Somewhere right now, a founder is hiring a financial controller the way people buy umbrellas: in the middle of a storm, undercaffeinated, and in a hurry. Revenue’s climbing, invoices are flying, taxes are looming, and suddenly someone says, “We really should hire a financial controller.” So, you post a job, skim a few resumes, ask if they “know Excel,” and boom! You’ve just handed the keys to your financial nervous system to a stranger.
This can end well. It can also end in fire.
A financial controller is not just “the finance person.” They are the gatekeepers of your reporting, compliance, cash discipline, and your ability to sleep at night. When you hire financial controller talent, whether in‑house or through a remote staffing partner like Remote Resource, you’re not filling a vacancy—you’re wiring your company’s brain.
Here are 10 common hiring mistakes people make when hiring financial controllers, along with tips on how to avoid each one before things go wrong.
1. Hiring Only for “Years of Experience.”
Mistake #1: Treating “10+ years experience” like a magic spell.
Many years don’t always mean much sense. Some people have 1 year of experience repeated 10 times. They’ve sat in the same role, done the same routines, never touched a scaling company, never seen a real crisis. Yet they look “senior” on paper.
How to avoid it:
- Ask about situations, not job titles: “Tell me about a time the numbers didn’t make sense and what you did about it.”
- Look for exposure to change: new systems, new structures, new markets.
- If you work with Remote Resource, insist on case‑based screening – actual scenarios, not just timelines.
Years matter, but judgment matters more.
2. Confusing a Bookkeeper with a Controller
Mistake #2: Hiring someone great at bookkeeping and calling them “controller” because the title sounds fancy.
A bookkeeper keeps scores. A financial controller decides what gets measured and why. The controller:
- Designs the reporting structure.
- Builds controls and policies.
- Interprets numbers for leadership.
If you only check whether they can reconcile accounts, you’re hiring for the wrong job.
How to avoid it:
- Ask: “What kind of monthly reporting package would you build for leadership, and why?”
- Check if they’ve ever designed processes, not just followed existing ones.
- When you hire financial controller profiles via Remote Resource, make sure the role description distinguishes between bookkeeping and controlling, clearly and bluntly.
3. Ignoring Industry and Growth‑Stage Fit
Mistake #3: Assuming “finance is finance,” and anyone with a CPA can handle anything.
A controller from a 5,000‑person corporation may drown in a messy startup. A controller from a tiny local business may struggle with multi‑entity, multi‑currency complexity.
How to avoid it:
- Look for someone who has operated at your stage: early‑stage, scaling, or mature.
- Prioritize experience with similar revenue models: SaaS, e‑commerce, services, and manufacturing.
- Ask very specific questions: “Have you handled subscription revenue and churn reporting?” “Have you dealt with inventory and landed costs?”
Remote Resource can help narrow the search to controllers who have played on a field that looks like yours, not just any field with numbers on it.
4. Not Testing Their Ability to Communicate with Non‑Finance Humans
Mistake #4: Hiring someone who speaks fluent spreadsheet but zero human.
A financial controller who can’t explain things clearly will quietly wreck decision‑making. You’ll get beautifully formatted reports no one understands. Leadership nods, but nothing changes.
How to avoid it:
- In the interview, ask them to explain a complex topic—like cash vs profit, or revenue recognition—as if they’re talking to a new manager.
- Notice if they use stories, examples, or just jargon.
- Ask: “How do you handle it when leadership ignores the numbers?”
Remote Resource often screens for soft skills, not just balance sheets…because clarity is part of the job, not a bonus.
5. Overlooking Their Relationship with Risk and Controls
Mistake #5: Hiring someone who is either terrified of risk or allergic to controls.
You don’t want:
- The controller who turns every decision into a 6‑month risk review.
- Or the controller who shrugs at weak access controls, missing approvals, and “we’ll fix the documentation later.”
How to avoid it:
- Ask about times they tightened controls—and times they deliberately relaxed or simplified them.
- Listen for balance: “protect the business without suffocating it.”
- Make sure they’ve worked with auditors or at least some form of external scrutiny.
When you hire a financial controller via Remote Resource, ask for examples of how the candidate has handled fraud risk, approvals, and policy changes in past roles.
6. Forgetting to Test for Systems and Automation Mindset
Mistake #6: Hiring for paper‑era thinking in a cloud‑era company.
If your controller wants everything in binders and hates new systems, they’ll become a bottleneck. Modern controllers should be comfortable with:
- Cloud accounting tools.
- Integrations (CRM, billing systems, payroll).
- At least basic automation and workflows.
How to avoid it:
- Ask what systems they’ve implemented or improved: ERPs, accounting platforms, reporting tools.
- Look for someone who likes making processes more efficient, not just repeating old routines.
- Remote Resource can source controllers with explicit experience in the systems you use (or want to use), not just “generic ERP experience.”
7. Not Checking Their Strategic Thinking (Beyond the Ledger)
Mistake #7: Treating the controller as a glorified compliance officer, not a thought partner.
The best controllers don’t just say, “Here are the numbers.” They say:
- “Here’s what worries me in these numbers.”
- “Here’s what I think we should test.”
- “Here’s what the cash curve looks like if we make this decision.”
How to avoid it:
- Ask: “Talk me through a situation where your analysis changed a key decision.”
- See if they can discuss pricing, margins, hiring plans, or debt in practical terms.
- Look for curiosity about the business model, not just the chart of accounts.
If you’re using Remote Resource, ask for candidates who have sat in leadership or strategy meetings—not just back‑office roles.
8. Rushing the Hire Because Things Feel Urgent
Mistake #8: Panic‑hiring because “year‑end is coming” or “the auditors are on their way.”
Urgency makes people lower their standards:
- One interview.
- No reference checks.
- Vague role definition: “Just… own finance.”
How to avoid it:
- Define clearly what you need in the next 6–12 months: cleanup, reporting, fundraising support, scaling controls, etc.
- Use interim or fractional help if things are on fire, then hire more deliberately.
- Remote Resource can plug in an interim controller or senior finance resource while you run a proper process for the long‑term hire.
Fast is good. Rash is expensive.
9. Ignoring Culture and Ethics (Huge Mistake, Quiet Consequences)
Mistake #9: Failing to check what the candidate does when no one is looking.
A financial controller sits close to:
- Sensitive information.
- Access to payments and approvals.
- The power to make small changes with big consequences.
You don’t just need technical skills. You need integrity and a culture fit that doesn’t turn every meeting into a cold war.
How to avoid it:
- Ask about ethical dilemmas they’ve faced: “Have you ever pushed back against leadership on financial reporting or spending?”
- Call references and ask straight: “Would you trust this person with full visibility and influence over your numbers?”
- Pay attention to how they talk about previous employers—constant blame is not a great sign.
Remote Resource can help by doing deeper background and reference checks, especially for remote or cross‑border placements.
10. Forgetting Remote and Flexible Options Exist
Mistake #10: Assuming the only way to hire financial controller talent is full‑time, in‑house, local.
Maybe you:
- Don’t yet have the scale to keep a full‑time controller fully engaged.
- Need advanced expertise, but only a few days per month.
- Want to try a controller role before committing permanently.
How to avoid it:
- Consider remote and fractional models: a controller who works part‑time but brings full‑time quality.
- Use Remote Resource to access global talent pools—people who already have the skills but live where the cost structure is friendlier.
- Design the role around outcomes (clean reporting, strong controls, clear forecasting), not just hours.
You get the brain you need, at the intensity you can afford.
Wrapping up
Hiring a financial controller is not just “filling a finance gap.” It’s choosing who interprets reality for your business. Make that choice lightly, and you’ll find out how expensive “oops” can be. Make it carefully—testing judgment, ethics, communication, and fit—and you’ll gain something much rarer than clean books:
A partner who can look at the chaos of receipts, invoices, and forecasts and say, calmly, “Here’s where you really are. Here’s what actually matters next.”
Whether you hire directly or through a partner like Remote Resource, treat the role with the seriousness it secretly deserves. Your future self – the one not panicking at year‑end – will send you a quiet thank you, paid in actual profit!
