Start with the job, not the duty list
The specification is not a compliance document, it is your first conversation with the person you want. The way I work is to sit with founders before the job description is written, crafting a brief that tells the real story of the business, including the actual environment and problems the person will walk into on day one, focused on what they need to build.[1] Write that down and the specification writes itself. Skip it and you produce a template.
The commercial case for getting this right is direct. I saved a client over $25,000 in recruitment costs with a single call, by helping them adjust a Finance Manager job ad's value proposition, title and salary alignment to market conditions. Interviews were booked in four days and a candidate signed soon after.[2] Same role, same market, one rewrite. The specification is the cheapest lever in the whole process.
The core responsibilities to include
For an Australian startup or scale-up, a finance manager specification should cover the following, described in terms of your business rather than in the abstract:
- Month-end close and reporting. State the current close time honestly. If it takes twelve days, say so, because that is usually manual data pulls from three systems, Excel reconciliation and reformatting for board reports,[3] and the right candidate will read that as an opportunity rather than a warning.
- Forecasting and cash. Runway, rolling forecast, actual versus forecast. Say who currently owns it and what they are using.
- Board and investor reporting. Say whether the board pack exists yet and who builds it today.
- Commercial partnering. The part where hiring plans get properly tested before they become commitments, reporting gets clearer and cash conversations get more accurate.[4]
- Systems and process. Name the actual stack. A candidate who has moved a business off Excel and email onto ERP, payroll, banking and expense systems[5] will self-select in or out on this line alone.
Qualifications and experience: what to require and what not to
Require CA or CPA if you genuinely need it, and be honest if you do not. Three to seven years post-qualification is the usual band for a finance manager. Beyond that, most specifications over-specify industry and under-specify environment, which is the wrong way round for a startup.
The trait that actually predicts success is not the size of the previous employer. The best hires at this end are not defined by the size of their previous business, but by their ability to think when there is no playbook.[6] Write that requirement into the specification in plain terms: you want someone who has built rather than maintained. It filters better than any years-of-experience line.
Two requirements worth deleting. Delete "local experience only" unless it is genuinely essential, because the Australian market carries a bias towards recent local experience that is rarely openly discussed and it discards real capability.[7] And be careful with a "stable career history" line: candidates with a failed business on their CV will come in with more drive, more experience and more to prove than almost anyone else you will interview.[8]
Salary, level and the title trap
Put a real number in. Current Australian ranges are $140-170k plus super for a Finance Manager and $160-200k plus super for a Financial Controller, depending on industry, business size and location.[9] For a genuine first finance hire, around $180k gets you someone excellent who can significantly advance the business.[10]
Get the level right before the words. For early-scale startups up to around 20 staff, the finance team does not need to be big, it needs agility, usually led by a Finance Manager or a hands-on Financial Controller supported by a bookkeeper or an outsourced accounting firm.[11] If your specification describes the whole finance function under a Finance Manager title, you are hiring a Financial Controller and should say so, or you will lose the candidates who can do it.
| A template specification | A specification that gets replies | |
|---|---|---|
| The opening | Company boilerplate and funding history. Nothing a candidate cannot get from your website. | The single most attractive thing about this role, in the first line, written directly to the person you want. |
| The responsibilities | A duty list that could describe any finance function in the country. Attracts volume, not fit. | The actual state of the close, the forecast and the stack, including the parts that are broken. |
| The requirements | Years of experience, local experience only, stable career history, and a long list of systems. | Evidence they can build with no playbook. A real salary band. Nothing that screens out capability for no reason. |
How to write it so people read it
The first line of the advert is critical and must hook the reader by immediately presenting the most attractive benefit of the role.[12] Not the company boilerplate, not the funding history. The reason this job is worth leaving a stable role for. Then write to the individual, using "you" and detailing how the benefits apply specifically to the ideal candidate, rather than addressing a general audience.[13]
Two market realities to write against. Finance Manager roles have been drying up across Australia on job ad data,[14] which means your ad competes with fewer roles but also with candidates applying a level down from more senior titles. And 52% of Australian finance professionals would walk away from their current role today regardless of what their employer offered,[15] so the people you want are reachable. They are just not going to be reached by a duty list.
Before you set the band, the current Australian finance manager salary data by industry and stage is set out here.
Common questions
What should a finance manager job specification include?
Month-end close and reporting, forecasting and cash, board and investor reporting, commercial partnering, and systems and process, all described in terms of your actual business rather than in the abstract. State the current close time honestly, name the real stack, and say who owns each thing today. A candidate reading a specific description can self-select in or out, which is what you want. A generic duty list produces volume and no fit.
What salary should I put in a finance manager job spec?
A real one. Current Australian ranges are $140-170k plus super for a Finance Manager and $160-200k plus super for a Financial Controller, depending on industry, business size and location. If the role is genuinely the business's first finance hire, around $180k gets you someone excellent who can significantly advance the business. Leaving the band out signals that you have not benchmarked it, and misaligned salary is one of the most common reasons a search stalls.
What requirements should I leave out?
Two in particular. Drop a local-experience-only requirement unless it is genuinely essential, because the Australian market has a bias towards recent local experience that is rarely discussed openly and it discards real capability. And be careful with any stable-career-history line: candidates with a failed business on their CV often arrive with more drive, more experience and more to prove than almost anyone else you will interview. Screen for the ability to think with no playbook instead.
Am I hiring a finance manager or a financial controller?
Check the scope against the level before you write anything. For early-scale startups up to around 20 staff, the function needs agility rather than size, usually led by a Finance Manager or a hands-on Financial Controller supported by a bookkeeper or outsourced accounting firm. If your specification describes ownership of the entire finance function under a Finance Manager title, you are describing a Financial Controller. Naming it correctly fixes the salary band and the candidate pool in one move.
References
- Tom Hunter on briefing: sits with founders before the job description is written, crafting a brief that tells the real story of the business and the problems the person walks into on day one.
- Tom Hunter: saved a client over $25,000 in recruitment costs with a single call by adjusting a Finance Manager job ad's value proposition, title and salary alignment, leading to interviews in four days and a signed candidate soon after.
- Tom Hunter: a 12-day month-end close is often due to manual data pulls from three different systems, reconciliation in Excel, and reformatting for board reports.
- Tom Hunter: with strong finance ownership, reporting gets clearer, forecasts more believable, board prep less chaotic, cash conversations more accurate, and hiring plans properly tested before they become commitments.
- Story Recruitment candidate: implemented ERP, payroll, banking and expense systems, moving their previous business from reliance on Excel and email to automated workflows.
- Tom Hunter: the best first finance hires are not defined by the size of their previous business, but by their ability to think when there is no playbook.
- Tom Hunter: the Australian market carries a bias towards recent local experience that is rarely openly discussed, and undervalues significant international careers.
- Tom Hunter: candidates with a failed business on their CV will come in with more drive, more experience and more to prove than almost anyone else you will interview.
- Story Recruitment salary data: Finance Manager $140-170k + super, Financial Controller $160-200k + super, depending on industry, business size and location.
- Tom Hunter: around $180k, a founder can find an excellent first finance hire capable of significantly advancing the business.
- Tom Hunter on early-scale startups up to circa 20 staff: the finance team does not need to be big, it needs agility, often led by a Finance Manager or hands-on Financial Controller supported by a bookkeeper or outsourced accounting firm.
- Tom Hunter on job adverts: the first line is critical and must hook the reader by immediately presenting the most attractive benefit of the role.
- Tom Hunter on job adverts: write directly to the individual using 'you', detailing how the benefits apply specifically to the ideal candidate rather than addressing a general audience.
- Tom Hunter's deep dive into Australian accounting and finance job ad trends: Finance Manager roles are drying up across Australia.
- Story Recruitment Q2 2026 State of the Market report: 52% of Australian finance professionals would walk away from their current role today regardless of what their employer offered.