Experience Doesn’t Replace Onboarding
Experience Doesn’t Replace Onboarding
Onboarding in finance roles still feels like a gap.
Yes, most experienced finance candidates have worked across multiple systems.
Yes, they understand reconciliations, reporting, payroll, month-end, compliance and the importance of accuracy.
And yes, sometimes a business genuinely needs someone who can come in and make an impact quickly.
But experience does not mean someone can walk into a new finance function and immediately understand how everything works.
Every business has its own approval processes, reporting expectations, account structures, deadlines, internal stakeholders and system quirks.
There is also often a lot of knowledge sitting with one person that has never been properly documented.
Who approves what?
Which reports are actually relied on?
What needs to happen before payroll can be finalised?
Which spreadsheets are still being used outside the system?
What issues come up every month that everyone internally already knows about?
These are not things a new employee can simply know because they have used Xero, MYOB, SAP or another large ERP before.
I completely understand the pressure to hire someone who can jump in quickly, particularly when a finance team is already stretched or the role has been vacant for some time.
But there is a difference between hiring someone capable of learning quickly and expecting them to operate without context.
A good onboarding process does not need to be overly complicated. Clear responsibilities, documented processes, access to the right people and some time to understand the business can make an enormous difference.
Strong finance people want to do a good job. Giving them the right information from the beginning helps them do that sooner.
What does good onboarding look like in your finance team
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