Your VP Finance just gave notice. Your audit starts in six weeks. Your internal recruiter is already managing 12 open reqs, and your CFO is asking how much this search is going to cost.
If you use a traditional recruiting firm, the answer might be $45,000 to $60,000 (20-25% of a $200K+ VP Finance salary). That's before you've even made an offer.
There's a better way to build finance teams without commission fees draining your hiring budget. Here's how growth-stage companies are approaching finance recruiting in 2026.
Commission-based finance recruiting can cost $90,000+ to build a team—there's a smarter way to fill critical roles without draining your budget.Finance roles aren't like other positions. The requirements are non-negotiable:
Technical certifications matter. CPAs, CMAs, and CFAs aren't just nice-to-haves—they're often required. According to executive search firms that specialize in finance leadership, certifications significantly narrow the candidate pool.
Regulatory knowledge is specific. A controller who understands Sarbanes-Oxley compliance isn't interchangeable with one who doesn't. Revenue recognition expertise (ASC 606) matters. Industry-specific regulations (healthcare reimbursement, financial services capital requirements) create additional filters.
Systems experience varies widely. Has your candidate closed books in NetSuite? Managed consolidations in BlackLine? Built FP&A models in Adaptive Planning? Systems expertise directly impacts their speed to productivity.
The tech stack is expanding rapidly. Modern finance roles require proficiency beyond traditional accounting software. Can your candidate build executive dashboards in Power BI? Automate monthly close processes using Microsoft 365 tools? Leverage AI for variance analysis and forecasting? For technology-driven companies especially, finance professionals need to blend deep financial expertise with data analysis capabilities and comfort working in complex automation platforms like Dynamics, Power Query, and process optimization tools.
The role scope keeps expanding. Modern finance professionals need to combine traditional accounting expertise with data analytics capabilities. As more finance organizations adopt AI-driven forecasting and analytics, the premium on hybrid "finance-plus-data" profiles is increasing.
All of this creates a talent market where Controllers, Heads of Finance, and CFO-track leaders remain among the most difficult roles to fill quickly—especially in PE-backed environments with aggressive growth timelines.
Here's the math on traditional commission-based recruiting:
When you're building a finance team post-acquisition and need to hire an accounting manager, senior accountant, FP&A analyst, and controller simultaneously, you're looking at $90,000+ in recruiting fees alone.
Traditional contingency firms are incentivized to:
You're also starting from zero with every new search. The candidate pipeline, contact information, and market intelligence from previous searches? The recruiting firm keeps it.
Organizations using on-demand recruiting for finance roles have cut time-to-fill by as much as 30% while dramatically reducing costs compared to traditional models.
On-demand recruiting operates fundamentally differently:
Hourly billing instead of commissions. You pay for recruiter time—typically $120/hour for full-cycle recruiting and $80/hour for research and sourcing. Whether you're hiring a $65K staff accountant or a $225K VP Finance, the hourly rate stays the same.
Transparent pricing. You know exactly what you're paying at any given time. No surprise fees, no "contingency splits," no percentage negotiations.
Scale up and down based on needs. Building an entire finance function post-acquisition? Add multiple recruiters working parallel searches. Backfilling one controller? Right-size to exactly what you need. Learn more about IQTalent's scalable approach.
Retain all candidate data. Every resume, contact detail, interview note, and pipeline candidate stays with you. Build your finance talent network over time instead of renting it from a recruiting firm that disappears after placement.
For most finance leadership roles, even an extensive search (80-100 hours of recruiting effort) costs $9,600–$12,000. That's a fraction of traditional commission fees, especially for senior roles.
Whether you're using internal recruiters, external partners, or a hybrid approach, effective finance recruiting requires:
Can your recruiters (or recruiting partner) tell the difference between:
If not, you'll waste interview time on candidates who can't do the job.
The best finance recruiters combine industry depth with cross-industry perspective. Your technology company needs someone who understands SaaS revenue recognition, but the best controller candidate might come from a subscription-based healthcare business with similar accounting complexities.
Quarter-end is approaching. You're preparing for an audit. Your M&A close date is fixed. In finance, timing often isn't flexible. Recruiting processes that take 90+ days don't work.
Research shows that firms using on-demand recruiting have cut time-to-fill by up to 30% compared with traditional models. That means hitting your audit timeline instead of scrambling for interim contractors at premium rates.
Even after you've hired your controller, you'll eventually need an FP&A manager, a tax director, or a treasury lead. The best recruiting approach builds a finance talent pipeline you can tap for future needs—not a black box that disappears after each placement.
Finance recruiting shouldn't mean choosing between speed and quality—or between getting the right hire and staying within budget.If you're considering external recruiting support for finance hiring, ask these questions:
Do your recruiters understand technical finance requirements?
Ask them to explain the difference between a financial controller and a corporate controller, or what ASC 606 revenue recognition entails. If they can't, they'll send unqualified candidates.
How do you price your services?
Hourly/flat-rate models align incentives better than commissions. With commissions, recruiters are incentivized to close quickly and move on. With hourly billing, they're incentivized to fill the role correctly (because you'll use them again).
What happens to candidate data after the search?
If the recruiting firm keeps the candidate information, you're renting your talent pipeline. If you own it, you're building an asset.
Can you scale capacity for multiple simultaneous searches?
When you're building a finance function, you often need multiple roles filled in parallel. Can your recruiting partner deploy additional recruiters without resource constraints?
What's your time-to-fill track record for finance roles?
General industry averages don't matter. What matters is their specific performance placing controllers, VPs of Finance, FP&A managers, and other roles you'll need to fill.
Explore how IQTalent's finance recruiting services address these requirements.
Several trends are reshaping how companies hire finance talent:
AI and analytics are now table stakes. Finance teams need professionals who can work fluently in Power BI, Dynamics, Microsoft 365 automation tools, and leverage AI for forecasting and variance analysis. For technology-driven companies especially, the ability to blend financial expertise with data analysis and process automation is non-negotiable. The traditional "accounting-only" finance professional is being replaced by hybrid finance-data-tech experts who can both close the books and build the dashboards that tell the story.
Remote work has expanded talent pools. You're no longer limited to candidates within commuting distance of your office. The best controller for your business might be in a different state (though state CPA licenses and tax implications still matter).
Specialization is increasing. Companies want revenue accounting experts, not general accountants. They want FP&A analysts with SaaS metrics expertise, not generic financial analysts. The more specific your requirements, the more valuable specialized recruiting expertise becomes.
PE-backed companies have unique needs. Portfolio companies often need finance leaders who can implement reporting packages for investors, manage to board meeting schedules, prepare for exits, and operate in compressed timelines. Not all finance talent has this experience.
Building a finance team doesn't have to drain your hiring budget. Here's what cost-effective finance recruiting looks like:
✓ Pay for recruiting work, not salary percentages
✓ Retain candidate data to build your finance talent pipeline
✓ Scale recruiting capacity based on actual needs
✓ Focus on quality and fit, not speed to commission
✓ Reduce time-to-fill through flexible, dedicated recruiting resources
Most companies can reduce their finance recruiting costs by 50-70% compared to traditional models while improving candidate quality and reducing time-to-fill.
The question isn't whether you can afford specialized finance recruiting support. It's whether you can afford to keep overpaying for it.
Talk to a finance recruiting specialist: Schedule a consultation to discuss your specific finance hiring needs.