The route, honestly described
The conventional ladder runs from accountant or analyst, through management accounting or financial reporting, into Finance Manager, then Financial Controller or Head of Finance, then CFO. In Australian startups the ladder is shorter and less tidy, because the seats appear as the business gets complicated rather than on a schedule.
One thing worth knowing early: the first CFO role usually is not with the same business. Normally you have to go elsewhere to get it.[1] A first CFO role gained through internal promotion is also a very different job to moving across businesses and being hired as a new CFO.[2] Internally you inherit relationships and credibility. Externally you have ninety days to build both.
The experience gaps that actually stop people
Most controllers who want the seat do not have a technical gap. They have an exposure gap. In the searches I run, founders and boards want to see someone who has raised capital, hired and led a team, and sat in a board meeting before.[3] If those three are missing from your history, that is the shortlist problem, not your close process.
Self-doubt about the technical side is common and usually misplaced. One finance leader described taking a CFO role while carrying doubt about their technical skills, having never been a group financial controller.[4] Almost every senior finance leader carries a version of that doubt internally, and very few say it out loud.[5] It is not a signal that you are not ready.
| The gap | How you actually close it | |
|---|---|---|
| Capital raising | Never been in the room | Get on the raise before you own it. Owning the model, the data room or investor Q&A under a CFO counts, and it is how most people get their first exposure. |
| Board exposure | Board pack goes up without you | Ask to present your own section. Being in the room, answering a director's question live, is what the next employer is testing for. |
| Leading a team | Strong individual contributor | Hire someone, manage someone out, own a headcount plan. Founders read team building as evidence you can scale the function you are inheriting. |
| Commercial partnering | Reporting only | Get in front of sales, product and operations. If you cannot show the business acting differently because of you, the exposure is not there yet. |
Qualifications: what matters and what does not
In Australia a CA or CPA is assumed on most CFO briefs. An MBA helps if you are pivoting toward general management or need the network, but I have never seen it decide a startup CFO shortlist. What actually gets tested is judgement, and no course confers it. An accounting degree does not prepare you for the difficult realities of the job beyond spreadsheets, compliance frameworks and audit checklists.[6]
I break down the specific CFO skills and qualifications founders and boards screen for, technical and otherwise here.
What the process actually tests
At final stage, candidates who can deliver the story, through a case study presentation or a real discussion about board packs, make a significant difference.[7] The panel is not checking whether you can build the model. They are checking whether you can stand in front of a board and be believed.
The relationship with the CEO is the other test, and it runs both ways. The CFO role transcends financial reporting into strategic advice, challenging decisions and critical business input, and if the CEO does not instinctively trust or enjoy working with the CFO, technical ability becomes irrelevant.[8] I would tell any candidate not to ignore discomfort with a CEO's communication, decision-making or energy during interviews. Chemistry is not a nice-to-have at this level, it is a must-have, and the discomfort usually intensifies once you are in the role.[9]
Timing, and the startup route
Most people reach a first CFO seat somewhere in their late thirties to mid forties, but the number of years matters far less than what is in them. The fastest route in Australia right now is through a VC-backed startup or scale-up, because complexity arrives before headcount does.
The first CFO hires I run are typically at businesses with 50-plus heads and $10 million-plus ARR.[10] Below that, the seat usually should not exist yet, and taking a CFO title at a business that is not ready is a fast way to spend two years doing a controller's job with an inflated title. Go in knowing that startup land means chaos and ambiguity, not a corporate environment with equity attached.[11]
If you have the offer, the next problem is the start. I set out what the first 90 days in a CFO seat should actually look like here.
Common questions
How do you become a CFO?
The conventional route runs from accountant or analyst through management accounting or financial reporting into Finance Manager, then Financial Controller or Head of Finance, then CFO. What separates the people who make the jump is exposure rather than technical depth: having raised capital, hired and led a team, and sat in a board meeting. Worth knowing that a first CFO role usually is not with your current employer, so you generally have to move to get it.
Do you need a CPA or an MBA to become a CFO?
In Australia a CA or CPA is close to assumed on most CFO briefs, so its absence needs explaining. An MBA is useful if you are pivoting toward general management or want the network, but it rarely decides a startup CFO shortlist. Neither qualification prepares you for the actual job. An accounting degree does not get you ready for the realities beyond spreadsheets, compliance frameworks and audit checklists.
What experience do boards look for in a first-time CFO?
Three things come up repeatedly: having raised capital, having hired and led a team, and having sat in a board meeting. Beyond that, the ability to deliver the story matters enormously at final stage. Candidates who can present a case study or talk credibly through a board pack separate themselves from candidates with identical technical backgrounds who cannot.
Is imposter syndrome normal when stepping into a first CFO role?
Yes, and it is close to universal. Almost every senior finance leader carries a version of self-doubt internally, and very few say it out loud. One CFO described taking the seat while doubting their technical skills because they had never been a group financial controller. It is not a signal that you are not ready. The people who succeed usually have a mentor in their corner while they find their feet.
References
- Tom Hunter on first CFO appointments: often the first CFO role is not with the same business, and normally you have to go elsewhere to get it.
- Tom Hunter on internal promotion: a first CFO role gained through internal promotion is very different to moving across businesses or being hired as a new CFO.
- Story Recruitment on what founders expect from a proper executive CFO hire at Series B: prior experience raising capital, hiring a team and sitting in board meetings.
- A CFO Track guest on stepping up: having not previously been a group financial controller, they carried self-doubt about their technical skills for the CFO position.
- Tom Hunter's observation that most senior finance leaders carry a version of self-doubt internally, but few express it aloud.
- Tom Hunter on formal study: an accounting degree does not prepare finance professionals for the difficult realities of the job, beyond spreadsheets, compliance frameworks or audit checklists.
- Tom Hunter on final-stage interviews: candidates who can deliver the story through case study presentations or discussions about board packs make a significant difference.
- Tom Hunter on the CFO remit: the role transcends financial reporting into strategic advice, challenging decisions and critical business input, and if the CEO does not instinctively trust or enjoy working with the CFO, technical ability becomes irrelevant.
- Tom Hunter's advice to CFO candidates: do not ignore discomfort with a CEO's communication, decision-making or energy during interviews. Chemistry is not a nice-to-have at this level, it is a must-have, and the discomfort usually intensifies in the role.
- Story Recruitment's ideal client for a first CFO hire: a business with 50-plus heads and $10 million-plus ARR.
- Tom Hunter on joining a startup: do not expect a corporate environment enhanced with equity. Startup land means embracing chaos and ambiguity and rolling with whatever the day throws at you.