Introduction
A CFO of a high growth software company recently explained a problem that is becoming increasingly common: "We are losing strong FP&A talent even though our compensation is competitive."
Finance leaders across mid-market companies report the same pattern. Salary bands increase, bonuses are adjusted, and HR updates compensation strategies, yet the most capable analysts and managers still leave.
The truth is simple. The finance talent market has changed. High performing FP&A professionals now make decisions based on impact, clarity, hiring velocity, and organizational effectiveness, not salary alone.
At Nexteam, we see this shift every day when companies come to us for help rebuilding their FP&A function with distributed, high slope talent.
Compensation Is No Longer the Deciding Factor
Compensation mattered more when finance roles were standardized and career paths predictable. That era has ended.
According to ZRG's 2025 Talent Acquisition Trends, quality of hire is now the most important hiring metric because it is directly linked to productivity, innovation, and long term company performance. This reflects how candidates think as well. They are searching for environments where they can contribute meaningfully and operate without unnecessary friction.
Heidrick and Struggles also notes that culture and career development often outweigh compensation when professionals evaluate whether to stay or leave.
This mirrors what Nexteam observes in the market. When a company has unclear processes, slow decision making, or vague growth paths, even well paid finance talent will explore other opportunities.
Slow Hiring Cycles Are Quietly Destroying Your Talent Pipeline
Most companies do not lose FP&A talent because of salary. They lose talent because their hiring process signals dysfunction.
Long, fragmented hiring cycles communicate that:
- decision making is slow
- teams do not coordinate well
- priorities are unclear
- inefficiency is tolerated
High performing FP&A talent immediately interprets this as a preview of the internal environment.
Industry research shows that candidates disengage quickly when processes feel disorganized or unnecessarily long. Nexteam sees this in real time. When companies hire slowly, top candidates accept other offers from teams that move decisively and respect their time.
What modern hiring looks like
High performing finance teams remove friction by:
- consolidating interviews
- running evaluations in parallel
- defining decision criteria before the search begins
- pre booking interview slots
- empowering recruiters to maintain velocity
These adjustments do not reduce rigor. They reduce delay. They also increase offer acceptance rates and improve candidate experience without increasing compensation.
Your Talent Narrative Is Repelling the People You Want Most
Finance leaders talk frequently about digital enablement, analytics maturity, and strategic business partnership. Yet when they hire, many still rely on outdated job descriptions that focus on tasks, not impact.
Top FP&A professionals want clarity on:
- the problems they will solve
- the decisions they will influence
- the level of strategic exposure they will have
- the analytical frameworks they will build
When job descriptions focus mainly on reporting cycles or basic analysis, you lose the people capable of driving transformation.
The shift companies need to make
Forward thinking teams now position roles around outcomes. For example:
- From "prepare monthly reports" to "generate insights that influence pricing and profitability".
- From "support budgeting" to "build the forecasting tools leaders use to navigate uncertainty".
At Nexteam, we help clients reshape their talent narrative before hiring begins. This attracts stronger candidates and sets the right expectations for long term retention.
Geography Is No Longer a Constraint
Even though remote work has become standard across finance functions, many companies still restrict hiring to a local radius. This creates an unnecessary talent bottleneck.
Analytical finance roles do not require physical presence. FP&A, financial modeling, reporting, and business partnering can be done effectively from any location with aligned time zones. Companies that hire only locally compete for a small pool of candidates while overlooking outstanding professionals across Latin America and Eastern Europe.
Nexteam was created to solve this exact problem. We connect companies with high performing remote FP&A talent that works in their time zone and integrates seamlessly into their workflows. The companies that embrace this model gain access to a significantly larger talent pool and reduce hiring pressure in overheated local markets.
Building a Modern Finance Talent Strategy
The companies that succeed in today's market operate across three dimensions.
1. Speed and Decisiveness
Treat time to hire as a measurable KPI. Reduce bottlenecks. Empower decision makers. Run steps in parallel.
2. Impact Driven Narrative
Top FP&A talent wants to influence the business. Your role descriptions and hiring conversations must clearly show how the position drives strategy and growth.
3. Geographic Flexibility
Expanding your reach unlocks high slope finance talent that is not visible in local searches. This is where Nexteam delivers the most value. Our clients build stronger FP&A teams by accessing distributed analysts, senior analysts, and managers who bring both technical skill and strategic thinking.
The Competitive Advantage Hidden in Plain Sight
None of these improvements require more budget. Faster hiring does not cost more. Stronger talent narratives do not cost more. Accessing global talent often reduces cost while increasing quality.
The real barrier is organizational, not financial. Companies that rethink their approach now will win the competition for finance talent. Those that continue hiring with outdated models will fall behind, even with competitive salaries.
Conclusion
The finance talent market has changed permanently. Top FP&A professionals are not leaving because of pay. They are leaving because hiring processes are slow, role narratives are unclear, and companies still think geographically when talent has become global.
CFOs who adapt will build finance teams that drive strategic value and help the business grow with clarity and speed. Those who do not will continue losing candidates to faster, better aligned competitors.
Ready to build a finance team that grows faster than the market? Contact Nexteam to discover how high slope international talent can transform your finance function into a strategic accelerator.