Finance role
Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration) Recruiters
No postings. No stacks of resumes. No chasing. You interview a short list.
Financial Headhunters: The operational cost of errors in your capital calls, distributions, and waterfall calculations keeps rising.
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?
Who performs the daily reconciliation of cash and positions for your specific fund structures? This person must reconcile cash and positions daily. They must be comfortable with the specific nuances of capital calls, distributions, and waterfall calculations.
The work is repetitive and detail-heavy. If they miss a single entry, the month-end trial balance will not match the bank statement. You need a person who notices small discrepancies in ledger data before they become problems in the financial statements. They should be able to produce basic fund reporting independently.
We ask candidates to describe their process for reconciling complex custodian statements. We ask how they handle errors found in sub-ledger entries during month-end closing. We look for a clear explanation of how they verify management fee calculations against the LPA. Their answers reveal if they know the math or just know how to press buttons in software.
You need a concrete scope conversation to avoid misaligned expectations. Before starting, we must agree on the exact mix of asset classes the role will cover. Does this associate handle simple long short equity funds or complex private equity deal structures with multi-tier waterfalls? The reporting rhythm differs. We must define if this person solely inputs data from custodian files or if they possess the autonomy to identify and resolve issues within the sub-ledger directly. Ask them to explain a specific time they caught a material error in a trial balance. Do not settle for a vague description of their diligence. Require them to break down the logic of an adjusting journal entry they initiated without manager prompts. If they cannot walk you through the math of a capital call or a management fee calculation in detail, they lack the necessary technical foundation for this role. We check their actual output from past cycles to verify they understand how fund activity impacts the final financial statements. Listen for precise descriptions of the reconciliation process rather than general process summaries. A strong candidate describes exactly how they cross-reference source documents against accounting software entries to confirm data integrity. They should distinguish clearly between standard monthly accruals and non-recurring capital event adjustments. If their explanation of software functionality sounds like they only follow a rigid manual, they will struggle when exceptions occur. We probe into how they document their work and whether they can present their findings to senior team members during busy periods without requiring oversight.
02
What do we check before you see anyone?
First, we confirm they have recent experience with fund-specific accounting software or high-end ERP systems. Second, we verify their familiarity with GAAP or IFRS requirements for private equity or hedge fund structures. Third, we test their ability to perform manual reconciliations in Excel without relying on automated tools for every step. Fourth, we look for direct experience with capital activity reporting. Fifth, we verify they have handled the preparation of investor statements. Sixth, we confirm their availability for the standard work cycle of a fund administrator, including the extra hours required during peak reporting seasons.
We start with a scope discussion to identify which specific asset classes and accounting workflows dominate your monthly calendar. We evaluate if the role requires independent calculation of complex waterfalls or if the work focuses on basic entry and reconciliation. We ask candidates to provide specific examples of how they handle conflicting data between custodian portals and internal ledgers. We test the trade-off between speed and accuracy by reviewing how they balance urgent investor inquiries against the daily rigor of trial balance integrity. You see candidates only after they explain the logic behind their last complex adjusting entry.
03
Where do we find them?
We source from third-party fund administrators, family offices, and mid-sized public accounting firms with niche audit practices. We look for individuals currently in junior roles who hit a growth ceiling. People usually leave because their current firm lacks a clear path to managing their own fund relationships or because the work volume has become stagnant. We focus on those ready for more ownership of the full accounting cycle.
04
Which hiring mistakes should you watch for?
Avoid these common errors during your search:
- 01Hiring a generalist bookkeeper who lacks the specific fund accounting technical skills for capital calls and waterfall math.
- 02Overlooking candidates who lack the required Excel skills for modeling and pivot tables.
- 03Ignoring the need for specific experience with private equity versus hedge fund structures, as the reporting requirements differ significantly.
05
The search in three steps
We qualify candidates by verifying specific fund administration tasks and systems usage for your team:
- 01Define the scope of funds and the specific technical requirements for the role.
- 02Screen candidates based on their technical accuracy and experience with similar fund structures.
- 03Introduce you to qualified candidates who meet your criteria and discuss their background in detail.
How your Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration) 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
Do you require an initial payment to find someone to reconcile our fund cash positions?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
When is money owed for finding a hire capable of managing our complex waterfall calculations?
No upfront fee. You pay only if you hire.
Are individuals we present on your payroll?
We do not employ, pay, or insure any workers for your firm. We act as an external search partner to identify talent for your internal hiring needs.
Can you handle interim or seasonal needs?
We can handle contract or seasonal hiring requests if we agree on the terms for that specific engagement in writing.
What is the fee for a Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration) 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 Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration) 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 Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration) hire?
We ask every Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration) 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 Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration) 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.
Not ready to start a search?
Get a practical read on the talent market or the job description. No fee or obligation.
What does the published pay data show?
$50,670 national annual median. SOC 43-3031: Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks.
BLS reports Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks, not a separate wage for Fund Accounting Associate (entry level, fund administration). This broader occupation does not distinguish seniority, work arrangement or language requirements.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Released 2026-05-15. This is not a separately measured salary for this exact title.
Read the full salary guide