Hiring situation
Replacing a long-tenured controller (retirement or succession)
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: The replacement must translate decades of manual, undocumented fiscal habits into clear, repeatable, and automated reporting structures.
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?
Your outgoing controller held all internal knowledge regarding fiscal discrepancies and manual workarounds. You now face a void where your current software lacks the documented history your predecessor carried in their head. The successor must maintain fiscal accuracy while systematically replacing these informal manual practices with documented processes that survive their own eventual departure.
The primary risk is a dip in reporting accuracy during the first ninety days as the new person encounters legacy idiosyncrasies. They must gain the confidence of your existing accounting staff who are programmed to the old methods. Any change in reporting logic during this period risks creating internal conflict or visible discrepancies that stakeholders will interpret as failure.
Your transition goal moves the finance function from a reliance on one person to a system based on documented data. The hire audits your ledger for manual overrides and hidden risks. They must build reporting frameworks that remain intact after they leave, which changes your dependency from a specific person to a verifiable set of financial records.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
- 01We ask for proof of work in Sage or NetSuite regarding the mapping of legacy trial balances into new charts of accounts without creating reconciliation breaks.
- 02We ask how they handled an unrecorded liability discovered during their first audit cycle in a previous role.
- 03We request samples of formal documentation they wrote to replace verbal processes previously handled via email threads.
- 04We ask them to describe a specific time they changed a reporting process while their staff actively preferred the previous manual method.
- 05We ask if they personally performed bank reconciliations or journal entries in their last role or if they only reviewed them.
- 06We verify their handling of regulatory filings when shifting between different accounting software platforms during a period of staff turnover.
03
Where do we find them?
We identify candidates within companies moving from owner-managed cash accounting to full accrual finance departments. These individuals have survived the friction of replacing informal paper-based habits with auditable, firm-wide financial standards. Their work history shows how they maintained data accuracy while building the infrastructure needed for reliable future reporting.
We look for candidates who managed the departure of a long-term finance head in environments where the staff resisted new software. We search for those who treat the transition of a legacy ledger as a core project to build a permanent, stable foundation rather than those looking to chase higher titles or equity in growth-stage companies.
We also scout finance leads in companies recently acquired by private equity or larger corporate entities where legacy spreadsheets must transition to standardized corporate reporting. These candidates are often motivated to leave when the acquirer replaces their autonomy with rigid corporate compliance, making your need for a steady, hands-on builder a compelling offer. We ask them to detail how they handled a specific instance where staff refused to adopt a new ledger process. If they explain a plan based on incremental education and reconciliation verification rather than immediate software mandates, they possess the temperament to maintain your reporting continuity while your team adapts to your new documentation standards.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
- 01Hiring a candidate based on their management title rather than asking them to explain their process for fixing a broken sub-ledger integration.
- 02Permitting a new hire to overhaul all reporting software in the first month, which ignores the institutional history the team needs to perform the current period close.
- 03Neglecting to clarify which manual financial reports must remain identical for historical comparison, resulting in a controller who changes key performance metrics to values the board does not recognize.
05
The search in three steps
- 01We map the specific manual gaps in your current fiscal reporting so we find a candidate who has already solved those exact technical integration problems.
- 02We target controllers currently working in firms where they are the person responsible for building structure out of legacy complexity.
- 03We interview candidates on their specific audit plan for your general ledger, asking them to explain their reconciliation steps before they change any system settings.
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
What is the expected turnaround time for a shortlist?
We start contacting candidates immediately. We provide candidates as they qualify against your specific ledger and legacy data requirements.
How do you screen candidates for their ability to manage a team transition?
We ask how they handled staff resistance to new software in previous roles. We check if they can balance hands-on ledger cleanup with the requirements of supervising a team in flux.
How do you handle counteroffers during a controller search?
We identify candidates who want a stable, project-based challenge rather than a simple salary increase. This focus naturally reduces the risk of them accepting a counteroffer to stay in their current role.
Can we keep the search for this replacement private?
We define your company disclosure levels before we contact any potential candidate. We protect your organization identity until you decide it is time to reveal the opening.
How does the fee structure function for this critical hire?
You pay fees only after the successful candidate starts in the position. This approach links our compensation directly to the successful outcome of the hire.
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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