A retained CFO search at Story Recruitment costs 18% of the hire's total remuneration, paid in thirds, with a six-month replacement guarantee. A search averages about three weeks from brief to signed contract; the start date then depends on a notice period, usually three months.
Do you need a recruiter to hire a CFO?
You need a recruiter for a CFO hire when the people you want are employed and not looking, and nobody in your business has hired for finance before. At first-CFO level, both are usually true.
Most founders come from growth, product, tech or science, not finance, so they do not have the network or the pattern recognition they lean on when they hire engineers. Their talent team usually cannot fill the gap either, because, as I said on Celia's Corner, “finance is always really lean. In a 50-person business, you're probably not going to have more than one or two finance people.” Nobody in-house has run this search twice.
And the candidates are scarce. The finance leader who has built a function well, scaled a business, and wants to do it again is, in the same conversation, “much rarer than people realise.” They are rarely on a job board. A specialist earns the fee by already knowing who they are.
You probably do not need one if your own network already holds two or three credible first-time CFOs you trust, or if the job is really a head of finance you can find through your investors. In that case, run the process yourself using the step-by-step CFO hiring process, and bring in a fractional CFO to assess candidates technically.
What CFO recruitment costs in Australia
CFO recruitment in Australia is priced as a percentage of the hire's first-year package, and the models differ mainly in when you pay and what happens if the hire fails. Contingent recruiters are paid only if you hire their candidate. Retained search is paid in stages as the work is done, which is why it is the default for senior roles where the candidates have to be found rather than advertised to.
Here are our terms; most firms do not publish theirs. Our retained search fee is 18% of total remuneration, including salary and super.[1] It is paid in thirds, as I explained on the Honest Wealth Builders podcast: a third when the assignment starts, a third when the shortlist is presented and interviews are booked, and the final third about ten days after the candidate accepts in writing. If the hire does not work out in the first six months, for any reason, I run the replacement for free.
| What it means for you | Our terms | |
|---|---|---|
| Fee | A known cost, set against the package you agree with the hire. | 18% of total remuneration, including super. |
| When you pay | Payments track work delivered, not only the outcome. | A third at the start, a third at shortlist and interviews, a third about ten days after written acceptance. |
| If it does not work out | The risk of a failed hire does not sit only with you. | A free replacement search within the first six months. |
| Who runs it | One person from brief to offer. | Tom Hunter, personally, on every search. |
To make it concrete: on a CFO package of $300,000 total remuneration, an 18% fee is $54,000, paid as three instalments of $18,000. For what that package should be at your stage, use our CFO salary bands rather than a generic guide.
Measure the fee against the cost of getting it wrong. A mis-hired finance leader costs time, attention, momentum and morale, and usually another three months before the underlying problem is resolved.[2] That is the risk the guarantee exists to share.
How long a CFO search takes
A CFO search has two clocks: the search itself, from brief to signed contract, and the notice period, from signature to first day. On my searches the first clock averages about three weeks, through a first interview, a case study and a final coffee.[3] That speed depends on a clear brief and a network that already existed.
The second clock is the one founders forget. Most CFOs at companies under 200 to 300 staff are on three months' notice, and senior finance candidates worth hiring are almost always employed.[4] So even a fast search puts your CFO in the seat about four months after the brief. If the appointment also carries a directorship, the company must obtain the person's written consent before appointing them, so build that into the paperwork.
| What happens | Where the fee falls | |
|---|---|---|
| Brief | The real story of the role, the level and the scorecard, agreed with the founder. | First third, when the assignment starts. |
| Story post, mapping and outreach | The role goes to market as a story, alongside direct approaches to people who are not looking. | Covered by the first third. |
| Shortlist | A small number of met and assessed candidates, with trade-offs. | Second third, when the shortlist is presented and interviews booked. |
| Three interview stages | Get to know each other, a case study, a culture conversation. | No payment. |
| Offer and acceptance | References with permission, then a signed contract. | Final third, about ten days after written acceptance. |
| Notice and first six months | Usually three months of notice, then the first 90 days. | Replacement guarantee runs for six months. |
How a CFO search runs
It starts with the brief, before any job description. I sit with the founder and write down the real story of the business: the environment, the problems the person will walk into on day one, and what they have to build.[5] That brief then does two jobs. It becomes the scorecard every candidate is assessed against, and it becomes a public post telling the story of the role.
That post is the part of the method people ask me about most. Senior finance people who would never answer an ad will reply to a story about a business they find interesting. Earlier this year a role I posted this way was placed within about six hours, because of the number of people who got in touch off the back of it, as I described on Honest Wealth Builders. Alongside the post runs market mapping and direct outreach, plus referrals from the senior CFOs I have come to know through The CFO Track podcast.
The shortlist should be a decision, not a pile: a small number of people I have met and assessed against the brief, each with a clear trade-off. Then comes the process I use with every client, a get-to-know-you conversation, a case study built on a real finance problem in the business, and a culture conversation, which the guide to interviewing a CFO or head of finance sets out in detail.
For the stage-by-stage mechanics of retained search, I set out how a finance executive search runs.
Where first CFOs are found
A first-CFO search that only looks at sitting CFOs in your sector is looking at a very short list. When we traced the previous employer of every first-hire CFO among the funded Australian startups we tracked (56 of them), 23% (13) came from a large non-tech corporate, 18% (10) from another startup, 13% (7) from a private non-tech business, 11% (6) from a not-for-profit or government body, 9% (5) from an accounting or advisory firm and 7% (4) from a bank. Only one came straight from a Big 4 firm.
The three pools I search are step-up heads of finance who have carried the scope without the title, CFOs from smaller businesses who have done the work themselves, and operators from adjacent sectors. The last pool is the one founders miss. For deep tech in particular, Australia has an exceptional group of finance leaders sitting in manufacturing, defence and resources, and most founders do not know to look there.[6]
Tom Hunter's view: One pool Australian startups overlook is finance talent with offshore experience. As I said on Brewed Abroad, “especially in the startup space, most businesses need to get overseas revenue to expand and scale to where they need to go. They need to go to bigger markets like the US, Europe, UK, wherever. So bringing in people that naturally have that experience already seems like such an easy win. But we don't seem to see it that way, which I find perplexing.” (Brewed Abroad, Episode 26)
Once the hire is made, expect it to be for a stage rather than for ever. Among first-hire CFOs in the study who have since left, the median stay was 24 months (38 leavers of the 56 first-hire CFOs we tracked). That is a reason to brief for the next 18 to 24 months rather than the next five years.
What to ask a CFO recruiter before you brief them
Five questions separate a specialist from a generalist desk, and any good firm will answer all of them in the first call.
- How many first CFOs have you placed in the last year, at my stage? A firm that mostly places replacement CFOs at listed companies is running a different search.
- How are you paid, and when? Ask for the fee as a percentage of total remuneration and the milestones.
- What is the replacement guarantee, and what voids it? Read the exclusions, not the headline number of months.
- Who will actually run the search? The person you meet should be the person who meets the candidates.
- Can you show me the market before I sign? A specialist can sketch who is out there, at what level and at what price, from memory.
If you want a view of the firms that can run this search, we publish a ranking of the best CFO recruiters in Australia on criteria anyone can check, and how to choose a finance recruitment agency covers the wider market. Hiring in a specific city? We run CFO recruitment in Sydney and CFO recruitment in Melbourne on the same terms.
When a recruiter is the wrong call
A recruiter is the wrong call when you do not yet need a full-time CFO. If the finance workload is a raise, a model and a monthly board pack, a fractional CFO is cheaper and more useful, and I will tell you that rather than run a search you do not need. I keep a referral list of the fractional and virtual CFO advisers I rate and share it with any business that asks.[7]
It works in both directions. As I said on Honest Wealth Builders, “the fractional relationship with a provider might only be 18 to 24 months,” and when a business outgrows its provider, the provider often refers it back to me for the permanent hire. If that is where you are, the guide to fractional CFOs in Australia sets out when the arrangement has run its course. If you are a finance leader reading this for the other side of the table, stepping into your first CFO role is written for you.
Common questions
How much does CFO recruitment cost in Australia?
Specialist CFO search is priced as a percentage of the hire's first-year package. Our retained fee is 18% of total remuneration including super, paid in thirds (at the start, at shortlist, and about ten days after written acceptance), with a free replacement if the hire does not work out in the first six months. On a $300,000 package that is $54,000.
How long does it take to recruit a CFO?
There are two clocks. The search, from brief to signed contract, averages about three weeks on my searches, though that depends on a clear brief and an existing network. The notice period then usually adds three months, because most CFOs at companies under 200 to 300 staff are on three months' notice. Plan on the CFO starting roughly four months after the brief.
What is the difference between retained and contingent CFO recruitment?
A contingent recruiter is paid only if you hire a candidate they introduce, so the work tends to favour whoever is available now. Retained search is paid in stages as the work is done, and it is the usual model for senior roles where the best candidates are employed and have to be approached rather than advertised to.
Do I need a recruiter to hire a CFO?
Not always. If your network already includes credible first-time CFOs, or the job is really a head of finance your investors can introduce, you can run the process yourself with a fractional CFO helping you assess candidates. A specialist earns the fee when the people you want are employed and not looking, which at first-CFO level is most of them.
Where do startup CFOs come from?
Rarely from a job board. The three pools I search are step-up heads of finance who have carried the scope without the title, CFOs from smaller businesses, and finance leaders in adjacent sectors such as manufacturing, defence and resources, which is where many of the best deep tech CFOs sit. Of the 56 first-hire CFOs in our study of funded Australian startups, 23% (13) came from a large non-tech corporate and 18% (10) from another startup; only one came straight from a Big 4 firm.
References
- Our Story Recruitment commercial terms for retained search, as published across our hiring guides: 18% of total remuneration including salary and superannuation, and a six-month replacement guarantee on retained placements.
- What I see when I am brought in after a bad finance hire: the cost runs much further than salary, and the business usually loses another three months before the underlying problem is actually fixed.
- My average across CFO and finance searches, counted from the brief meeting to contract signing: about three weeks.
- My advice on notice: most strong senior finance candidates are employed with four weeks' notice or more, so insisting on a two-week start can rule out half the pool, and at CFO level three months is the norm for companies under 200 to 300 staff.
- Most founders do not come from a finance background, so without a proper brief they are writing a finance job description based on guesswork and hoping the CV looks about right. I have spent almost ten years speaking with founders and startup finance people through raises, runway problems and R&D tax claims, which is what the brief draws on.
- The classic deep tech ask is a CFO who has done it before in deep tech, with R&D tax offsets, long commercialisation timelines, government grants and capital conversations that do not follow a standard playbook. The adjacent-sector pool is where much of that experience sits.
- I started the list because I get asked for referrals regularly, and with so many experienced finance executives moving into fractional and virtual CFO work, businesses find it harder to know who to trust.
CFO salaries in Australian startups: the data
Our Startup Finance Salary Database holds 256 sourced salary figures from 104 funded Australian startups: pay bands from the companies' own job ads, and salaries reported for the same role at the same company. Every figure links to its source.
- CFO salaries (2 figures)
- Finance salaries in tech startups (170 figures)
- Finance salaries in deep tech startups (37 figures)
- Finance salaries in fintech startups (30 figures)
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.