Every controller and CFO has faced the same decision. One of your best accountants has delivered clean closes for years. A management seat opens. The easy answer is to promote the person who is technically strongest.
Sometimes that works. Often it does not. You lose a top producer, gain a reluctant manager, and the team feels it within two quarters.
This post is about how to decide who is ready, and how to prepare people so the promotion sticks.
Technical strength is the entry ticket, not the test
At the senior accountant or analyst level, quality of work is what you measure. At the manager, controller or director level, you can assume the technical base. What you need to assess is different.
The job changes from producing the analysis to getting others to act on it. A manager spends more time on:
- Explaining variances to operations and sales leaders who do not read a ledger
- Setting priorities for a team during close, audit and budget season
- Pushing back on requests without damaging the relationship
- Developing and coaching staff
- Making calls with incomplete information
None of that shows up in a reconciliation.
What to look for before you promote
You do not need a personality test. You need evidence. Look for what the person already does without a title.
Do they explain numbers well to non-finance people? Ask a candidate to walk a plant manager or sales director through a margin shortfall. Watch whether the listener ends up knowing what to do.
Do other departments seek them out? If operations, procurement or sales already go to this person for answers, that is influence you can build on.
Do they stay steady under pressure? Month-end, a failed audit item or a late forecast reveals composure quickly.
Do they make others better? The person who trains the new hire, documents the process and shares the shortcut is already doing part of the job.
Can they handle disagreement? A finance leader has to persuade people with different priorities. Being right is not enough.
The visibility problem on your side
There is a flip side that employers miss. Some strong people stay invisible because the structure keeps them there. They sit in the close process, rarely see the leadership team and never present.
If you only see someone's output, you cannot judge their leadership. Create ways to see it:
- Have them present a variance review to the leadership team
- Put them on a cross-functional project, such as a pricing review or system change
- Let them lead a small piece of an audit or budget cycle
- Ask them to mentor a junior hire for a quarter
These are cheap trials. They tell you more than another year of excellent reviews, and they tell the person whether they actually want the work.
Not everyone wants to manage
Some of your best people are best as individual contributors. A senior technical accountant who owns complex consolidations or tax is worth a great deal. If the only way to raise their pay or status is to give them direct reports, you will lose a strong specialist and gain a weak manager.
Consider a parallel track with a senior specialist title and a pay range that competes with management. Many mid-sized employers in Canada and the US do not have one, and it shows up in turnover.
Prepare the person, not just the posting
Promotion without support is where most failures happen. In the first 90 days, a new finance manager needs:
- Clear expectations on what changes about the job and what they should stop doing themselves
- A named person to go to, whether you or an outside mentor
- Basic management training on feedback, delegation and one-on-ones
- Regular check-ins on how the team is responding
The common failure is the new manager who keeps doing the old job and neglects the team. Expect it and address it early.
When to look outside
If no one on your team shows the mix of technical credibility and leadership behaviour, do not promote by default. A weak internal pick costs you the person's old output, the team's morale and often a resignation within a year.
Outside hiring is not a rejection of your people. It can be the right move when you need a controller who has already led a team through growth, an acquisition or a system change. You can still build a clear path for your internal talent behind that hire.
What to do next
Pick one finance role you expect to fill in the next 12 months and write down the three leadership behaviours that matter for it. Then check which of your current people show them today, and give the best candidates a chance to practise before the seat opens.
If you are filling a finance leadership role, or want a second view on an internal candidate, a Traverse recruiter can help.