My Favorite FP&A Interview Questions
What to ask, what to listen for, and why your Aunt Linda is part of the test.
My Favorite FP&A Interview Questions
After spending 20,000 hours building FP&A teams, I’ve learned the hard way what separates good from great talent.
I’ve made great hires. I’ve made terrible hires. Some turned into CFOs. Some left under the cover of night, leaving behind mysterious Sumifs in v147 of the planning model that no one dared unravel.
You can learn from my wins and losses.
When it comes to hiring FP&A candidates, I look for a mix of technical prowess, strategic insight, and the ability to communicate effectively (bonus points for taste in GIFs).
Below are my favorite questions to gauge whether a candidate has what it takes. It’s inspired by the wonderful guide
wrote on hiring Product Managers.This guide is helpful for both those HIRING top talent, as well as those preparing to LAND their dream FP&A job.
Favorite question to start with
Tell me about a time you built a financial model. What was its purpose, and what was the most sensitive variable in the model?
Why I love this question: Because every FP&A pro has one model they secretly consider their masterpiece. This question is about pride, pain, and whether they know which lever can break the whole thing in two clicks.
What to look for:
Who was the model built for? It’s a key insight into who they were partnering with (e.g., CMO? CRO?), and the types of problems they were trusted with solving (complete budgeting process? pipeline analysis? headcount forecasting?)
Proper identification of the most sensitive variable cuts through a lot of noise. This will tell you if they truly “get it”
How they structured the model - was there a summary table at the front? Where did the raw data sit?
Flags:
The example they pick is not very important—likely means they haven’t worked on anything meaty
It was built with just one type of data (e.g., ONLY financial data… did not incorporate product or sales data)
Lack of modularity - couldn’t be broken into component parts for different audiences
Favorite question to understand their strategic thinking
What KPIs do you think are the most important for our business, and why?
Why I love this question: I’m looking for how well they understand our company's drivers and whether they can translate that into key performance indicators. It also reveals if they understand how your company actually makes money, or if they just skimmed the website.
What to look for:
A clear understanding for how you monetize (is this a marketplace or a SaaS model? Are you the middle man? How do you distribute your product?)
An understanding as to how deal size and average customer size impact your operations
Ability to tie ownership of metrics back to key people within the org
Flags:
Only relying on financial metrics
Citing compound metrics (like LTV to CAC) without identifying the nuanced levers behind them
If they give cumulative metrics that lack trend and the ability to decrease (like all time downloads, bugs fixed etc.) or vanity metrics (NPS, CSAT)
Favorite question to test communication skills
(Keep reading for questions that test for prioritization skills, owning mistakes, technical skills, and self-awareness)