What We Do

As an executive search firm specializing in finance and accounting, we know that hiring a CFO who’s going to help your business prosper is kind of a big deal.

Whether it’s a Director of Finance or VP of Finance, we can ensure that you hire a finance executive who will help you take your company to the next level.

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Why Us?

We Understand Owner-Managed Business

Every owner-managed business has its own unique culture. We recognize that fitting in with our clients’ culture is a big part of the search process. We’ve interviewed hundreds of CFOs and VPs of Finance over the years and are uniquely able to identify the candidates that will thrive in your particular culture.

Quick Turnaround on Searches

Our knowledge of the financial executive market and proprietary search protocols give us the ability to produce results quickly. In most cases, our clients can start interviewing excellent candidates within three weeks.

Framing the Position

Do you need someone at the VP Finance or CFO level to head up your finance group? Or would you be better served by a Director of Finance or a Controller? We’ll explain the cost-benefit features of each title and position and advise on which position would work best for you.

Deep Ties in the CFO Community

Our team has been deeply involved with the CFO and VP Finance community for over thirty years. We have unparalleled access to the top finance talent in virtually every industry.

Best Practices

Not only do we follow best practices in our search methodology, we coach our clients on best practices and how to apply them to ensure that they make the best hire possible.

We Stand Behind Our Work

We offer our clients a one year, no fault, full replacement guarantee on every CFO and VP Finance we place.

How We Do It

Step One

Analyze the Need

We do a full 360 of your business and every aspect of the position you want to hire for.

Create Preferred Candidate Profile

This is the template of all the technical qualifications, experience and personality traits that you want in your new CFO.

Research and Identify Possible Candidates

We map out all the possible candidates that might fit the preferred candidate profile.

Reach Out to Possible Candidates

We’ll reach out to between 100 and 300 potential candidates on your behalf.

Present Benchmark Candidate

We’ll show you a candidate early in the search who we feel fits your technical and personality profile, to make sure we’re all on the same page.

Fine-tune Search Criteria if Required

If you like what you see, we’ll find three or four more candidates like the benchmark. If you want to make adjustments to the candidate profile, now’s the time.

Interview Long-List Candidates, Osborne Financial Search Team

We’ll interview between fifteen and twenty-five potential candidates.

Step Two

Present Short List of Candidates

We present the best four or five candidates out of the twenty or so we interviewed.

Conduct First Interviews

After you meet the full short list, you pick the two you’d like to take to the next stage.

Move on to Second and Third Interviews

This is where you have any other stakeholders, if any, interview the final one or two candidates.

Offer to Final Candidate

We work with you and the candidate to lay the groundwork for all parts of the offer.

Step Three

Candidate Accepts Offer

Expect your new hire to give three weeks to a month’s notice.

Your new CFO starts to work for you!

Resources

The Owner-Manager’s Guide to Hiring a CFO

The CFO’s Guide to Hidden Job Market

What Our Clients Say

Alex Gallacher

MBA, CHRP, SHRP, ICD.D

I’ve worked with Lance many times over the years and have always found him to be very service oriented, straightforward and easy to work with. His professionalism, market knowledge and thorough understanding of what it takes to hire successfully put him miles ahead of most executive recruiters in the finance space.

Jeff Dawley

Vice President of Finance BridgePoint

I can recommend Jill without reservation. Jill’s professionalism and market knowledge puts her far ahead of most of other recruiters in the finance and accounting market. She took the time to understand my career goals and only introduced me to opportunities that fit all of the criteria I was looking for.

Terri Smyth

VP Planning OshKosh Canada

I was very impressed with the diligence and insight that Jill invested in my job search. I truly felt that she listened, kept me informed, introduced me to some terrific opportunities and acted as a trusted advisor during the entire process.

Wendy Lockyer

Principal Accessibil-IT Inc

Having worked with him on both the candidate and client side, it is my experience that more than any other executive recruiter I’ve worked with, Lance really takes the time to understand what the client needs and how the candidates he presents can fulfill those needs. He recognizes it is essential that the candidate fits with the culture and is onside with company objectives. He keeps the process on track and works very hard to ensure that both the client and the candidate make the right decision.

Alan Burger

HR CPA Canada

Having known Lance Osborne in his professional capacity as an executive recruiter for over 20 years, I can attest to the fact that he is one of the best around. Lance has an in-depth knowledge of the industries he services, an entrepreneurial bent and an innate ability to understand client issues and sensitivities and guide them accordingly. He relates well to his clients, is very personable and above all else, provides effective results in a timely manner.

Jeanne Ye

VP Finance & Administration Vet Strategy

My experience working with Jill to find my next position was great. She did an outstanding job in working with me to determine whether the opportunities she presented would be a good professional and cultural fit and she kept me very well informed during the interview and selection process. Jill clearly understood what I was looking for and never tried to pitch me on a position that wasn’t in my strike-zone.

Let’s Talk

Contact us for a free, no obligation consultation.