Industry
Finance recruiting for retail and ecommerce.
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: Finance hires who understand channel margins, inventory, returns and payment reconciliation, not just the industry name on a résumé.
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
How long did your last search take?
How much did the empty seat cost while you waited?
Every week a finance seat stays empty costs you in overtime, late closes and work that waits. We go straight to people already doing the job.
01
What does this hire really come down to?
Your next financial leader must master the chaos between physical inventory movement and digital revenue recognition. In retail, standard general ledger accounting rarely captures the nuance of fragmented payment gateways, third-party logistics costs, and erratic return cycles. You need a operator who reconciles these disparate systems daily rather than waiting for month-end reports.
Growth in this space relies on margin visibility at the product and channel level. If your controller cannot explain why your contribution margin eroded despite high volume, your data integrity is likely compromised by poorly mapped fulfillment or inventory valuation errors. We focus on practitioners who treat reconciliation as a tool for commercial strategy.
True effectiveness in this role demands the technical discipline to satisfy audit and investor reporting requirements while remaining responsive to the rapid pace of consumer demand. The right person bridges the gap between accounting rigor and the operational realities of promotional discounting, inventory aging, and cash conversion. We prioritize individuals who drive accuracy into every transaction.
- 01We verify their method for reconciling payment settlement files against daily sales data to account for cash leakage. Ask them to identify which specific accounts they reconcile when a payment lands in the wrong entity.
- 02We check their specific experience with multi-channel inventory systems, specifically how they handle stock valuation and the physical-to-digital data synchronization.
- 03We examine their experience modeling return reserve assumptions to evaluate their grasp of the cash impact of reverse logistics. Ask how they calculated the reserve amount in their last role based on historical return data.
- 04We test their competence with promotional discount structures and how they isolate these costs within the financial reporting hierarchy.
- 05We confirm their ability to manage audit-ready documentation for inventory, particularly for organizations operating across multiple fulfillment hubs or warehouse setups.
- 06We evaluate how they translate technical accounting data into actionable insights for merchandising and operations teams during high-volume trading periods.
02
Where do we find them?
We source candidates from mid-market and scaling consumer businesses where the financial leader is deeply embedded in the supply chain and fulfillment loop. These professionals typically manage tight monthly reporting cadences and face daily pressure to resolve discrepancies between warehouse management systems and their ERP. They understand that their numbers represent real physical goods moving through complex channels.
People move because they outgrow environments where the finance function is purely reactive or manual. They seek opportunities where they can overhaul processes, implement stronger data controls, or partner more directly with executive leadership on capital allocation. We look for those ready to apply their skills in a more sophisticated transactional environment.
- 01Candidates often fail by over-relying on automated software tools without understanding the manual logic required to fix corrupted or misaligned source data.
- 02We avoid those who cannot connect their accounting outputs to the physical commercial drivers like SKU-level profitability, shipping costs, or aged inventory reserves.
- 03A major disqualifier is an inability to describe how specific payment and return complexities alter the final cash position of the enterprise. We ask them to trace the entry of a customer return through the ledger to the bank statement.
03
The search in three steps
We define the role by its transactional load and specific ERP requirements to target the correct functional experience. Ask them to describe their process for managing month-end close volume during peak sales periods.
We map candidates from firms with comparable order fulfillment and channel complexity, executing persistent outreach to engage individuals who are currently focused on their internal results.
We qualify each individual through rigorous diagnostic interviews about their specific technical handling of inventory and reconciliation, presenting only those who meet your operational standards.
04
Which related hiring decisions are worth comparing?
In this family
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Related positions we recruit
- Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
- Division / Business Unit CFO
- Chief Accounting Officer
- SVP Finance
- VP Finance
- VP Finance and Administration
- Director of Finance
- Head of Finance
- CFO / COO (combined role)
- Corporate Controller
- Controller
- Division Controller
- Regional / Multi-Site Controller
- Assistant Controller
- VP of Accounting
- Director of Accounting
- Senior Accounting Manager
- Accounting Manager
- Accounting Supervisor
- General Ledger Manager
- Consolidations Manager
- Senior Accountant
- Staff Accountant (experienced)
- General Ledger Accountant
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- Lease Accountant (ASC 842)
- Operations Controller
- VP FP&A
- Director of FP&A
- FP&A Manager
- Senior Financial Analyst
- Financial Analyst (experienced)
- Finance Business Partner
- Commercial / Sales Finance Manager
- Director of Strategic Finance
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- VP Corporate Development
- Corporate Development Director / Manager
- Director of Investor Relations
- Pricing Manager
- Budget Manager
- Director of Accounting Operations
- Finance Shared Services Manager
- Accounts Payable Manager
- Accounts Payable Supervisor
- Procure-to-Pay Manager
- Accounts Receivable Manager
- Billing Manager
- Order-to-Cash Manager
- Credit Manager
- Director of Credit
- Credit and Collections Manager
- Director of Payroll
- Payroll Manager
- Payroll Supervisor
- Director of Finance Systems
- Finance Systems Manager
- Financial Systems Analyst
- NetSuite Administrator
- Sage Intacct Administrator
- SAP FICO Analyst
- Oracle Financials (ERP) Analyst
- Workday Financials Analyst
- EPM / Planning Systems Manager (Adaptive, Anaplan, OneStream)
- Finance Transformation Director
- Finance Data / BI Analyst
- Bookkeeper
- Full-Charge Bookkeeper
- Accounting Clerk
- Junior Accountant (Accountant I, entry-level Staff Accountant)
- Account Reconciliation Specialist
- Lease Administrator
- Grant Accountant (nonprofit)
- Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration)
- Financial Analyst (entry level to experienced)
- Budget Analyst
- Pricing Analyst
- Commission and Sales Compensation Analyst
- Accounts Payable Clerk
- Accounts Payable Specialist
- Vendor Master Data Specialist
- Travel and Expense (T&E) Auditor
- Accounts Receivable Specialist (including cash application)
- Cash Application Specialist
- Billing Specialist
- Collections Specialist (commercial and consumer)
- Trade Credit Analyst (B2B, non-bank)
- Deductions and Chargeback Analyst
- Payroll Clerk
- Payroll Specialist
- Payroll Administrator
- Payroll Analyst
- Payroll Tax Specialist
- Certified and Union Payroll Specialist (prevailing wage)
- Timekeeper (field and craft labor)
- Deputy CFO
- Accounting Clerk I
- Accounting Clerk II
- Accounting Clerk III
- Financial Analyst I
- Financial Analyst II
- Financial Analyst III
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- Senior Accounts Receivable Specialist
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- Senior Payroll Specialist
- Lead Payroll Specialist
How your Controller 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 quickly can you provide a shortlist?
We provide a realistic timeframe after the initial discovery of your specific role requirements. Our search process prioritizes quality over speed, as we do not maintain a generic inventory of ready-to-move candidates.
How do you assess cultural and technical fit?
We test candidates on actual problems you face like multi-channel settlement or inventory accuracy. We ask candidates to define the exact steps they took to reconcile a payment settlement file that did not match bank deposit records.
What if a candidate receives a counteroffer?
We manage the candidate’s expectations and motivations throughout the search to minimize the risk of a counteroffer. Our process focuses on identifying professionals who are motivated by a strategic move rather than just a salary increment.
Is this search confidential?
We maintain strict confidentiality throughout the outreach process to protect your business interests. We discuss the role only with pre-vetted candidates who demonstrate the required technical maturity.
How do you charge for hiring retail and ecommerce professionals?
Our services operate on a permanent contingency basis. You only pay a professional fee if you hire a candidate presented by us, under agreed written terms.
What is the fee for a Controller search?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire. The fee and terms are agreed in writing before we start.
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 Controller 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.