Finance & Accounting Recruitment Agencies: Our Experience

Tsiala Jobava

Last updated on February 12, 2026 | 17 min read

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• The finance and accounting sector faces a critical global talent shortage, prompting more companies to rely on specialized recruitment partners.
• DevsData LLC combines deep financial expertise with a data-driven recruitment process, delivering rigorously vetted candidates for roles ranging from accountants and auditors to CFOs and financial analysts.

Introduction

Finance and accounting talent is in high demand and short supply. The profession has evolved faster than the talent pipeline: today’s finance roles require deeper regulatory expertise, stronger analytical skills, and far more technological fluency than even five years ago. Across industries, companies face a significant shortage of qualified finance professionals, from accountants to compliance officers. In a recent survey of finance leaders, 83% reported an accounting talent shortage in 2024, up from 70% in 2022. Another study found that 76% of employers struggle to fill roles due to a lack of skilled talent, a slight improvement from 80% the year prior.

The situation is especially acute in financial services, where strict regulatory requirements and demand for niche expertise make experienced talent even harder to find. A majority of banking and finance CEOs now view the scarcity of skilled professionals as a direct risk to growth. Finding the right people has become a challenge of its own: standard job boards and LinkedIn posts rarely reach the seasoned, often passive finance talent companies need. That’s why many companies now look to specialized finance and accounting recruitment agencies as a practical way to reach qualified, often passive candidates.

What finance and accounting recruitment agencies do

Finance and accounting recruitment agencies act as specialized talent matchmakers. Their goal is to connect businesses with professionals who have the exact financial expertise needed for permanent or temporary roles. Unlike general recruiters, they understand the nuances of positions like CFO, auditor, or financial analyst and maintain pipelines of pre-vetted candidates. Top firms spend years building curated networks, giving clients access to high-caliber passive candidates who aren’t actively job-hunting. So when you need a tax manager fluent in new regulations or a FinTech-savvy analyst, a specialized agency likely already has the right people in mind.

Such agencies offer end-to-end recruitment support. They begin by understanding your business needs and role requirements, then use their networks and sourcing tools to identify suitable candidates, often reaching out proactively to experienced professionals open to new opportunities. Rigorous screening follows: top firms apply multi-stage vetting that may include role-specific case studies, credential and reference verification, and structured interviews with relevant stakeholders to assess both technical competence and practical readiness.

Whether sourcing a CFO or an entry-level accountant, a specialized finance recruitment agency adds value through focus and expertise. Many also provide consultative support, sharing insights on salaries, in-demand skills, and market trends to guide strategic hiring decisions. They advise on whether a role should be contract or permanent and how to structure competitive compensation. In short, finance and accounting recruitment agencies partner with businesses to find, vet, and secure the right professionals for lasting success.

The finance and accounting talent crunch and market trends

The finance and accounting industry is evolving rapidly amid digital transformation, increased regulation, and rising economic uncertainty. This evolution has spawned new specialized roles (risk analysts, ESG reporting specialists, FinTech developers, etc.) even as many veteran professionals retire or leave the field. The result is a talent crunch: companies are struggling to fill critical positions, leading to backlogs and compliance risks.

In 2025, 85% of CFOs reported a shortage of accountants or other finance talent on their teams. It can be viewed as a signal that the issue has moved from a staffing problem to a strategic risk – affecting financial reporting accuracy and the organization’s ability to support growth.

Likewise, surveys show most employers find it hard to hire skilled finance staff, which aligns with historically low accounting unemployment and abundant job openings. According to US Labor Department data, there were well over 300000 finance and insurance job openings in mid-2025, reflecting fierce competition for talent.

One major factor is a shrinking pipeline of new accountants entering the profession. Accounting graduates have declined in recent years; the number of US students earning bachelor’s degrees in accounting fell 7.8% in the 2021-2022 school year, continuing a downward trend since the late 2010s. This contraction at the entry level is now creating a delayed effect: fewer professionals are progressing into senior and leadership roles, signaling deeper shortages in experienced finance talent over the next five to seven years.

Fewer young people are choosing accounting and finance careers, deterred by perceptions of the field as less exciting (especially compared to tech) and by additional hurdles like the 150-credit-hour CPA licensing rule. In fact, so many accountants have retired or switched fields that the total US accounting workforce in 2024 was about 10% smaller than in 2019.

Technology is reshaping finance and redefining hiring needs. As automation and AI take over routine tasks, companies now seek finance professionals who combine analytical expertise with tech fluency. In a Deloitte survey, 79% of CFOs said they plan to use AI within two years to bridge skills gaps. The demand has shifted toward hybrid talent, accountants versed in SQL, or auditors skilled in data analytics, driving recruitment agencies to focus on these tech-enabled finance profiles.

By 2025, at least 11 states had eased or adjusted the rule to attract more candidates. However, variations between states create uncertainty around credential recognition. Finance recruitment agencies track these updates closely, advising employers on how to expand candidate pools while ensuring compliance with evolving regulations.

Benefits of using a specialized finance recruitment agency

Partnering with a recruitment agency that specializes in finance and accounting offers several distinct advantages over a generalist approach. Here are some key benefits:

Higher quality of hire

Specialized recruiters use role-tailored screening methods to pinpoint truly qualified candidates. They might administer an IFRS accounting case study for a controller role, a fraud detection scenario for an audit role, or a treasury cash management exercise for a finance manager. This rigor pays off in better hires. According to the Society for Human Resource Management, 78% of HR professionals say the quality of their hires improved with the use of assessments. By designing finance-specific tests and structured interviews, specialized agencies ensure candidates can back up their resumes with demonstrable skills and domain knowledge. In practice, this translates into measurable outcomes: faster time-to-productivity, lower 90-day attrition, and fewer post-hire performance issues compared to unassessed or loosely screened hires.

Stronger controls and fraud prevention

Hiring well-qualified finance personnel is a safeguard against errors and fraud. Seasoned accountants and auditors help institute robust internal controls and ethical practices. Research by the ACFE (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners) found that more than half of occupational fraud cases stem from a lack of internal controls or the override of existing controls. Importantly, the same global study reports a median loss of approximately $145000 per fraud case, with significantly higher losses in organizations lacking experienced financial oversight. As many incidents are ultimately detected by vigilant employees, placing the right finance talent in key roles materially reduces exposure not only to fraud and financial misstatement, but also to direct, preventable financial losses.

Better compliance and regulatory resilience

The finance sector is subject to intense regulatory scrutiny, from Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements for public companies to anti-money-laundering (AML) rules in banking and payments. Non-compliance can result in severe financial and legal consequences: AML enforcement actions regularly lead to fines ranging from tens to hundreds of millions of dollars, while SOX violations can entail material financial penalties, executive liability, and restatements that erode investor confidence.

A specialized recruitment partner can help secure talent with precisely the compliance expertise required to mitigate these risks. By hiring seasoned accounting, audit, and compliance professionals, organizations strengthen internal controls and approach audits or regulatory reviews with greater confidence. Finance recruitment agencies add value by rigorously vetting candidates for relevant certifications (CPA, CFA, CAMS, etc.) and demonstrated track records in regulated environments.

Faster access to scarce talent

Specialized agencies maintain extensive talent networks, allowing them to find candidates faster than an in-house HR team or a general recruiter. They might have a pipeline of expatriate accountants open to relocation or connections to offshore talent pools in regions that produce many CPAs (such as India or Eastern Europe). A finance-focused agency can have a shorter time-to-fill for roles that might otherwise sit vacant for months. Even if your needs are niche, an expert agency is more likely to know where to look (or who to call) to find that perfect candidate quickly.regu

Cost savings by avoiding mis-hires

Hiring mistakes are costly – they incur training time and then the cost of replacing the person. By improving the quality of each hire, specialized agencies help companies save money in the long run. The average cost per hire in the US was around $4700 as of late 2024. If a critical finance hire turns out to be a poor fit and leaves, you essentially pay that cost twice (or more). By using structured interviews and thorough reference checks, finance recruiters substantially lower the odds of a mis-hire.

Strategic insights and value-added services

A side benefit of partnering with a finance/accounting recruitment specialist is gaining a market intelligence ally. Many agencies provide clients with salary guides, hiring trend reports, or benchmarking data to inform their HR strategy. They can tell you, for example, what the going rate is for a senior financial analyst in your region or how scarce a certain skill is in the market. This helps in crafting competitive offers and realistic hiring plans. Additionally, if your company lacks a large HR department, a good agency can supplement that by handling significant portions of the hiring process and even offering advisory support.

In summary, while any recruiter might fill a vacancy, a specialized finance and accounting recruitment agency aims to elevate the hiring outcome – delivering professionals who are highly qualified, well-vetted, and aligned with your needs, all in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Challenges in finance and accounting hiring

Recruiting finance and accounting professionals comes with challenges that go far beyond posting a job ad. The talent shortage, shifting credentialing requirements, and rising expectations for technical fluency have made the process more complex than ever.

“Finance teams operate in an environment where a single hiring mistake can create compliance, reporting, or audit risks. That’s why companies are searching for certainty.” – Ava Haykuhi, Senior Recruiter at DevsData LLC

Below are three of the most persistent problems, along with how DevsData LLC addresses them.

In essence, DevsData LLC takes a proactive and adaptive approach to finance recruitment. By anticipating hiring challenges and designing strategies to overcome them, the company consistently delivers candidates who not only meet technical and compliance standards but also excel in their roles.

DevsData LLC – our recruitment approach and success stories

Website: www.devsdata.com
Company size: ~60 employees
Founding year: 2016
Headquarters: Brooklyn, NY, and Warsaw, Poland

Founded in 2016, DevsData LLC has grown into a boutique technology and recruitment agency with offices in Brooklyn, New York, and Warsaw, Poland. Combining global reach with local market insight, we connect organizations with top-tier financial and technical professionals through a process built on transparency, precision, and measurable outcomes.

Our recruitment team includes former finance specialists, developers, and data experts who understand both business strategy and technical hiring. Every candidate undergoes a rigorous, multi-stage assessment that mirrors real-world challenges, from technical interviews and accounting case studies to role-specific problem-solving exercises. With an acceptance rate below 6%, our screening is significantly more selective than the broad, volume-driven filtering used by many generalist recruitment agencies, ensuring that only thoroughly vetted, role-ready professionals are presented to clients.

Shortlists are typically delivered within days, accompanied by detailed evaluation notes, and a replacement guarantee backs every placement.

Our consultative, data-driven approach ensures that each search begins with a clear understanding of the client’s needs – technical skills, cultural fit, and business priorities. Drawing from our proprietary database of 65000+ vetted professionals, we identify and screen candidates across roles ranging from auditors to FP&A specialists. DevsData LLC’s success-based pricing model means clients pay only when a hire is made, fostering accountability and trust throughout the process.

With more than 80 clients and 100+ completed projects across industries such as FinTech, SaaS, eCommerce, healthcare, and manufacturing, we’ve earned a 5.0/5.0 reputation on Clutch and GoodFirms. Our placements have helped companies streamline audits, enhance compliance, and improve financial reporting accuracy.

The company’s finance-track record demonstrates our ability to deliver specialized talent across regulated financial environments and high-performance trading operations. One example is our multi-year engagement with Paysera, a European FinTech leader operating under strict compliance frameworks. By sourcing talent across Poland, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Georgia, and by applying GDPR- and PCI-DSS–compliant vetting with role-specific assessments, we sustained long-term pipelines for senior developers, QA, DevOps, AI, and PM roles, enabling faster payment-feature rollouts, stronger retention, and smoother market expansion.

We also support firms with complex, high-stakes technical needs. For NewCoast Group, a proprietary investment firm, we delivered a senior backend engineer within one month. Candidates were evaluated for proficiency in deep Python and data engineering, as well as system-design capabilities for distributed architectures and domain knowledge of financial markets. The final hire immediately stabilized data pipelines and improved latency-sensitive trading execution.

Our experience with a mid-sized proprietary trading fund further highlights the company’s ability to recruit for performance-critical finance roles. We developed a rigorous evaluation funnel, which produced a shortlist in 72 hours and resulted in four hires within just over a month. Early outcomes showed consistent risk-adjusted returns and supported the client’s strategic expansion without compromising talent standards.

Collectively, these engagements demonstrate how we combine technical depth and finance-grade vetting to deliver talent that strengthens internal controls, accelerates product development, and supports measurable P&L impact.

To contact DevsData LLC, email general@devsdata.com or visit our website at www.devsdata.com.

Tips for choosing the right finance and accounting recruitment agency

Selecting the right recruitment partner is a strategic decision. To assess whether an agency is a strong fit, focus on the following criteria:

• Specialized expertise
  Choose firms that focus specifically on finance and accounting. They should understand role nuances (CFO vs. controller vs. analyst), regulatory frameworks (GAAP, IFRS), and sector-specific needs (public vs. private accounting).
• Depth of the talent network
  Top agencies maintain pipelines of pre-vetted professionals – including passive candidates not reachable through job boards. Ask whether they recruit globally, locally, or both, and request sample pipeline metrics to understand the depth and quality of their network.
• Screening and vetting process
  The agency should offer a clear, multi-step vetting process with case-based assessments (Excel modeling, audit scenarios) and verified credentials (CPA, ACCA, CFA). Strong vetting reduces unqualified interviews, and you can even ask the agency to share a sample case or scoring rubric to understand how they evaluate candidates.
• Track record
  Review case studies, testimonials, and references. Experience in similar finance roles, even at boutique agencies, signals refined processes and reliable delivery.
• Market insight and communication
  A strong partner provides salary benchmarks, skill availability trends, and practical advice on shaping job requirements. Communication should be consistent, transparent, and consultative.
• Cultural and values alignment
  Ensure the agency understands your team dynamics, diversity goals, and leadership style. Cultural fit plays a major role in long-term retention.

By evaluating agencies through these criteria, you’ll identify partners who not only deliver qualified candidates but also support your broader hiring strategy with transparency and long-term commitment.

Conclusion

The finance and accounting function is the backbone of any organization’s health and strategy. In today’s environment of talent scarcity, regulatory complexity, and rapid change, having the right people in key finance roles is more critical than ever. A specialized recruitment partner can be a game-changing ally in securing that talent. By leveraging focused expertise, deep networks, and proven processes, we help ensure every hire is high-impact – one that delivers immediate value and supports long-term growth.

At DevsData LLC, we’ve seen firsthand how strong financial talent can transform an organization, tightening internal controls, uncovering insights from data, and strengthening stakeholder confidence. Whether the goal is to support a growing company in need of its first accountant or a global enterprise seeking new finance leadership, we apply a consultative, data-driven approach that makes the hiring process efficient, transparent, and precise.

Our team goes beyond simple recruitment: we act as a strategic partner dedicated to building world-class finance teams that drive performance and support smarter business decisions. For companies facing finance or accounting recruitment challenges, or planning to strengthen their finance function for the future, we stand ready to help.

Contact the team at general@devsdata.com or visit www.devsdata.com to discover how our vetted talent and proven process can elevate your organization’s financial capability and long-term success.

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Tsiala Jobava Copywriter and Marketer

Tsiala Jobava is a talented marketing specialist from Georgia. Tsiala holds a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Georgian American University and a master’s in Marketing and Communication from Barcelona Business School. She has built a diverse career, working as a copywriter and in marketing and PR, before returning to her first passion – writing. Along the way, she has gained valuable experience in social media management, content creation, and brand development.

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