Comparison
Which recruiting service fits your opening?
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters recruits people already doing the work. Other firms also research markets and contact candidates directly. Compare the proposed service for your CFO, controller, accounting or banking opening, not a claim that one firm has all the good people.
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
Prefer to write it out?
Send the full detail.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
What does your opening need?
A CFO appointment can involve the board, an owner and a lender with different expectations. A controller search may turn on who owns the close and who answers the auditors. An FP&A manager needs to turn operating assumptions into a forecast that management can use. Those are different briefs even when the same recruiter can work on each one. Write down the decisions the hire must own before asking for a proposal.
Industry changes the brief too. A contractor's accounting manager needs to work through job costs and progress billing. A manufacturer needs cost and inventory experience. A bank finance leader needs regulatory reporting rather than a generic corporate reporting background. Treasury, tax and financial-services searches need their own checks. Ask the proposed recruiter to explain which experience matters for that exact seat. A recognizable logo does not answer that question.
Korn Ferry and Egon Zehnder: executive-search mandates
Korn Ferry describes executive search that includes target-company research and direct contact. It is not accurate to describe that service as posting a job and waiting. Egon Zehnder describes custom executive search. A board choosing a CFO can ask either firm how the proposed mandate covers stakeholder input, research and assessment. The service descriptions do not establish the terms of your particular assignment.
Executive search is a relevant option when an appointment needs a formal mandate and substantial leadership assessment. Confirm who carries out the work and which decisions the employer retains. Ask about candidate access and confidentiality for the actual opening. Do not assume a firm offers the same scope for a treasury analyst that it offers for a board-level CFO.
Robert Half: permanent recruitment and separate executive search
Robert Half offers permanent recruitment and a separate executive-search service. A finance employer should compare the appropriate service, not treat the whole business as temporary staffing. For a controller or an accounting hire, ask which team takes the brief and what work is checked before introduction. For a CFO appointment, ask whether the executive-search service is the proposed route.
This distinction matters when you are buying more than one kind of help. A permanent replacement and a short coverage need are not the same agreement. Confirm the employment arrangement and the introduction process for each. We do not infer Robert Half's charges, replacement terms or candidate quality from its size or from another employer's experience.
Adecco and AppleOne: compare the placement arrangement
Adecco describes permanent recruitment using multiple sourcing channels. AppleOne offers direct hire, temporary and temp-to-hire services, along with personal interviews, references and a network. Neither description supports a claim that these firms only post jobs. Ask how the chosen service reaches people with your accounting systems and industry experience.
For an AP backlog or a defined coverage need, the arrangement may matter as much as the title. For a permanent tax or accounting position, ask how the team tests the actual work and a candidate's reason for moving. Services and commercial terms belong in the proposal. Do not carry assumptions from a temporary assignment into a permanent recruitment agreement.
Michael Page: research, networks and advertising
Michael Page describes targeted research, networks and advertising in its sourcing methodology. Direct research and advertising can coexist. The useful question is how those channels will be used for your opening. A financial-services employer can ask what experience the proposed team will look for in a lender, a credit professional or an accounting manager.
Ask for the screening plan before discussing a larger candidate list. A treasury hire may need cash forecasting and payment controls. An FP&A hire may need driver-based planning. A title match alone does not settle either decision. These are questions to put to every proposed recruiter, including Financial Headhunters.
Aerotek: an industrial and skilled-staffing comparison
Aerotek describes industrial and skilled staffing, candidate engagement, interviews and references. That is relevant to an employer buying industrial staffing. It should not be presented as an identical service to a specialist finance search. A manufacturer hiring production staff and a plant controller may be choosing different services for the two needs.
Keep the comparison tied to the opening. For the plant controller, ask about inventory, costing and the reporting relationship to corporate finance. For an industrial assignment, ask about the work and arrangement covered by that staffing proposal. We make no claim about Aerotek's finance coverage, results or terms beyond the linked service description.
Financial Headhunters: specialist contingency search
We start with the work the person must own and the industry setting. We research relevant employers and contact working professionals directly. Qualification covers their responsibilities, systems and reason for considering a move. You receive a focused shortlist rather than an unchecked stack of resumes. We support interviews and the offer discussion while the employer makes the hiring decision.
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed agreement sets the commercial terms. Permanent placement is our main model. Defined contract, temp-to-perm and busy-season needs are considered on request, with terms agreed for that engagement. This is a statement of our process and model, not a claim of better outcomes than another firm.
What should you compare in the proposals?
Use the same brief for each proposal. Ask who takes the intake, how the market is researched and what direct outreach is included. Ask what the candidate qualification covers and what comes with an introduction. Then read the payment triggers and exclusions. A job board is another route: it publishes the opening, while your team usually handles qualification unless a separate service is purchased. Choose the route your team has the capacity to manage.
Our specialist role families
- Finance Leadership
- Controllership, Corporate and Cost Accounting
- SEC Reporting, Technical and Revenue Accounting
- FP&A and Strategic Finance
- Construction and Real Estate Accounting
- Tax
- Treasury
- Internal Audit, SOX and Risk
- Accounting Operations, Credit and Payroll Leadership
- Finance Systems and Transformation
- Public Accounting: Audit, Tax and Advisory
- Private Equity, Private Credit and Family Office Finance
- Banking, Lending and Credit Unions
- Wealth Management and Trust
- Insurance Finance and Actuarial
- Bookkeeping, Staff Accounting and Analyst Support
- Accounts Payable and Expense
- Accounts Receivable, Billing, Credit and Collections
- Payroll and Timekeeping
- Tax Preparation and Audit Staff
- Bank Branch and Retail Banking
- Bank Operations, Payments and Financial Crimes Compliance
- Mortgage Lending and Operations
- Loan Operations and Servicing
- Insurance Underwriting, Claims and Agency Operations
- Wealth Management Support
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.
Side-by-side
Reviewed October 13, 2026. Official service descriptions are linked beside the claims below. This is a comparison of service models, not a ranking or a quote for any firm's fees.
| Service model | Sourcing described | Candidate reach | Commercial basis | Where to investigate fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Executive search | Korn Ferry describes research and direct contact; Egon Zehnder describes custom search | Executives identified for the mandate | Ask for the proposed engagement terms | A CFO or other leadership appointment with a formal mandate |
| Permanent recruitment | Robert Half and Adecco offer permanent recruitment; Michael Page describes research, networks and ads | Reach depends on the proposed service and team | Use the actual permanent-placement proposal | Controller, accounting, FP&A, tax or treasury openings |
| Direct / temp / temp-to-hire | AppleOne describes these separate arrangements, interviews and references | Its network and recruitment for the chosen arrangement | Confirm the arrangement in the agreement | A permanent hire or defined staffing need |
| Industrial and skilled staffing | Aerotek describes engagement, interviews and references | Industrial and skilled staffing pools | Confirm assignment terms | Industrial staffing, not an assumed equivalent to finance search |
| Job advertising | Publish the vacancy and receive applications | People browsing or receiving job alerts | Advertising or subscription terms | An employer with time to qualify applications |
| Financial Headhunters | Targeted market research, direct outreach and work-specific qualification | Working accounting, finance, banking and financial-services professionals | No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire; signed terms control | A defined opening needing specific role and industry experience |
Sources
- Korn Ferry: executive search
- Egon Zehnder: executive search
- Robert Half: permanent recruitment and executive search
- Adecco: permanent recruitment
- AppleOne: employer services
- Michael Page: sourcing methodology
- Aerotek: staffing solutions
Company names are trademarks of their owners. We are not affiliated with them.
Questions people ask
Do other firms contact employed candidates directly?
Yes. Korn Ferry describes direct contact, and Michael Page describes targeted research and networks. Ask each proposed team how it will source for your specific opening.
Is permanent recruitment the same as temporary staffing?
No. The employment arrangement and commercial terms differ. Robert Half describes permanent recruitment separately, while AppleOne lists direct, temporary and temp-to-hire services.
Can this table tell me what another firm charges?
No. Read that firm's proposal for the actual service and terms. We do not publish assumed fees or replacement conditions for competitors.
What should I ask for a bank or financial-services hire?
Describe the responsibilities and institution type first. Ask how the recruiter checks regulatory reporting, credit work or customer responsibilities before introducing someone.
When does Financial Headhunters charge?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The signed recruiting agreement states the fee and conditions for your search.
What is the fee for a finance search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The fee and terms are agreed in writing before we start.
How soon will I see a finance shortlist?
It depends on the seat, the location and the pay. We give you an honest read after the calibration call and we do not promise dates we cannot control.
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.