How do you approach building and developing your finance team? What's one hiring or talent development strategy that has yielded exceptional results?

Question

In today's competitive business landscape, building an exceptional finance team is crucial for organizational success. This article presents innovative strategies for developing a high-performing finance department, drawing on insights from industry experts. From hiring finance translators to implementing cross-functional perspectives, these approaches will help you create a finance team that drives strategic growth and efficiency.

Max Shak · Answer

When I first started Nerdigital, I'll admit that building a finance team wasn't at the top of my mind. Like many founders, I was focused on growth, clients, and product. Finance felt like something to "get by" on until the company was big enough to justify more structure. That mindset shifted quickly when I realized the financial backbone of a company often determines how far it can scale.
My approach to building our finance team has always been about more than just technical skill. Of course, I need people who know the numbers, but what I've found makes the biggest difference is finding people who can translate numbers into a story the rest of the team can understand and act on. Early on, I made a hire who was incredibly strong in accounting but struggled to connect financial data with strategic decisions. It taught me that what I really needed were people who could bridge finance with operations, not just close the books.
One strategy that's yielded exceptional results is hiring for adaptability and then investing heavily in cross-functional exposure. For instance, when we brought on a financial analyst, I encouraged them to sit in on marketing and sales meetings—not because they needed to run campaigns, but because they needed to understand how client acquisition costs, churn, and margins played out in practice. That approach helped them surface insights we might have missed otherwise. They weren't just tracking expenses; they were helping us shape smarter business decisions.
I've also seen the value of mentorship within the team. Instead of keeping finance siloed, we've made it part of our culture to have junior team members shadow senior leaders, not just on spreadsheets but in strategic conversations. That's how you build a team that isn't just reactive but proactive in guiding the company forward.
The biggest lesson for me has been that finance isn't about gatekeeping money—it's about enabling growth. By hiring for curiosity, encouraging cross-functional learning, and developing people to think beyond the ledger, I've been able to build a finance team that doesn't just support Nerdigital, but actively pushes it to grow in smarter, more sustainable ways.

Ahmad Faiz · Answer

We're small, and we have to be smart about how we handle money. The one strategy that has yielded the best results is a simple rule: every dollar that goes in and out of this company gets looked at by at least two people, with me being the final stop on anything that matters.
My approach isn't about fancy software; it's about trust and accountability. My bookkeeper processes everything, but every major invoice, every payroll run, and every big material purchase comes across my desk for my final approval. I look at it, I double-check the numbers, and I make sure it looks right. I know what a box of nails should cost and what a bundle of shingles should run. I'm the one on the ground who knows if the numbers match the reality of the work.
This simple rule has paid off in a big way. We've caught countless small errors, whether it's an incorrect charge from a supplier or an issue with an invoice. Those small mistakes add up, and catching them has saved us a ton of money over the years. It also keeps me personally connected to the financial health of the business. I know exactly where our money is going and how profitable each job is, every single week.
My advice to any business owner is this: stop thinking about your finances as a department you can hand off completely. The best "talent development strategy" is to develop your own knowledge. You have to be the one who understands your numbers. Your company's money is its lifeblood, and you can't afford to let it flow without you paying attention.

Joe Davies · Answer

For me, building a finance team felt a lot like structuring our SEO marketplace—it had to be results-driven and very clear on deliverables. One hiring strategy that stood out was rewarding finance staff for hitting efficiency goals rather than only traditional accounting KPIs. For example, a new accountant once spotted a way to streamline vendor payments that sped up the approval cycle by days; she earned a bonus, but the real win was that others started searching for similar improvements. Running a fast-moving company means you can't afford slow financial processes, so everyone buys in when incentives are tied to speed and accuracy. The big takeaway is that aligning compensation with measurable outcomes makes teamwork more agile and innovative.

Sreekrishnaa Srikanthan · Answer

When I think about building out a finance team, I treat it less like hiring for tasks and more like hiring for an investor's mindset. I look for people who view every decision through an ROI lens, asking how it impacts efficiency and long-term value. For example, one teammate I brought on wasn't just skilled in AP but questioned how automation could free up 20 hours a month, which ended up saving us significant costs. Honestly, if you're staring down team growth, just recruit people who think about optimization first, and training falls into place faster. My advice: don't just hire for what someone knows, hire for how they evaluate trade-offs, because that's what keeps the team agile and scalable.

Dr. Pellumb Kabashi, DBA, MBA, CES, CFE, EA · Answer

One strategy that has worked very well for me in the past and delivered exceptional results has been hiring professionals based on their potential trajectory rather than their tenure, and pairing them with structured mentorship and ownership tracks.
Instead of overvaluing professionals who have years of experience, I tend to look for individuals with strong foundational skills who exhibit cross-functional thinking, intellectual curiosity, and have the ability to think and thrive in uncertain situations. Once these professionals are hired, I strongly encourage them to become acclimated with the strategic part of the business quickly, i.e., investor discussions and due diligence conversations, while providing them with clearly defined objectives and assigning them ownership of tasks.
I have found that owning tasks and understanding the critical aspects of the business are crucial to building successful leaders.

Pavel Sher · Answer

In B2B SaaS, scaling teams is always a balancing act, and the finance team is no exception. What worked best for me was creating modular, role-based onboarding processes so that as we grew, each new hire stepped into a clear framework. For instance, when we doubled headcount in a year, standardized onboarding meant our new finance analysts could be productive in weeks rather than months. Working as a founder, I've seen how a lack of structure in hiring bogs companies down, but defined roles with clear workflows avoid that. My advice would be to build a foundation that scales predictably, rather than scrambling to adjust after growth arrives.

Adam Garcia · Answer

For me, building a strong finance team has always meant developing people who can both analyze deeply and communicate clearly with non-financial colleagues. When we grew The Stock Dork, we trained analysts not just to crunch ETF data but to explain it in plain language for readers, which built trust quickly. My suggestion is to prioritize hiring curious learners first; technical skills follow, but curiosity drives lasting impact.

Aja Chavez · Answer

For me, building a finance team starts with making sure they really understand the unique needs of healthcare operations. I once paired a new finance hire with one of our clinical leads, and it completely changed how they approached budgeting because they saw the real-world impact of their numbers. My take: give finance exposure to cross-functional perspectives—it speeds up trust and alignment, while also sharpening their ability to anticipate what the organization truly needs.

John Cheng · Answer

When I built out my finance team at PlayAbly, I focused on cross-pollination, bringing in talent with both gaming background and SaaS modeling experience. That blend helped us analyze customer behavior in a way that mirrored real player engagement, not just numbers on a spreadsheet. I've A/B tested numerous approaches, and nothing beats bringing in people who can fuse creativity with structured, data-driven financial thinking.

Runbo Li · Answer

When I started building our finance team at Magic Hour, I leaned on my background in data science from Meta and paired data-driven thinkers with more traditional accountants. In practice, this mix allowed us to forecast revenue for our subscription model with real accuracy, which helped us grow confidently after YC. If you had told me five years ago that a finance team could benefit as much from Python scripts as from Excel, I would have laughed—now it's gospel.

Bennett Maxwell · Answer

One strategy that has worked for me has been hiring finance professionals who already understand the language of franchising, especially unit economics and recurring revenue models. During Dirty Dough's rapid expansion, bringing in someone who could immediately analyze royalty streams and store-level profitability saved us months of back-and-forth communication. Generally speaking, you're in good shape with finance hires if they can think like operators, not just number crunchers.

Brandon Brown · Answer

One tactic that has yielded results for me is setting up concise bootcamps around funding rounds. Each camp focused on due diligence, reporting speed, and direct communication with investors, so the team knew exactly what to expect. I've watched these bootcamps transform what could have been chaotic financing sprints into smooth, well-managed processes every time.

Brandi Simon · Answer

For me, building a finance team is less about technical skill at first and more about trust and adaptability. I once hired someone who wasn't from a traditional finance background but was sharp at spotting inconsistencies in property contracts, and that small detail saved us thousands on a deal. I've seen that giving people ownership of a process early on helps them grow faster than any training manual could.

Karl Threadgold · Answer

I've found that hiring ex-consultants has been a real game-changer for finance roles. Because they've already worked across multiple industries, they adapt quickly and bring a problem-solving mindset that fits perfectly into fast-changing SaaS environments. The moment we standardized on this approach, onboarding time and cross-department collaboration essentially became effortless.

Andy Danec · Answer

My finance team is small, but their job is enormous. Their role extends beyond finances; they deal with families in crisis. When a family is trying to get their loved one into treatment, the last thing they need is a cold conversation about insurance. I knew I had to find a way to build a finance team that understood the emotional weight of their responsibilities.
The most effective strategy we've implemented is to seek out individuals with backgrounds in social work or healthcare, even if they lack traditional finance experience. I can teach someone how to file an insurance claim, but I can't teach them how to empathize with a parent who is scared and hurting. So we prioritize hiring for heart first, and then we train for the necessary skills.
The results have been remarkable. My finance team is able to help families navigate the complex insurance process with a level of compassion that has completely transformed the client experience. It has significantly reduced stress for our clients and their families, which has made our business more effective as a whole.
My advice is straightforward: look for heart first. The most valuable skill for my finance team is empathy, and that's not something you can teach in a classroom. It's a leader's job to hire for heart first, and then train for the required skills.

Jeremy Golan SHRM-CP, CPHR, Bachelor of Management · Answer

One of our clients participates in a post-secondary co-op program, where they are assigned finance students who are required to gain tangible experience prior to graduation. These students apply their knowledge to internal operations and often require minimal additional training to transition to a paid role. This is especially true since we use specialized SaaS products, which facilitate productivity but come with a learning curve. Hiring students streamlines our hiring and onboarding process.

Ajinkya Thete · Answer

Building a finance team in e-commerce? This took me way too long to figure out. Early on, I kept hiring traditional accountants who would panic at our inventory fluctuations and couldn't grasp why our cash flow looked so unusual with all the payment processor delays.
The game changer was hiring finance people from other e-commerce companies - even if they were more junior. They simply understood it. They comprehended why we'd bulk order before Chinese New Year, why our margins shifted seasonally, and all those nuances.
The best hiring strategy, though? I started having candidates analyze one of our actual P&Ls during interviews. This wasn't to test their math skills, but to see how they think. One candidate spotted an issue with our shipping costs that we'd missed for months. I hired her on the spot. She's now our CFO.
The key is finding people who understand that e-commerce finance is its own unique beast.

David Case · Answer

I've always approached building a finance team in the same way we assist our clients in building their project teams: we begin with the foundation, then add the right specialists as needs grow. In my view, that foundation is someone who understands both the numbers and the unique rhythms of their industry. In construction or manufacturing, aspects such as cash flow, job costing, and compliance are very different from other sectors, so I prioritize candidates who can connect financial insight directly to operational reality.
I place a strong emphasis on cross-training when developing finance team members. I don't want a siloed department where one person only knows accounts payable and someone else only knows payroll. Instead, I ensure everyone has visibility into the full cycle so they can step in where needed. This creates resilience and reduces risk.
One hiring strategy that has worked quite well is what I call "talent anchoring." Instead of starting with generic job descriptions, I identify one standout hire who brings both technical skill and leadership potential. Then, I build the rest of the team around them. That anchor employee sets the tone and helps to mentor others. This approach has consistently given us stronger cohesion and higher output than trying to fill roles in isolation.

Alex Schepis · Answer

My "finance team" is my accountant. The way I "build and develop" him is by finding a good one and treating him like a partner, not just a service provider.
My approach to finding him was a simple one. I didn't look for a big, corporate firm. I looked for a person who understood the reality of running a small business. I asked around and found a guy who had his own small business. The "hiring strategy" was about finding a partner, not a service provider. I knew that a person who had his own small business would understand my challenges and would be on my side.
My "talent development" is a simple, human one. I trust my accountant to do his job, but I also make sure he understands my business. I share my goals with him, and I ask for his advice on everything from buying a new van to hiring a new employee. This is my "talent development" strategy. I'm helping him to understand my business so that he can give me better advice. He's not just a number cruncher; he's a partner who is invested in my success.
The impact has been on my business's growth and my peace of mind. By having a great accountant, I'm able to focus on what I do best: the electrical work. He's the one who tells me about new ways to save on taxes, and he's the one who helps me with the financial planning. The "results" are a more profitable business and a lot less stress.
My advice is simple: don't try to be an expert at everything. For a small business, the best "finance team" is a professional you can trust. Find a good accountant and treat him like a partner. That's the most effective way to "build and develop your finance team."

19 Strategies for Building and Developing An Exceptional Finance Team

19 Strategies for Building and Developing An Exceptional Finance Team

Hire Finance Translators for Strategic Growth

Implement Two-Person Money Oversight Rule

Incentivize Finance Staff for Efficiency Gains

Recruit for ROI-Focused Investor Mindset

Pair Potential with Structured Mentorship Tracks

Create Modular Role-Based Onboarding Processes

Develop Analysts Who Communicate Clearly

Expose Finance to Cross-Functional Perspectives

Blend Gaming and SaaS Modeling Experience

Combine Data Science with Traditional Accounting

Hire Professionals Versed in Franchising Economics

Set Up Focused Funding Round Bootcamps

Prioritize Trust and Adaptability in Hiring

Recruit Ex-Consultants for Adaptable Problem-Solving

Seek Heart First in Healthcare Finance

Leverage Co-op Programs for Streamlined Hiring

Hire E-commerce Savvy Finance Professionals

Use Talent Anchoring for Team Building

Partner with Small Business-Savvy Accountants