During Series A, B, and C funding rounds, a CFO shifts from ‘helpful’ to business-critical- a vital and yet often overlooked hire.

Here are 10 ways bringing in a CFO before funding, is one of the smartest decisions a business owner can make.

Female representation in financial management services has been increasing - women hold 15% of Senior Investment roles, up from 12% in 2023. 

Despite this, private equity continues to face a persistent divide in diverse leadership, particularly among emerging fund managers, with structural barriers still restricting the number of women launching and scaling funds.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, we held a small, intimate roundtable event - Empowering Women in Finance.

The discussions were chaired by three female leaders themselves – Gemma Smith, Partner at Trace Recruitment, Ellie Prideaux, Manager at Trace Recruitment and Jaiya Bhandari – a CFO-level finance leader and transformation consultant, women’s leadership & wellbeing advocate.

It may safe to say that being a Chief Finance Officer in the UK at the moment is a bit of nightmare…

Managing a corporate financial budget has always required careful planning and financial discipline, however, the current economic and political environment has made this responsibility significantly more complex for CFOs.

Did you know firms with women CFO’s were more likely to exceed earning expectations in the first two years post-appointment?

Despite this, female CFO’s are still rare in comparison, with only 17.4% of CFO positions in The Fortune 500 held by women.

The landscape in UK Business’ Leadership doesn’t reflect the finance and accountancy talent pool in general, or the success of existing female CFO’s. We discuss…

How strategic CFOs are taking on AI to build efficient Finance Teams…

Artificial intelligence is reshaping UK finance functions and fundamentally changing how CFOs operate and build their finance teams.

As generative AI tools automate routine tasks once performed by junior staff, Business Owners and Senior Finance Leaders are faced with difficult hiring decisions.

The role of the CFO has never been more complex—or more exposed.

As Founder of Trace Recruitment, with a career built over decades of experience, here’s my key insights into the different areas required of a CFO’s time, and what might keep them awake at night, when it comes to talent management…

Organisations are moving away from manual, spreadsheet-heavy processes toward integrated, cloud-based systems. As our Not-for-profit Manager, Ellie works closely with some of our biggest clients, and explains why systems accounting and finance transformation are booming in the third sector...

Searching for your first permanent CFO and in need of direction?

Hiring your first FD / CFO after a fundraise is one of those hires that can quietly make or break the next 18 to 24 months, so it’s worth being planned & intentional. We have helped many businesses at this stage. Here is my point of view on the journey.