How to hire a finance director

How to hire a finance director, step by step

Here's a step-by-step finance director hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a finance director job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new finance director
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a finance director do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The finance director hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A finance director's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, finance directors from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list presents finance director salaries for various positions.

   Type of Finance Director	Description	Hourly rate
   Finance Director	Financial managers are responsible for the financial health of an organization. They produce financial reports, direct investment activities, and develop strategies and plans for the long-term financial goals of their organization.	$36-87
   Director Of Administration & Finance	A director of administration finance oversees and directs an organization's administration and finance department, ensuring operations run smoothly and efficiently according to company standards and regulations. It is their duty to set goals and guidelines, lead the research and development efforts, establish procedures, manage the budgets and costs, review and evaluate financial reports, and implement the organizations' policies and standards... Show more	$35-77
   Director Of Operations And Finance	A director of operations and finance is in charge of overseeing and spearheading business and financial operations, ensuring efficiency and smooth workflow. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify the best practices to optimize operations, coordinating with different departments to gather data, conducting research and analysis to identify new business and investment opportunities, and monitoring the progress of various projects and programs... Show more	$37-87

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • CPA
   • Financial Analysis
   • Payroll
   • Work Ethic
   • Oversight
   • Financial Management
   • GAAP
   • Financial Data
   • Internal Controls
   • Financial Performance
   • Hyperion
   • Customer Service
   • Balance Sheet
   • Executive Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage treasury functions considering the inflationary situation and changes in economic patterns to minimize any negative impact they may involve.
   • Improve internal controls and operating efficiency by training accountants and converting general ledger reconciliations to GAAP formats.
   • Prepare financial data and footnotes for independent CPA annual audit financial statements.
   • Develop financial models in Hyperion to aggregate sales data and allocate expenses for profitability analysis.
   • Complete Sarbanes-Oxley procedural requirements for entire incentive development, administration and reporting process.
   • Develop an electronic billing capacity and are the first Montana health care provider to bill Medicaid electronically.

   More finance director duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your finance director job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A finance director can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, finance directors' average salary in alaska is 46% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level finance directors 58% less than senior-level finance directors.
   • Certifications. A finance director with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a finance director's salary.

   Average finance director salary

   $118,518yearly

   $56.98 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level finance director salary

   $76,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 1, 2026

   Average finance director salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$144,203	$69
   2	New York	$131,112	$63
   3	Massachusetts	$126,352	$61
   4	New Jersey	$124,042	$60
   5	Connecticut	$118,875	$57
   6	Pennsylvania	$118,567	$57
   7	Michigan	$114,628	$55
   8	District of Columbia	$112,965	$54
   9	Virginia	$111,422	$54
   10	Maryland	$109,842	$53
   11	Texas	$109,661	$53
   12	Oregon	$108,939	$52
   13	Nevada	$108,708	$52
   14	Washington	$106,813	$51
   15	Arizona	$105,622	$51
   16	North Carolina	$103,846	$50
   17	Illinois	$103,246	$50
   18	Maine	$102,930	$49
   19	Indiana	$101,144	$49
   20	Minnesota	$100,307	$48

   Average finance director salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Meta	$216,489	$104.08	22
   2	Google	$207,286	$99.66	47
   3	Maine Health/maine Mental Health Partners	$206,472	$99.27	5
   4	Barclays	$202,314	$97.27	5
   5	Proskauer Rose	$201,619	$96.93
   6	Citi	$193,509	$93.03	26
   7	Chegg	$193,445	$93.00
   8	McKinsey & Company Inc	$192,051	$92.33
   9	The Rockefeller Foundation	$191,802	$92.21	4
   10	Deutsche Bank	$191,679	$92.15	17
   11	Centerbridge Partners	$190,784	$91.72
   12	Cohen & Steers	$189,274	$91.00
   13	Genentech	$188,428	$90.59
   14	Uber Technologies	$187,076	$89.94
   15	BNY Mellon	$185,801	$89.33	40
   16	MUFG EMEA	$183,039	$88.00
   17	Boston Consulting Group	$182,660	$87.82	3
   18	Archdiocese of Omaha	$182,081	$87.54
   19	Cisco	$180,148	$86.61	5
   20	PVH	$179,944	$86.51	7

4. Writing a finance director job description

   A job description for a finance director role includes a summary of the job's main responsibilities, required skills, and preferred background experience. Including a salary range can also go a long way in attracting more candidates to apply, and showing the first name of the hiring manager can also make applicants more comfortable. As an example, here's a finance director job description:

   Finance director job description example

   General Dynamics a world class aerospace defense contractor conveniently located in Anniston AL, seeks a qualified Director of Finance to support its Ordnance and Tactical Systems (OTS) Anniston Operations facility. In addition to a competitive salary, benefits include, but are not limited to, medical insurance, an incentive bonus plan, 401K matching, tuition reimbursement, 9/80 schedule and 3 weeks of paid vacation/PTO accrued in the first year. Start your next mission by applying today!
   Major Position Responsibilities Oversees various financial functions such as budgeting, auditing, forecasting, and analysis. Overall SBU forecasting. EBIT growth. Develops and administers program budgets and financial plans. Indirect budgeting and cost control. Ensures compliance with internal policies and procedures, as well as DAR, FAR, SOX and other government regulations. Ensure that accounting policies, procedures and controls are executed consistent with General Dynamics' policy and SOX, and that financial records reflect the organization's performance. Participates in the preparation and review of cost proposals and contract modifications. Oversight on significant new strategically priced proposals. Provides management with financial analysis and reporting to ensure costs are controlled and profits maximized. Provide overall guidance and direction to organization. Strategic initiatives and Risk assessment. Supervises and develops assigned finance personnel. Diagnoses and solves key business problems utilizing and integrating organizational resources. Develops new ideas and methods while assessing potential impact to business. Focuses people's energy to meet objectives. Ability to implement a business level plan of checks and balances to identify problems early and quickly. Ensure business is delivering timely and accurate internal and external financial deliverables. Engages with external customer to resolve complex contractual and financial issues. Anticipates and understands customer needs and takes proactive action to meet those needs. Manages customer expectations. Communicates clear vision of team direction and aligns projects with key company and business goals. Establishes career path for organization. Builds and manages partnerships and teams to deliver on major projects. Basic Qualifications Required Education: Bachelor's Degree
   Preferred Education: Master's Degree Discipline/Major: Finance or a related business discipline, or the equivalent combination of education, professional training, or work experience. Years and Area of Experience (required for the role): 15 or more years of related finance or business analysis experience, including supervisory experience. Knowledge, Skills & Abilities: • Advanced knowledge of the practices, procedures and processes of financial analysis.
   • Knowledge of relevant laws, regulations, and policies.
   • Knowledge of relevant software applications.
   • Effective Supervisory skills.
   • Advanced ability to analyze and present complex financial information in simple terms, presenting conclusions and recommendations to next level manager
   • Advanced ability to manage all programs within a sector, with an advanced knowledge of different contract types.
   • Advanced understanding of accounts receivable and collection cycles as well as after-tax cash calculation. Accountable for sector level cash forecasts. Maximizes cash flow by exercising strong cash management techniques.
   • Advanced forecasting skills with the ability to forecast across a sector. Ability to understand impact of business decisions impact and provide analysis to business segment leader.
   • Review strategic and task order pricing, providing pricing recommendations. Ensure that pricing is compliant with estimating policy and supports SBU sector growth objectives.
   • Advanced understanding of overhead rate centers applying knowledge to bid decisions. Accountable for indirect budgets. Develops plan to control overhead expenditures.
   • Advanced understanding of CAS and FAR regulations. Ability to decide appropriate action for routine contractual and financial reporting based on interpretation of FAR & CAS.

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5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find finance directors for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your finance director job on Zippia to find and recruit finance director candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with finance director candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new finance director

   Once you've selected the best finance director candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new finance director. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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