On paper, a senior finance hire looks straightforward. You make the offer, expectations are high, but a few months in, something isn’t working. In financial services, that gap tends to show up quickly because these roles sit so close to reporting, performance, and decision-making. Some research suggests executive hiring failure can reach 40–50% within the first 18 months.
At Godfrey Group, we work with businesses across wealth management, financial planning, accounting, and funds management. When a hire doesn’t land, it’s rarely about technical ability. It usually comes back to how the role was shaped and what the person actually walked into.
Why Senior Finance Hires Don’t Always Work Out
Most issues aren’t obvious during the hiring process. The consequences tend to show up once someone is in the role, when expectations meet day-to-day reality.
Hiring Senior Finance Roles Without Full Alignment
A role might be described one way, but internally, expectations can differ. One stakeholder might be focused on reporting accuracy and control, while another is seeking commercial insight and input into decision-making. The result is a role pulled in two directions. It doesn’t always surface early in the hiring process, but it shows up quickly once the person starts.
Senior Finance Manager Expectations Can Shift
A senior finance manager is often brought in with a clear focus, but that rarely stays fixed. As the business evolves, the role can expand. You’ll often see it move into areas like:
- Greater involvement in board or leadership reporting
- Input into budgeting, forecasting, and business planning
- Working more closely with teams outside finance on day-to-day decisions
That’s not always part of the original conversation, so someone can be doing the job well but still miss what the role has become.
Context Around The Role Isn’t Fully Shared
A role might look stable from the outside, but there’s often more going on behind the scenes. For a senior financial analyst or senior financial controller, that can include system changes, reporting restructures, or pressure from leadership to improve visibility. If that context isn’t shared early, the first few months can feel like constant adjustment.
What Makes A Senior Finance Hire Successful?
Clarity From The Outset
Strong outcomes tend to come from roles that are properly defined before going to market.
That means being clear on what the role is there to do, how it fits, and what success looks like early on. When that’s in place, a senior finance hire can step in with direction.
Looking Beyond Experience In Senior Finance Jobs
A CV shows experience, but not how someone works in your business. For senior finance jobs, it helps to understand how someone communicates and how they work with stakeholders outside finance.
This is often where the difference lies between someone who delivers outputs and someone who influences outcomes. These are often the factors that shape whether someone settles in or struggles.
Setting The First Few Months Up Properly
The start of the role matters more than people think, particularly in senior finance positions where expectations are high from the outset.
What tends to help is being more deliberate about things like:
- Agreeing on what needs to be achieved in the first 90 days, not just the overall role
- Making sure key stakeholders are introduced early, not weeks in
- Clarifying where the role should focus first, especially if there are competing priorities
- Creating space for regular check-ins so direction can be adjusted before issues build
Without that, even a strong senior finance hire can take longer to settle.
How Godfrey Group Approaches Senior Finance Hiring
Before going to market, it’s worth taking a closer look at the role and how it’s positioned. We often work with businesses at this stage to refine the scope and align expectations. That might include:
- Pressure-testing the brief
- Identifying gaps between stakeholders
- Advising on how the market is likely to interpret the role
This is all particularly useful for more senior positions, where small differences in understanding can have a bigger impact. Getting that clarity early tends to make the hiring process smoother and reduces the risk of things drifting once someone starts.
Plan Your Next Senior Finance Hire With Confidence
If you’re planning your next senior finance hire, it’s worth taking the time to get the foundations right. At Godfrey Group, we work with financial services businesses on hiring senior finance roles, making sure the role is clearly defined from the beginning. Call us on 02 8004 9350 or enquire online today!
