Stop Trying to Hire Your Unicorn Candidate! How to Hire Smarter in Accounting and Finance

We hear it all the time now: “It’s impossible to find a good accountant these days!” But it doesn’t just end there. You can replace “accountant” with accounting manager, controller, finance analyst, or finance manager. Hiring in accounting and finance is extremely difficult right now at all levels! That is a well-known fact these days. 

A nametag that reads “Hello I’m a Unicorn” on a blue collared shirt

Why? Well, it is an irrefutable fact that there was a drop in the number of accounting degrees being obtained between 1998 and 2008, which caused a ripple that is still being felt across many organizations. On top of that, the Great Resignation made finding senior-level accounting and finance professionals more difficult because of the surge in career changes and retirements.

But what is more controversial is the possibility that employers themselves may be to blame for the tight hiring market in accounting and finance. Yes, we said it. Those of you in search of a unicorn candidate may be partially to blame for the sentiment that there is no one qualified enough for the role you are looking to fill. Let us explain…

​With the wide array of experiences that an accounting or finance professional may offer these days coupled with a vast range of opinions about work flexibility, the likelihood of finding that one in a million match is, well, one in a million.

An employer with a firm stance on the importance of in-person work may exclude a candidate with just the right mix of expertise and enough years’ experience because the person is not looking to relocate. Conversely, an employer may not move forward with an applicant that would have been a great cultural fit and a quick learner because they do not meet the requirement of having 10+ years of accounting experience or being a CPA.
Looking for a unicorn candidate applies a rigid framework to a dynamic process. This lack of flexibility can make hiring seem impossible.

Unicorns aren’t real. Stop looking for them! Instead, use the following tips to hire smarter in accounting and finance:

Expand Career-Stage Parameters
It is illegal to refuse employment based on age. And yet, while a hiring manager might not blatantly say, “We won’t hire an accountant that’s over 60” there are plenty of times when this same attitude is being applied to hiring decisions in the form of statements like, “We want someone who is going to be with the company long-term, not someone who will be retiring in a few years.” However, not considering late-career candidates in your search excludes a wealth of knowledge and hands-on experience that can be a huge asset to any organization.

As Quinn Finnigan explains when discussing the benefits of late-career professionals, “In the world of non-executive accounting and finance recruiting… there is often a stigma attached to late-career candidates that is uneducated at best, and at worst tantamount to ageism. But late-career candidates should be considered equally with all other candidates.” He goes on to elaborate, 

Remember, a candidate in the last third of their career is likely a subject matter expert. Review the candidate’s resume for a group of responsibilities and skills that show a pattern of specializing in an area that is meaningful to you. In addition, late-career candidates often have much more lived experience and bring much needed perspective, patience, and gained wisdom to many situations, whether in a manager role or as an individual contributor.

Reconsider Job Requirements
Sometimes the problem is not the candidate pool, it is the job description.

Only include essential requirements in the job description. Save your preferred requirements for internal discussions of applicants. Otherwise, you run the risk of scaring off potential applicants who have other great qualifications simply because they do not meet the criteria that are being presented.
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The biggest job requirement limiters we see are CPA license requirements and specific years of experience qualifications. Regarding when you need a CPA, our recruiting leader explains, 

Most companies need an accountant who possesses a deep knowledge of the specific accounting intricacies of their industry. Whether it is manufacturing, real estate, financial services, or tech, someone must be hired with a certain baseline of industry knowledge on day one. However, this may not be a CPA. It is a myth that CPAs automatically come with higher levels of industry-specific knowledge. The CPA is a general test, and most CPAs who come from public accounting gain experience across multiple client industries in their tenure. In this case, a company is better off focusing on finding a candidate with deep industry accounting experience than focusing on a CPA license as a required qualification.

​Unless the role actually requires a CPA license, do not include it in the job description. Typically, a CPA is only required at public accounting firms or at companies being funded by PE or VC firms, which may want this reassurance when investing.

Similarly, if there is a reason to require something like “10+ years of accounting experience” as part of the role, by all means include it. But ask yourself, why is 10 years important? Would someone with 8 years of experience be able to do the job just as well? Most likely, unless you are looking for a senior or executive-level role, that qualification does not need to be there.

If all your job requirements are essential but you cannot find someone to meet them all, you may need to split the role into two positions to find the right fit. Depending on what the roles look like after they have been separated, this may not only increase the likelihood of finding qualified candidates but also reduce your hiring costs.

Objectively Evaluate the Offer
Do you have people applying, interviewing, and then declining the offer? These days offers are coming at candidates faster because there is more hiring competition. As a result, hiring managers know that they cannot afford to take their time and draw out the process. However, there is another trend emerging – candidates walking away from offers.

If this is happening to you, look at the offer you are making objectively. Would you accept it? Unfortunately, too many companies make the offer that they want to provide not necessarily the offer that a top candidate wants to accept.

Go through your offer with a critical eye looking at the compensation, benefits, employer expectations, and work flexibility (location and schedule) and then compare those to the responsibilities of the role. Do they fairly value the work that you are asking an employee to do? If you find it hard to be objective, consult with a recruiter. An accounting and finance recruiter will have the benchmark data needed to ensure the offer is keeping up with the industry as well as the region.

Consider Other Employment Options
Do you really need to hire someone? That may sound like a ridiculous question, but have you ever actually considered your alternatives? Determine if you need to hire in-house or if using an outsourced accounting solution might be a better fit.

Lean on your financial leadership to make this kind of decision. A CFO will use their experience to bring significant value to the hiring process. They can use internal and external benchmarking data to advise on salary ranges, raises, and bonuses as well as supplemental benefits and perks. They will also make shrewd health care and benefits plans decisions, deciding on everything from health insurance to 401K contributions to ensure compensation packages for employees appropriately value the work they are performing. If there is a case to be made for outsourcing a role to third party provider instead of hiring in-house, the CFO will drive that decision-making process as well.

Remember, when you outsource accounting or finance functions, you are not constrained by one individual’s experience because you get to leverage the experience of an entire accounting team. Additionally, while added experience and skill-level commands a premium when hiring, outsourcing does not. In fact, outsourcing offers significant savings over hiring because you do not need to pay for payroll taxes, benefits, PTO, performance bonuses, or incremental raises with third party providers. Lean on your financial leadership to determine which option is going to be best suited to your hiring needs, budget, and timeline.

Find out more about how your company can benefit from the outsourced accounting services provided by our team of highly experienced accountants. We offer virtual, offsite, and hybrid options to meet a wide variety of business needs. Contact us to learn more today!