How to Hire a Finance Manager

The Finance Manager hire is one of the most consequential decisions a growing business makes in its early years. It is typically the point at which finance moves from a function the founder manages personally, or outsources to an external accountant, to a function with dedicated in-house leadership. Get this hire right and it creates the financial infrastructure the business needs to scale. Get it wrong and the problems (late management accounts, weak controls, unreliable cash flow visibility) compound quickly.

This guide covers what a growing business needs to know before hiring a Finance Manager: what the role should involve, the qualification question, what to pay, how to write the brief, how to run the search and the interviews, how to secure the candidate you choose, and the common mistakes that lead to a failed hire. Our Finance Manager recruitment page covers how we run these searches.

What a Finance Manager Does — and What They Are Not

The Finance Manager title is one of the most variable in the profession. In a large corporate it might describe a mid-level role managing a specific area: a business unit P&L, a cost centre or a reporting team. In a growing SME it typically means the most senior in-house finance professional, responsible for everything from month-end close to bank reconciliations to the relationship with the external accountant. Our guide to what a Finance Manager is covers the variations in more depth.

For the purposes of this guide, we are focused on the Finance Manager hire in a growing UK business, typically one with £3m–£15m revenue that has outgrown its current finance arrangements (usually a part-time bookkeeper, an external accountant for year-end, and the founder managing cash personally) and needs a dedicated in-house finance professional for the first time or as a significant upgrade. If that describes you, your first Finance Manager: the £5m revenue hire looks at that stage specifically.

In this context, the Finance Manager’s core responsibilities typically include:

• producing monthly management accounts (P&L, balance sheet and cash flow);
• managing the bookkeeper or accounts assistant beneath them;
• overseeing payroll, VAT and PAYE compliance;
• managing the day-to-day bank relationship and producing the cash flow forecast;
• liaising with the external accountant for year-end and Corporation Tax;
• keeping the accounting records the Companies Act 2006 requires; and
• providing financial information to the management team to support decisions on pricing, hiring and investment.

What the Finance Manager is not: a Financial Controller, Finance Director or CFO. The distinction matters for hiring because these roles attract different candidates at different salary levels with different experience profiles. A business that advertises a Finance Manager role but expects Financial Controller-level technical depth, or Finance Director-level strategic thinking, will consistently attract the wrong shortlist. Our comparison of the Financial Controller and Finance Manager roles sets out where one ends and the other begins.

Is a Finance Manager the Right Hire, or Do You Need Something More Senior?

Before committing to a Finance Manager search, it is worth establishing whether a Finance Manager is actually what you need.

A Finance Manager is typically the right hire when the business has a functioning bookkeeping or accounts payable and receivable process that produces reliable data, but lacks a qualified professional to turn that data into management information, spot issues in the numbers, and give the management team the financial clarity they need to run the business. The Finance Manager creates order, structure and reliability where the finance function has been informal or incomplete.

A Financial Controller is the right hire instead when the business has grown beyond £10m–£15m revenue, when the statutory accounts and audit management requirement demands a fully qualified accountant, or when the finance team has grown to the point where it needs a more senior leader than a Finance Manager can credibly provide. If your business is in this position, our Financial Controller recruitment page and the guide to when a Finance Manager is no longer enough are more relevant.

An accounts assistant or bookkeeper is the right hire if what you need is someone to do the day-to-day transactional work (processing invoices, bank reconciliations, payroll data entry) rather than someone to manage and report on the finances. Hiring a Finance Manager when you actually need a bookkeeper is an expensive way to solve an operational problem, and the Finance Manager is likely to leave within twelve months because the role does not use their skills. If the real gap is reporting rather than leadership, management accountant versus Finance Manager: which to hire first may help.

The Qualification Question

Whether to require a professional accounting qualification for a Finance Manager role is one of the most common questions growing businesses ask at this stage. The honest answer is that it depends on what you are asking this person to do.

If the Finance Manager will be responsible for producing the statutory accounts, managing the year-end audit, or preparing Corporation Tax returns, a qualified accountant (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) is effectively a requirement. The work sits within UK GAAP standards that change periodically.

If the Finance Manager’s role is primarily management accounts, budgeting, cash flow forecasting and financial insight for the management team, with an external accountant still handling statutory compliance, then a part-qualified or QBE (qualified by experience) candidate can be viable, particularly if the business is at an earlier stage and cannot yet justify the salary premium that full qualification commands.

The three main UK accountancy qualifications and their relevance at Finance Manager level:

ACA (ICAEW). The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales qualification. Strong in statutory reporting, audit and technical accounting under UK GAAP or IFRS. ACA-qualified Finance Managers typically bring a practice background and strong technical rigour. If your business has complex statutory reporting requirements or is about to go through its first external audit, ACA is a strong preference.

ACCA. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants qualification. A strong all-round, commercially oriented qualification. ACCA-qualified Finance Managers suit businesses that need a broad finance professional capable of both management reporting and compliance work.

CIMA (CGMA). The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants qualification, now administered through AICPA & CIMA. The most commercially and management-accounting focused of the three. CIMA-qualified Finance Managers typically excel at management information and commercial analysis. If your most pressing need is better management accounts and financial insight rather than statutory compliance, CIMA is often the strongest fit.

AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians) is a valid qualification at technician level and produces strong bookkeepers and finance assistants. It is not usually enough on its own for a Finance Manager carrying statutory responsibility, though it can suit a mainly transactional role at a smaller business. Our comparison of ACA, ACCA and CIMA for in-house finance goes further.

Salary Benchmarks for Finance Managers

Finance Manager salaries vary significantly by business size, sector, location and whether the candidate is fully qualified. The table below gives indicative base salary ranges across the UK. The Finance Manager salary guide breaks these down further, and our page on Finance Manager day rates and salary covers interim pricing.

A Finance Manager who is effectively covering a Financial Controller scope (statutory accounts ownership, audit management, full team management) should be paid at the upper end of these ranges or benchmarked against the Financial Controller salary guide instead. Paying Finance Manager rates for Financial Controller work is one of the most reliable causes of early attrition at this level.

When budgeting, remember that base salary is not the full cost. Employer National Insurance rose to 15% in April 2025 (see HMRC’s National Insurance rates), and pension contributions, any bonus, and the cost of systems and training sit on top. A clear route to Financial Controller can outweigh a slightly lower salary.

Writing the Brief and Job Description

The Finance Manager job description needs to do two things at once: accurately describe what the role involves so that you attract candidates who can do it, and communicate enough about the business and its trajectory to attract candidates who want to do it here rather than somewhere else.

Growing businesses consistently underestimate the appeal of the growth story. A Finance Manager joining a £5m business with a credible path to £20m in three years is taking on a role that will expand significantly in scope and seniority during their tenure. Lead with the business context and the opportunity, not just the list of responsibilities.

The core elements of a Finance Manager job description for a growing business:

• Business context: revenue, sector, stage of growth, ownership structure and headcount. Candidates at this level assess the business they are joining, not just the role. Be specific and honest.
• Reporting line and team: who this person reports to (CEO, MD or FD) and whether they manage anyone. The reporting line signals seniority; the team structure signals whether this is a leadership role or an individual contributor role.
• Scope of responsibilities: be specific about what this person will own. “Responsibility for all financial management” tells a candidate nothing. “Monthly management accounts to a day 8 close, weekly cash flow report, VAT returns, payroll oversight and bank relationship management” tells them exactly what they are signing up for.
• Qualification requirements: state whether you require full qualification (ACA, ACCA or CIMA) or will consider part-qualified or QBE candidates. Decide the requirement before you write the description, not after the applications arrive.
• Systems: name the accounting software you use (Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, NetSuite) so candidates can self-select, but do not make specific systems experience a hard requirement unless it is genuinely non-negotiable.
• Salary and benefits: include the salary range. Many strong finance candidates at this level will not apply to roles that do not publish one.

The Finance Manager job description template on this site gives a structured framework covering each of these elements.

Running the Search

There are three realistic routes to a Finance Manager: advertising directly, using your own network, or engaging a specialist recruiter. Advertising works when the role and salary are attractive and you have time to screen volume; networks produce good hires but rarely a choice; a specialist recruiter reaches the candidates who are not actively applying.

Whichever route you choose, agree three things internally before going to market: the salary range you will actually pay, who will interview and when, and how quickly you can make an offer. Searches stall most often on the last of these. With a clear brief and committed interview dates, a permanent shortlist typically arrives within one to two weeks. If you need cover while the permanent search runs, an interim Finance Manager can usually be in place within days; our guide to when interim cover beats a permanent hire explains the trade-offs, and how to brief a finance search that completes first time covers the briefing itself.

The Interview Process

A two-stage interview process is standard for a Finance Manager hire. A technical test is advisable where the role carries management accounts or financial reporting responsibility.

Stage one

Stage one should explore the candidate’s background, their track record in roles comparable to yours, and their approach to the core challenges of the position. For a Finance Manager in a growing business, the most revealing questions tend to cover how they have handled a late or difficult month-end close, how they have built or improved a management accounts process, how they explain financial performance to non-financial managers, and what they found most challenging about the finance function in their last role. Our list of Finance Manager interview questions gives a fuller set with what good answers sound like.

Technical assessment

A practical exercise testing the candidate’s ability to produce or review management accounts, find errors in a trial balance, or prepare a short cash flow forecast is a reasonable addition for roles that need these skills. Ask the candidate to talk you through their answer; how they explain a variance tells you as much as whether they found it.

Stage two

Stage two typically involves meeting the CEO, MD or a key member of the management team, and a more detailed discussion of scope, expectations and the business context. At this stage the candidate should also be asking probing questions. A strong Finance Manager candidate who does not ask about the current close timetable, the accounting software, or the relationship with the external accountant should prompt careful thought.

References and checks

References at Finance Manager level should come from line managers in recent roles who can speak to technical capability, attention to detail and the ability to manage upwards. Verify qualification status before an offer is made: the ICAEW member directory covers chartered accountants, and ACCA and CIMA both offer member search tools on their websites. Complete the right to work check before the start date.

Making the Offer and Securing the Candidate

The strongest candidates are usually employed and often in more than one process, so move quickly: a verbal offer within a day or two of the final interview, then a prompt written offer.

Expect a counter-offer. Ask at interview why the candidate wants to move and whether more money would change that. Our counter-offer guide covers how to handle it. Plan around notice periods too: one to three months is common at this level, so the date you need someone in seat should shape when the search starts. The guide to notice periods in finance covers the detail.

Common Mistakes When Hiring a Finance Manager

Hiring too junior and expecting too much. A newly qualified accountant in their first in-house role will need support and will not immediately produce the quality of management accounts or financial insight you are expecting. If you need someone to run the finance function independently from day one, hire an experienced Finance Manager with at least three to five years of post-qualification experience, not a newly qualified candidate who is cheaper but not ready for that level of autonomy.

Not explaining the current state of the finance function honestly. Every Finance Manager candidate wants to know the true state of the function they are inheriting. A finance function with no processes, unreliable data and no proper month-end close is not a problem if the candidate knows about it in advance; it is an opportunity to build something. But if you present it as better than it is and the candidate discovers the reality in week two, you risk losing them within six months.

Over-specifying software requirements. A strong Finance Manager will learn a new accounting system within a few weeks. Making Xero experience a hard requirement when you use Sage, or requiring NetSuite experience for a business that actually uses QuickBooks, narrows your candidate pool for no practical benefit. Specify the system you use so candidates can factor it in, but do not make it a hard filter.

Under-investing in the handover from the external accountant. In many growing businesses, much of the institutional knowledge about the finances sits with the external accountant rather than in-house. A structured handover, including access to the nominal ledger history, the year-end workings and the current tax position, is essential for the incoming Finance Manager to get up to speed without a months-long learning curve.

Not thinking about what comes next. The Finance Manager you hire today will, if they are good, grow in capability and expectation over the next two to three years. Think about whether this person will move into a Financial Controller role as the business grows, or whether you will need to hire above them at some point. Being honest about that during the hiring process significantly improves retention. See from Finance Manager to Financial Controller.

Permanent, Interim or Fractional?

An interim Finance Manager suits a gap (a resignation, parental leave, a system change or a year-end crunch) and can start within days; check the off-payroll working (IR35) position before engaging a contractor through a limited company. A fractional Finance Manager, working a day or two a week, suits a business that needs qualified oversight of the month-end and cash but not yet a full-time role. Where you need more senior oversight on a part-time basis, a fractional Financial Controller can sit above a bookkeeper, and Finance Director or CFO appointments run through our sister firm FD Capital.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to hire a Finance Manager?

With a clear brief and committed interview dates, a permanent shortlist typically arrives within one to two weeks. Add interviews and the candidate’s notice period, commonly one to three months, and most permanent hires start within two to four months of the search beginning. Interim cover can usually be arranged within days.

What should we pay a Finance Manager?

For a qualified Finance Manager with three to five years’ post-qualification experience, typically £55k–£70k in London, £48k–£62k in the South East and £44k–£56k in the Midlands and North. A senior Finance Manager acting as the sole finance hire in a £10m+ business typically commands £50k–£80k depending on location.

Does a Finance Manager need to be qualified?

If the role includes statutory accounts, the audit or Corporation Tax, yes: look for ACA, ACCA or CIMA. If the role is mainly management accounts and forecasting with an external accountant handling compliance, a part-qualified or QBE candidate can work well.

How do you charge?

Fees are agreed in writing before a search starts. Call our recruitment team on 0204 553 8893 or email recruitment@accountancycapital.co.uk to discuss your brief. Accountancy Capital is one of the five specialist firms of FD Capital Group, with offices at 167–169 Great Portland Street, London W1W 5PF, and Watling Court, Orbital Plaza, Watling Street, Cannock WS11 0EL.