the books once. Keeping them clean every month, while the business grows, is the first finance hire's job.
A forward model someone other than the founder can defend
Investors at Series A expect a driver-based model: revenue assumptions, headcount, runway and expenses that move together, with base, upside and downside scenarios. A three to five year projection is the usual horizon.
A model only the founder can explain is a risk. If the founder is the only person who can walk an investor through the model, the model is a key person risk, and a finance hire is the fix. Finance leaders set out the modelling craft in what investors look for in founder-built financial models.
Core metrics, defined once
The metrics a Series A investor asks for are well known: ARR and its growth rate, net revenue retention, gross margin, CAC payback and burn. What matters is that each one has a single definition, calculated the same way every month, so the number in the deck matches the number in the board pack.
Housekeeping before anyone opens the data room
Before a Series A data room opens, an Australian startup needs a clean cap table, current signed contracts and reconciled statements, because due diligence findings on basic housekeeping can cost a lead investor. Bryn Leggett, founder of HelloCFO, once described to me a housekeeping mistake that resulted in a lead investor pulling out. These things are cheap to fix six months out and very hard to fix in the middle of a raise.
Who to hire first, and when
The first finance hire should land with the Seed round. The first CFO lands at late Series A or Series B. Where the first finance hire falls depends on the size of the raise. As I put it on a podcast where I talked through first finance hire timing, the first finance hire often comes with a big Seed or a Series A, for businesses that have raised somewhere between $10 and $20 million in Australia, or $5 to $10 million around Series A for a smaller business. That is typically a Financial Controller or Head of Finance, not a CFO.
For the Series A round itself, I work to $5m to $15m raised, and most companies are already 30 to 50 heads by the time it closes. That sits with the market data: Cut Through Venture's State of Australian Startup Funding 2025 puts the median Australian Series A at $11.0m. Fractional finance can carry a business while it is too early for a full-time hire, as I set out in what a capital raise involves, but the dedicated finance hire should be in the seat by the Series A at the latest.
That is the whole of my lane. As I said in this interview about how I built Story Recruitment, I recruit the first finance hire around late Seed or Series A, and the first CFO after that, for VC-backed tech, fintech and deep tech companies.
Whether that first hire should be a Financial Controller or a Head of Finance depends on what is breaking first.
What the right first finance hire looks like
Built, not inherited. The strongest signal is someone who has built a finance function from scratch, not just inherited one. A corporate background does not rule anyone out. Often it means they have seen what good looks like and know exactly what to create.
The trap: waiting for direction. Hiring someone technically strong who waits for direction is a mistake I see often in startups: the founder hires a senior person and still feels like they are running the finance function themselves. The people who work at this stage tend to want to be operational and embedded in the business, not sitting in a traditional finance silo.
Direct experience of a raise. I recently worked with a candidate who supported fundraising due diligence and led the finance function through acquisitions and a complex group consolidation while the business was scaling. On a CV, the line that matters is the raise itself, with the number attached. The example I give finance leaders is “played a lead role in raising Series A funding of $10m AUD via venture capital partners”.
Where to find a first finance hire in Australia
By my count only around 200 to 300 people in Australia have successfully built and scaled a finance function from scratch, and they are not on Seek. They get approached directly, through networks and through specialist recruiters, which is why a structured search for a startup finance leader beats a job ad at this stage.
The person who gets you to Series A may not get you to B
The finance hire who is perfect at building the foundations will likely lead the function through to Series A. Moving towards a Series B with institutional investors brings very different requirements, and it is also very likely that the CFO you hire at Series B will not be the one who scales with you to IPO or exit. Plan the hire for the next stage, and accept when the stage after it needs someone else. If you are running a fractional CFO alongside the first hire, the first full-time CFO usually comes at late Series A or Series B.
Common questions
When should an Australian startup make its first finance hire?
For a Head of Finance or Financial Controller, the Seed round is the trigger. Series A is usually too late, because most companies are already 30 to 50 heads by then and the books, model and metrics an investor will check need to exist before the raise starts.
Should the first finance hire before a Series A be a CFO?
Usually not. Around a big Seed or a Series A, the first finance hire is typically a Financial Controller or Head of Finance. The first CFO usually comes later, at late Series A or Series B.
What does a startup need in finance before a Series A?
Accrual books closed every month, a driver-based forward model with scenarios that someone other than the founder can explain, core metrics with one agreed definition each, and clean housekeeping such as the cap table and contracts before diligence starts.
Will the finance hire who gets us to Series A take us to Series B?
Often not. The person who builds the foundations will likely lead the function through to Series A, but a Series B with institutional investors brings different requirements, so plan for the next hire rather than assuming one person covers every stage.
These guides set out how we see it, drawn from the searches we run and the finance leaders we work with. They are general information about the market, not financial, accounting or legal advice, and they are no substitute for advice on your own circumstances.