Hiring situation
Confidential replacement of a finance leader (incumbent still in seat)
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: Change your finance leadership while keeping the current occupant in place and the market in the dark.
This is what we do all day: recruit accounting, finance, banking and insurance professionals.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Need someone now? Call 305-306-4829.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
- Controller
- CFO
- VP Finance
- FP&A Director
- Accounting Manager
- Director of Accounting
- Assistant Controller
- Tax Director
- Treasury Manager
- Internal Audit Director
- Senior Accountant
- Financial Analyst
- Head of Financial Reporting
- Commercial Lender
- Chief Credit Officer
- Business Systems Finance Lead
- No upfront fee
- Pay only if you hire
- Accounting, finance, banking and insurance
- We reach people who aren’t on job boards
- Replacement terms on standard searches
01
What does this hire really come down to?
Replacing a finance leader during their tenure creates immediate risk to cash flow and internal morale. You need a person who can audit your books and manage reporting from the day they arrive. This is about maintaining the financial cycle during a sensitive handoff. Can the candidate maintain tax filings and debt covenant reporting? We will ask them to detail how they meet these deadlines without interrupting your current financial cycle.
We look for finance managers who have done this specific work. Ask them to describe how they audited a department they were joining without alarming the current team. You want a person who prioritizes reporting accuracy over their own need to change every process immediately. They must show how they handled the first 30 days when they had to keep their work quiet.
We hide your identity from the market to protect your reputation. A leaked search damages confidence with your bank and board. We act as a shield, conducting all vetting through private channels. You dictate the timing of the transition so the change happens under your control without tipping your hand to the person in the seat.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
- 01We confirm they replaced a senior leader while the prior person was still there and check if they maintained the reporting schedule during that overlap.
- 02We test their direct experience with NetSuite or SAP by asking them to walk through how they re-reconcile a balance sheet with missing supporting documentation.
- 03We verify they led a team through an actual audit or tax review that required the same filings your company completes.
- 04We ask how they handled an employee who found out about the transition to see if they can manage team anxiety without leaking the news.
- 05We verify they managed cash flow during a crisis and confirm if they have ever been responsible for explaining a debt covenant breach to a lender.
- 06We ask for a specific example of how they managed team friction when joining a firm where they were seen as a future replacement for an active manager.
03
Where do we find them?
We target people working in private equity portfolios, regional banks, and manufacturing firms. These people handle intense reporting deadlines and manage groups that track debt and equity closely. They are not checking job boards; they are working through long-term financial projects and do not seek a change until a specific challenge arises.
A finance leader moves when their current firm limits their autonomy or stops providing new technical challenges. We contact them to discuss your specific reporting structure and cash flow complexity. We find people who have built systems from scratch and want a new environment where their ability to maintain rigor is the primary focus.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring based on a title rather than a deep check of whether they have used your specific tax reporting software or completed a complex system migration.
- 02Neglecting to clarify who the new hire will manage and how they will resolve conflicts with the current leader's direct reports during the transition.
- 03Assuming a person who was a strong individual contributor can manage a department through a stressful leadership change without causing resignations.
05
The search in three steps
- 01We audit your reporting requirements to list the specific technical tasks the new leader must finish in the first quarter.
- 02We contact individuals who fit your needs and verify they can handle the pressure of a quiet transition before you speak to them.
- 03We send you a short list of candidates for interviews and control the release of your name to guard your search.
06
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
How your search runs
How does The Six-Step Search work?
One sequence, from a well-defined seat to a shortlist you can judge.
Search Calibration
We start with a call about the seat, the books, the owners and the people the hire will work with. We learn what the role must fix in the first year and what would make a candidate wrong even if the resume looks right.
You get: A written search brief: scope, must-haves, deal-breakers and the pay range, agreed with you.
Market Mapping
We map the companies and institutions where the right people already work: similar size, similar ownership, similar complexity, in your market and in others.
You get: The target list of companies and institutions we will search, reviewed with you before outreach.
Professional Contact Intelligence
We find direct ways to reach the people on the map. Most are employed and not reading job boards, so reaching them takes real research.
You get: Direct routes to people who are not on job boards, researched for your search.
Persistent Personalized Outreach
We call and write to people individually and follow up. Interest varies, so we discuss the actual opportunity rather than promising a particular response.
You get: One-to-one conversations about your actual role, followed up, never a mass email blast.
Live Candidate Qualification
We speak with every candidate before you do. We check scope, systems, reporting lines, compensation expectations, location and why they would move.
You get: Only candidates we have spoken with, checked on scope, systems, pay, location and motive.
Candidate Intelligence and Process Support
You receive a short written brief on each finalist covering what they have done, where they are thin and what they want. Then we help with interviews, references and the offer.
You get: A short written brief on each finalist, plus help with interviews, references, counteroffer risk and the offer.
Questions people ask
How much time should we plan for before receiving a shortlist?
We update you as soon as a qualified person responds to our outreach. We do not provide fake dates because finding a person who can handle this quiet transition requires deep checking.
If our internal team rejects the candidate we select, what happens next?
We use the interview feedback to see if the problem was technical skill or interpersonal fit. We then adjust the target profile to find a better match.
What steps do you take to prevent our secret search from leaking?
We vet candidates before telling them your company name. We explain the role using only the technical work required until we confirm they are a serious match.
What happens if our existing leader leaves before we finish the search?
We shift the search to reflect the new immediate vacancy. We focus on keeping your financial operations moving while we find a permanent replacement.
When is the placement fee officially triggered?
You only pay when you hire the candidate. Every term for this payment is written in our contract before we start.
What about counteroffers on a finance hire?
We ask every finance candidate early why they would move and what their employer might do to keep them. Counteroffer risk goes in the written brief before you make an offer.
What is your guarantee?
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
What don't you do?
We do not post your finance job and forward whoever applies. We do not send stacks of unscreened resumes, and we do not recruit outside accounting, finance, banking and insurance.
Start a search
Tell us about the seat.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
We offer a candidate replacement guarantee on standard search agreements. The applicable period and exact terms are set out in the signed client recruiting agreement.
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