For PE-sponsored portfolio companies
Interviews reward candidates who are good at interviewing. A case study moves the conversation from claimed experience to demonstrated judgment.
From Hunt Club’s Financial Officers Practice
We built this framework from three recent CFO case studies we ran with clients (all company and candidate identifiers have been removed) and distilled it into a reusable method. The aim is to let a hiring team design an exercise tailored to a specific business in under an hour, and to evaluate the results consistently across finalists.
All three case studies we drew on told candidates, in some form, that a perfect answer wasn’t the point. Clients wanted to see the way candidates arrived at a conclusion and their thought process. Design the exercise so a candidate with the right instincts and an imperfect answer outranks one with a polished answer but no point of view.
Unbounded prompts often end up favoring candidates with free time rather than good judgment, and they penalize sitting CFOs, who are usually stronger.
A finalist who has shown modeling range across three interviews doesn’t need a modeling exercise. So, build the exercise backwards from your open question, not forwards from a template.
To start, finish this sentence
“After the interviews we’ve run, the thing we still don’t know about this candidate is blank.”
Then match your answer to a format:
Choose the strategic decision brief.
Choose the value-creation plan.
Choose the quantitative case.
| A. Strategic decision brief | B. Value-creation plan | C. Quantitative case | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core ask | “Frame an open strategic decision and lead a board-level discussion on it” | “Given a starting point and a constraint, build the path to a target” | “Given a data pack, build the analysis and defend it” |
| Best when | The CFO seat is a strategy seat and the sponsor wants to see the candidate run a room | The mandate is margin, professionalization or the sponsor’s value-creation plan | Capital allocation is the core of the job and technical depth is the open question |
| Reveals | Structuring under ambiguity, stakeholder awareness, presence | Prioritization, tradeoff discipline, handling resistance | Modeling ability, assumption quality, the diligence questions they surface |
| Blind spot | Technical depth and rigor | Raw analytical skill, since a fluent talker can produce a plausible plan | Leadership and partnership fit |
| Candidate effortMay involve a timed Excel module | 3–4 hours | 3–4 hours | 5–6 hours |
Each format below comes from a real client exercise, with company and candidate identifiers removed. For each, we show what candidates were asked and how to apply it to your own search.
What candidates were asked
An early-scale insurance technology company asked finalists to choose between two live strategic initiatives, then lead a board-level discussion on the one they picked. Deliverables were a board presentation, a first-90-days plan and success metrics.
How to apply it to your search
What candidates were asked
A PE-backed software business responding to AI disruption asked candidates how they would think about lifting EBITDA to a stated target while assuming low growth persisted.
How to apply it to your search
What candidates were asked
A multi-site, growth-equity-backed operator sent finalists a data pack and asked them to build a projection model, compare greenfield versus acquisition returns, and identify what would make the weaker option viable.
How to apply it to your search
Scoring is where most case studies lose their value. To get the most from your case study exercise, follow these guidelines:
Circulate the scoring grid before candidates receive the prompt.
Have each panelist score independently in the fifteen minutes after the session, before any discussion.
Step 1
Choose the three that map to the open question you identified when choosing your format. They carry roughly 60% of the decision.
Step 2
Base each answer on the candidate’s response to the case study exercise.
Do they define the problem or decision clearly and structure the conversation so others can join?
Do they identify the real levers (margin, capital efficiency, growth rate) and weigh upside against downside?
Do they use data to make decisions, spot trends and improve performance?
Can they build and interpret models, forecast revenue and expense, and read key ratios?
Can they identify and mitigate the financial risks specific to this business?
Do they weigh the board, the sponsor, lenders, internal teams, customers and regulators?
Do they hold a point of view while staying open to input?
Do they communicate with clarity and bring others into the conversation?
Step 3
Weighted score
Priority gaps to probe:
Also worth discussing:
Priority categories carry 60% of the score and the other five carry 40%. This is a discussion aid for your panel, not a hiring decision.
Your strongest candidates are often sitting CFOs with full-time jobs. How you build and run the exercise decides whether they agree to it, whether they finish it, and whether you can compare finalists fairly. Here are the mechanics to hold to.
After you have met the candidate at least twice and intend to hire from this group. Used as an initial screen, it reads as too early of a filter and costs you finalists.
Two to four. Below two there’s nothing to compare. Above four, the panel fatigues and later sessions get judged against earlier ones instead of the bar.
Five to seven days minimum, including a weekend. Sitting CFOs may struggle to prepare on weeknights.
The decision-makers, and the same people for every candidate. Include the sponsor’s representative alongside the CEO. A rotating panel destroys comparability.
If you share a workbook, scale or anonymize the figures and put an NDA in place. State plainly whether numbers are real or illustrative.
Name a contact and invite questions. How a candidate uses that channel, or whether they use it at all, is a signal.
Identical prompt, notice, session length and panel. Record any deviation.
Offer substantive feedback to everyone who completes it, including those not advanced. It protects your reputation in the market.
Hiring a CFO?
Our Financial Officers practice works with sponsor-backed companies on CFO searches, including how to design and run an exercise like this one. If you are hiring, we would be glad to talk it through.
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