Finance role
Division / Business Unit Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Search Firm
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: The cost of hiring a business unit financial leader who lacks operational data fluency.
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Accounting, finance, banking and insurance
- We reach people who aren’t on job boards
- Replacement terms on standard searches
01
What does this hire really come down to?
This role requires someone who interprets local operational outcomes for corporate reporting needs. You need a person who manages the daily books while explaining variances to central finance. Can they justify unit expenses to headquarters without needing corporate guidance for every decision?
Expect this person to own the local close, annual budget, and monthly forecast. They will sit on the unit leadership team. Their job is to tell you when a business assumption is wrong before it hits the bottom line. They must reconcile unit performance with group expectations effectively.
We check candidates with these questions. How do you resolve a significant budget miss in your business unit? What is your method for justifying capital spending requests to headquarters? Describe a time you challenged corporate policy to address a local operational problem. Give an instance where you used ERP reports to uncover an hidden expense. How do you separate controllable from uncontrollable variances in performance presentations?
This role sits in a difficult middle ground. You must look for people who prioritize transparency over comfort. They should be able to translate complex technical accounting issues into plain business language for your non-finance managers. They need to show they can act as a partner to the business unit head while maintaining the necessary checks and balances expected by the corporate finance function.
Assess their ability to manage the friction of being the messenger for bad news. They need the poise to explain to corporate why a target was missed and the operational grit to work with local site managers to fix the underlying issues. Ask them how they prioritize competing demands from corporate and the local unit head.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
We verify their experience in managing a standalone profit and loss statement. We check if they have led a monthly financial close process in a divisional structure. We confirm they have worked with corporate finance teams on consolidation requirements. We test their ability to map local ERP data to corporate reporting structures. We look for experience managing local staff during periods of budget pressure. We validate their understanding of divisional cost allocation methods and internal transfer pricing.
We audit their prior planning system usage. We ask them to detail constraints in past ERP environments and how they resolved them. We verify their work on system integrations and upgrades. This confirms they can perform reporting tasks with your current software.
03
Where do we find them?
We source candidates from mid-sized and large firms with decentralized structures. People often look to move when their current division faces a restructuring, a divestiture, or a leadership change that limits their local autonomy. We look for finance managers or controllers in large entities who want to own a P&L, or existing unit CFOs who desire a change in complexity or sector.
Candidates from large-scale audit firms often bring the necessary technical foundation, but we focus on those who have since transitioned into operational roles within a business unit. We look for individuals who have had to defend their numbers in front of a group board or executive committee. This experience is essential for any candidate you will consider for this position.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
These are the most common pitfalls that lead to a bad hire.
- 01Focusing too much on technical accounting while neglecting the operational data analysis needed by the business unit lead.
- 02Hiring someone who expects to change company-wide systems instead of working within existing corporate constraints.
- 03Selecting a candidate who fails to explain how they translate local outcomes into corporate reporting language.
- 04Overlooking the need for a candidate to have strong, direct communication skills when dealing with operational site managers.
- 05Failing to confirm the candidate has experience with multi-entity consolidation software like Hyperion, SAP, or similar enterprise-grade tools.
05
The search in three steps
Follow these steps to narrow your choices effectively.
- 01Define the specific reporting relationship between the division and corporate office including what decision rights the unit head actually holds.
- 02Target candidates from organizations where the divisional finance role requires cross-functional leadership rather than just accounting oversight.
- 03Interview finalists on their specific experience with divisional reporting cycles and their ability to influence non-financial leaders within the unit.
- 04Perform a mock case study where the candidate must analyze a hypothetical variance report and present a recovery plan to you.
How your Division / Business Unit CFO search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
One sequence, from a well-defined seat to a shortlist you can judge.
Search Calibration
We start with a call about the seat, the books, the owners and the people the hire will work with. We learn what the role must fix in the first year and what would make a candidate wrong even if the resume looks right.
You get: A written search brief: scope, must-haves, deal-breakers and the pay range, agreed with you.
Market Mapping
We map the companies and institutions where the right people already work: similar size, similar ownership, similar complexity, in your market and in others.
You get: The target list of companies and institutions we will search, reviewed with you before outreach.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We find direct ways to reach the people on the map. Most are employed and not reading job boards, so reaching them takes real research.
You get: Direct routes to people who are not on job boards, researched for your search.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We call and write to people individually and follow up. Interest varies, so we discuss the actual opportunity rather than promising a particular response.
You get: One-to-one conversations about your actual role, followed up, never a mass email blast.
Live Candidate Qualification
We speak with every candidate before you do. We check scope, systems, reporting lines, compensation expectations, location and why they would move.
You get: Only candidates we have spoken with, checked on scope, systems, pay, location and motive.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a short written brief on each finalist covering what they have done, where they are thin and what they want. Then we help with interviews, references and the offer.
You get: A short written brief on each finalist, plus help with interviews, references, counteroffer risk and the offer.
Questions people ask
When do we pay for finding a leader who explains local variances to central finance?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
How do you define the role compared to a corporate CFO?
A divisional CFO focuses on unit-level P&L performance and local operations. A corporate CFO manages the entire entity, including capital structure, treasury, and investor relations.
Can you handle interim or fractional needs?
Yes, we handle these on request. We agree to specific terms for contract or interim engagements per individual project.
How do you verify a candidate's background?
We verify their financial reporting history and management experience against the specific divisional requirements provided. We also check their experience working within larger corporate reporting frameworks.
What is the fee for a Division / Business Unit CFO search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The fee and terms are agreed in writing before we start.
How soon will I see a Division / Business Unit CFO shortlist?
It depends on the seat, the location and the pay. We give you an honest read after the calibration call and we do not promise dates we cannot control.
What about counteroffers on a Division / Business Unit CFO hire?
We ask every Division / Business Unit CFO candidate early why they would move and what their employer might do to keep them. Counteroffer risk goes in the written brief before you make an offer.
What is your guarantee?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What don't you do?
We do not post your Division / Business Unit CFO job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
Start a search
Tell us about the seat.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
Not ready to start a search?
Get a practical read on the talent market or the job description. No fee or obligation.
What does the published pay data show?
$166,570 national annual median. SOC 11-3031: Financial Managers.
BLS reports Division / Business Unit CFO within a broader occupation. It does not publish separate wages for this exact title, credentials, seniority or industry. Compare the listed SOC duties with your actual role before using this range.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Released 2026-05-15. This is not a separately measured salary for this exact title.
Read the full salary guide