Want to know more about accounting recruiting? You’ve come to the right place! Our team of experienced accounting and finance recruiters is sharing some industry information to help you better understand today’s recruiting climate.

Gig work can trace its origins to before the creation of the internet. However, over the last decade companies like Uber and Lyft have steadily led the push in the mass acceptance of the gig economy. In 2020 as lockdowns swept the nation, hundreds of thousands of new gig jobs became available virtually overnight thanks to Amazon, DoorDash, Grubhub, Instacart, and Shipt. The pandemic accelerated a shift that was already well on its way to becoming the next big trend in work.

But the quickly burgeoning gig economy was not isolated to takeout and grocery delivery. Professional gig work also grew exponentially as workers were laid off and left their traditional office jobs to manage personal responsibilities. According to a Harvard Business Review article on Thriving in the Gig Economy,

Have you noticed a significant rise in controller job openings these days? We have! In fact, over the last year, we have worked with more companies looking to hire a financial controller than ever before.

But, why? Are controllers resigning en masse, leaving vacant roles in their wake?

No. despite all the publicity around “The Great Resignation,” existing controller jobs are largely not opening up due to turnover. Instead, they are mainly appearing at organizations where controller roles have not previously existed. Since the pandemic there has been an increased need for experienced financial leadership. More organizations are creating financial controller positions to meet these new needs. As a result, accounting recruiters began unofficially calling 2021 “The Year of the Controller” as it drew to a close. And by the time 2022 started, the moniker had stuck, carrying over to this year as well as the recruiting push continued strong.
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Let’s look at what is driving this hiring trend, what should be included in a controller role, and how to hire a controller. 

​As a fan of Star Trek, one thing I like to ponder about is the concept of time dimensions. Can you be in two points of time at the same time? For many people, living in a pandemic has made the sensation of time change. Things have simultaneously seemed like they happened long ago and also only yesterday. And, at one point or another we have all thought, “It seems like it was years since I saw you. Wait, it has been years!” But time has more than just social implications. The concept of time is relevant to you professionally as well, especially as an accounting manager or a member of an accounting team.
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To have an effective accounting and finance team, an individual’s time view preference must match their job responsibility. If it is not, your accounting operations may suffer, and your company may experience unnecessary attrition. What do I mean? 

The pandemic caused innumerable business obstacles, and among all the added barriers, accounting-related woes have emerged as a universal challenge.
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Every day we talk with companies that are fighting the good fight to keep up with their daily accounting demands amid pandemic-related complexities. And while each business has a unique story, what we are hearing in the way of accounting challenges is starting to become predictable. Whether the pandemic has increased or decreased revenue, the common threads that unite companies these days are more work, staffing problems, late and messy financials, a lack of accurate and actionable information, and budget issues.

One of the most common questions we hear when talking to prospective clients is “How do I know if I have the right accounting team in place?”

Now, the underlying questions wrapped in this broader question can vary to include things like:

• Are our employees’ skillsets the right fit for our most critical positions?
• Do we have enough accounting personnel?
• Where should we be using technology to augment our human capabilities?
• Are all of our accounting and finance needs being met with the roles we currently have, or are there gaps?

​If you are wrestling with these same types of questions, use this guide to determine if you have the right accounting team in place to move your company forward: 

Most business owners are familiar with the concept of internal financial controls, but there is often confusion around who needs them. We hear this every day in the conversations we have with the leadership teams of small to mid-sized business.

There is widely held a misconception that only publicly traded companies need to worry about internal controls. Private companies often assume that because they do not need to file their financial reports with an external entity or report them to shareholders that they do not need to implement the same types of controls that larger, public organizations do. The confusion here stems from the that many people view internal controls as a piece of the regulatory puzzle, when in reality internal controls are “The policies and procedures used to ensure accuracy and reliability across accounting reports.” 

2021 has been a year like none other for people and businesses alike. Accounting has paralleled many of the professional challenges that other industries have dealt with, but the accounting industry has also seen some significant advancements.

We asked our experts to weigh in and contribute their feedback about the state of the industry. Find out what is currently going on in the world of accounting as we highlight current trends and hot topics:

Last year $2.47B was donated to US nonprofit organizations on GivingTuesday, a whopping 19% increase over the previous year. Only time will tell if this year surpasses last year’s record-breaking numbers. But what we know for sure is that on this GivingTuesday both individuals and companies nationwide will give to their favorite nonprofit charities.

As a business owner, you need to be aware of how these charitable contributions will be accounted for on your books not just on GivingTuesday, but year-round.

What kind of accounting controls do you have in place right now?

If you are not sure, or are too embarrassed to answer, chances are you have some work to do.
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Internal controls protect your business from not only fraud but also the kinds of financial errors and reporting mistakes that can negatively affect cash flow management, dissuade investors, and hinder long-term business growth.