The Best Finance Recruiter for Startups in Australia

Story Recruitment says it places two roles only, the first finance hire and the first CFO, for venture-backed Australian companies in tech, fintech and deep tech. That is the 10 on startup focus. The first-hire record is on the page rather than asserted: a case study of Argamon, a Sydney fintech group, making its first in-house finance hire, a Head of Finance, after separating from a legacy business, and a study of 194 funded Australian startups that dates each company's finance hires against its funding rounds. Of the 191 with a dated finance hire, 100 had that person in place before their first announced round and 91 hired after it. No other firm here publishes anything on when a startup should make this hire.

It is also the only firm on the list I found publishing its fees. Its CFO recruitment guide sets a retained fee of 18% of total remuneration including super, paid in thirds (at the start, at shortlist, and about ten days after written acceptance), with a free replacement search if the hire does not work out in the first six months. On a $300,000 package that is $54,000. The same page says the founder runs every search personally, which, with the staged payments and the post-placement check-ins the Argamon case study describes, is the 9 on process. A 2026 salary guide, a set of guides on fractional and virtual CFOs and The CFO Track, a podcast of interviews with Australian CFOs, make up the rest of its startup content.

It loses points in two places. Story does not supply fractional or interim finance leaders: its guides explain when a fractional CFO is the right call and when to move to full-time, but if you want a part-time CFO in the seat this month, Highbury and Six Degrees can place one and Story cannot, so it scores 5 there against Highbury's 9. And an 18% retained fee with a third paid up front is real cash for a seed-stage company, so fee model fit is 9 rather than 10. It is a founder-run firm, registered in August 2022. Best for a founder at a venture-backed tech, fintech or deep tech company hiring the first finance person or the first CFO.

Highbury is a boutique CFO search firm for private equity, venture capital backed and high-growth mid-market businesses. Its services are retained CFO search, CFO-1 recruitment for heads of finance and financial controllers, and fractional CFO and interim support for businesses not yet ready for a full-time hire. That last service is why it scores 9 on fractional to full-time, the highest on the list: a startup can bring in a part-time CFO and later run the permanent search with the same firm. A founding partner leads every search, starting from a structured intake brief and working to an agreed timeline, which earns 8 on process.

It drops points on focus and evidence. Venture capital sits beside private equity and the mid-market in its pitch, and its monthly market newsletter covers the CFO market across PE, VC, ASX-listed and mid-market companies; the one article on that page is about private equity CFOs. I found no published first-hire case study and no published fees, so fee model fit is 4, held up by the fractional route. Highbury Executive Pty Ltd has been registered since March 2026, which makes it younger than Story, and its CFO Scout assessment tool is described as in private beta. Best for a VC- or PE-backed scale-up that wants a fractional CFO now and a permanent one later.

Six Degrees recruits accounting and finance from commercial analysts to CFOs, and its contracting arm offers interim and fractional leadership, which scores 8 on fractional to full-time, second only to Highbury. Its executive search practice has run since 2004 and covers C-suite and board appointments.

It places third because of that cover, not because of a startup offering. Its executive finance desk describes its focus as established and growing mid-market businesses, and I found nothing aimed at startups or a first finance hire, so startup focus and first-hire record are both 3. Its published content is an accounting and finance market insights report rather than startup data, and it publishes no fees on the pages I read. It ties with Robert Half on 26 and goes ahead on the tie-break, fractional to full-time. Best for a growing company that wants an interim or fractional finance leader while it decides on the permanent hire.

Robert Half's CFO executive search page says it has placed hundreds of CFOs and senior finance leaders across private equity, ASX-listed, family-owned and high-growth companies; that figure is the firm's own. Its interim and project practice exists to bridge the time until a permanent employee is found, which gives it 7 on fractional to full-time. It publishes a 2026 finance and accounting salary guide and a finance team structure guide that treats startups as one stage among several.

It offers nothing built for the first finance hire. Startups are one segment of a national practice, and no fees are published on the pages I read. On a broad finance ranking it would sit near the top; on this brief it scores 26. Best for a well-funded scale-up that wants a big-firm CFO search, or an interim finance manager while the search runs.

Robert Walters runs a fintech recruitment desk that says it works with organisations from emerging fintech startups to established banks, and its accounting and finance practice recruits for companies from fast-growing start-ups to ASX-listed corporates, on permanent, contract and interim terms. That is the best startup focus of the big firms at 4, and 6 on fractional to full-time: interim cover is offered, fractional CFOs are not named. It publishes finance director salaries and a fintech salary guide, built on what it says are more than 100,000 placements, which are useful benchmarks when you set a first CFO package.

The pages I read describe a collaborative team model rather than a named lead on each search, and publish no fees, so process is 4 and fee model fit 3. Best for a fintech hiring finance at more than one level, or in more than one state.

Hays runs an accountancy and finance desk out of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and regional offices, and its executive search practice says its consultants gather feedback on a new executive through the first 90 days, which helps its process score of 5. Contract and temporary finance staff are a strength; fractional CFOs are not named, so fractional to full-time is 5. I found nothing aimed at startups on the pages I read, so startup focus is 2, and its salary guide is national and general. Best for a startup outside Sydney and Melbourne that needs a contract accountant quickly.

Google's AI Overview for this search names 4DTalent as a firm working with early-stage tech and SaaS companies. The source it cites is a LinkedIn post announcing the agency's own launch, tagged startup because 4DTalent was the startup. Its services page describes clients from SMEs to ASX-listed companies and global multinationals, with no startup offering, so it scores 2 on startup focus.

Its founding directors came from a large international recruitment business, and it offers permanent, temporary and contract, executive search and project hiring, run through a four-step model of briefing, advertising, market mapping and headhunting. I found no published market content and no fees. Best for a New South Wales or Queensland company hiring finance staff at any level, permanent or contract.

Niche Talent is a Brisbane-based accounting, finance, technology and legal recruiter. Its services page lists tech startups as one of four client types, beside SMEs, top-tier accounting firms and commercial finance teams, and its about page says its specialty is public practice accounting. Its process includes meeting the client, visiting the office and checking in with the new hire after placement, which scores 6, the best process score outside the two specialists.

It recruits CFOs and heads of finance, but I found no first-hire case study, no published salary data (benchmarking is offered in conversation), no contract or interim service and no fees on the pages I read. Best for a Queensland startup hiring an accountant or finance manager.