Finance role
Portfolio Company CFO (PE-backed) Search Firm
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: Hire a CFO who meets your sponsor's specific operational needs. You pay only if you hire a candidate we identify for your role.
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.
- PE-Backed CFO
- Sponsor-Backed CFO
- 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?
Your portfolio company needs a CFO who views board reports as a byproduct of accurate daily bookkeeping. The hire must manage a weekly cash model, identify liquidity gaps weeks in advance, and enforce spending controls. If the person focuses on slides instead of the mechanics of cash, you will lose visibility and your operating team will make decisions on outdated numbers.
The role requires balancing board inquiries with the messy details of running a business. You need a leader who handles covenant compliance and debt service while replacing inefficient legacy finance systems. We look for individuals who have stabilized companies after acquisitions or prepared them for exits. We test if they can fix a broken month-end close while simultaneously setting up new audit processes.
Success hinges on how the candidate handles growth when cash and staff are tight. We seek people who perform integrations and accounting cleanups themselves rather than outsourcing the labor to expensive consultants. We disqualify people who focus only on strategy. How do you verify the accuracy of the general ledger, check cash is accounted for, and manage the delivery timeline for management reports?
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
- 01We test if they build thirteen-week cash models, how they check their own assumptions, and how they tie their models back to actual bank statements.
- 02We ask for specific examples of how they managed bank relationships when they breached a covenant or when revenue fell short of projections.
- 03We ask how they merged the chart of accounts after an acquisition and how they reconciled the target company's balance sheet against their own.
- 04We ask how they provided data for quality-of-earnings reports while keeping the accounting department running without hiring outside project staff.
- 05We check how they documented new accounting policies when the business grew and how they passed audits after rapid scaling.
- 06We ask them to explain a complex financial issue to a non-financial operator and how they translated that advice into a specific change in spending.
03
Where do we find them?
We recruit from other sponsor-backed businesses, existing finance leads at PE-owned firms, and transaction services accountants who have moved into internal finance roles. We target people who have dealt with debt, complex reporting, and the pace of your business. We discard candidates who have not managed the specific constraints of sponsor-backed environments because the learning curve is too long.
We contact people who currently work as they have the recent experience your environment demands. They change roles when they want to solve new problems or move to a firm with a clearer exit path. We target those who prioritize getting the work done over maintaining a title and who want to fix the plumbing of a company's finances.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring someone who treats the CFO role as an administrative job rather than a commercial function that manages risk and supports growth.
- 02Missing that a candidate cannot detail their specific role in a successful exit, which suggests they relied on others for the underlying work.
- 03Assuming that a candidate from a large, slow-moving company can operate in a resource-constrained, fast-paced portfolio environment.
05
The search in three steps
- 01CalibrationWe review your current investment thesis, debt structure, and sponsor reporting needs to define the specific work the candidate must handle.
- 02OutreachWe contact finance leaders with portfolio experience to verify they grasp the current gaps in your team and the speed you expect.
- 03VettingWe test candidate history on cash management and integrations to confirm they possess the capacity to lead the finance function independently.
How your Portfolio Company CFO (PE-backed) 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
Will our firm name and the current search remain private?
We maintain communication privacy. We define the level of disclosure and timing before we start any outreach to guard your team from market rumors. Ask how we verify the candidate understands the confidentiality of the search.
How do you evaluate if a candidate can effectively report to our sponsors?
We review their background in board reporting and covenant management. We ask for a specific example of how they presented quarterly debt ratios to investors to verify they communicate accurately. This confirms their ability to report data to a board.
Do you vet for candidates who can manage liquidity during seasonal business cycles?
We include your cash and working capital cycles in our search brief. We seek candidates who managed liquidity through similar periods to verify they build accurate cash flow forecasts. Ask the candidate to explain their process for managing a cash shortfall.
Are your recruitment fees contingent on a successful hire?
You pay nothing until you hire a candidate. You only owe the fee once the candidate you select starts the job.
Can you commit to a specific timeframe for delivery of this hire?
We do not promise artificial dates because we prioritize vetting for a long-term fit. We give you regular updates and present candidates as soon as they meet our criteria.
How soon will I see a Portfolio Company CFO (PE-backed) 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 Portfolio Company CFO (PE-backed) hire?
We ask every Portfolio Company CFO (PE-backed) 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 Portfolio Company CFO (PE-backed) 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 Portfolio Company CFO (PE-backed) 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