Financial Controlling profiles are a specialization we have at CFO Recruitment, and we have been experts at establishing a strong, high-quality network of business controlling professionals since we opened our doors. We specialize in finance recruitment, and together with our own finance backgrounds, this has proven successful. Being provided the opportunity to deliver high-quality consulting solutions is the pinnacle of our services and an opportunity we do not take lightly. We work daily to ensure we can provide high-performing, experienced, and competent consultants due to our established and ever-growing network of finance specialists.
Hiring a financial control consultant
We have multiple years of experience in helping to match our clients with competent controlling consultants and consider ourselves a market leader in our ever-growing controlling network. We have a few success indicators that we scout for in financial control candidates such as strong organization, and analytical and problem-solving skills. Our consultants should also have an established controlling background with experience and an understanding of accounting/controlling. Naturally, we have in-depth reference conversations in our screening process to further learn about each candidate’s performance and competencies to identify whether they are the correct fit for each role.
CFO Recruitment’s long-standing experience of matching high-quality financial consultants with our customers, this combined with an in-depth understanding of our finance specialization has proved successful. We strive to remain a trusted partner to our customers and consultants alike and to maintain our position as one of the leading players in our market space.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions or would like a quote for our services. Otherwise, please find more information below.
Interim financial control cover for parental leave/sick leave/ ongoing recruitment/Projects
There are a number of reasons organizations require cover in the form of an interim financial controller, but most commonly, we find that it could be due to parental/sick leave, or handling the daily tasks while permanent recruitment for the position is ongoing. Likewise, you might find that you are missing a particular competency within your team throughout a specific project implementation (i.e. software migrations that might require specialists in SAP, Oracle, Agresso, or accounting principles like K2, K3, IFRS, international law and regulations). The cover period may be fixed or indefinite.
Over and above a strong controlling foundation, our screening process for financial control candidates includes accountancy knowledge testing.
In all of the above cases, CFO Recruitment can provide competent financial controllers that are able to quickly navigate the role and solve the resource issue. We’ve interviewed and contacted many candidates daily over the years, and for this reason, we can connect our clients with high-quality consultants at speed.
Role description of Financial Controller
A financial controller, like an accounting officer, is involved in payments and general economic activities within an organization. Where the role of a financial controller deviates is due to the more analytical tasks it entails.
Over and above payments, preparing monthly and annual accounts, reconciling balances, VAT, tax declarations, annual reports, and income tax returns, a financial controller is also expected to analyze financial statements and flag any issues or opportunities they identify and streamline existing routines and processes within the accounting department. In some cases, financial controllers may also be involved in budgeting and forecasting.
The finance department and its design
The accounting department can be likened to the heart of the finance department. It holds vital importance in small, medium, and large-cap organizations. In smaller companies, it’s not uncommon for a single individual to shoulder the entire financial responsibility of the accounting team. They often have the title of finance manager. As the size and complexity of the organization grow, so does the finance department. In small/mid-cap companies the standard set-up usually contains a finance manager, accountants, and accounting clerks/bookkeepers. In large organizations, finance functions often consist of multiple individuals who often have specialized roles i.e. some accounting clerks will focus entirely on accounts payable or receivable and handling the invoice process between clients and suppliers, payroll specialists, tax specialists, financial controllers, etc. Generally, the accounting manager has overall responsibility for this team, but financial controllers may also report directly to the CFO depending on the organizational structure.
Competencies and skills
Skills required of a competent financial controller include; accuracy, responsibility, organization, analysis, and being able to see the ‘big picture’ of organizational finances. It goes without saying that a financial controller is expected to have in-depth background/knowledge of accounting and all surrounding legislation. Critical thinking and the ability to take quick action is important in our selection of our consultants, as well as, the ability to adapt to quickly changing environments. Financial controllers often work on projects individually, therefore a successful controller is also very self-sufficient.
Software knowledge
Being financial software savvy is definitely advantageous for our customers. We are therefore selective in our consultant scouting process. Our consultants have good knowledge of one or more financial systems i.e. consolidation systems such as Aaro, Hyperion (HFM), Cognos (Cognos Controller) and Ocra, and large ERP systems such as SAP, Agresso, Navision, or Visma. We believe consultants should be able to hit the ground running, and to do this software knowledge is essential.
Industry Experience
Our recruiters at CFO Recruitment have industry experience, and we believe this is vital in pairing the right individual with the right client. Our background in finance is also very practical because we can quickly identify the resource issue and what is required, and pull a fitting and competent consultant from our extensive network. We at CFO Recruitment come from different specializations, markets, and organization sizes, and can understand the complexity and nuances of each client request. We are also aware of how important organizational culture is and how it can vary in different industries, and we understand that sector-specific experience is always advantageous as well as finding the right person to fit the rest of the team.
Financial Controllers in San Francisco
We’re based in San Francisco and our assignments often extend to include the surrounding areas (i.e. Fremont, Santa Rosa, Hayward, Sunnyvale, & Santa Clara). We have made a number of successful assignments in other metropolitan regions such as San Jose and Oakland, but San Francisco is where our network is strongest.
Price per hour for Financial Controller
The pricing structure for an interim financial controller varies depending on the profile requested i.e. the degree of responsibility, competence, education, industry experience, etc. Market trends over the past years indicate high demand and low supply which has led to increasing costs, however, our well-established financial control network includes a large number of consultants with different profiles where we’re confident we’ll be able to connect our customers and consultants correctly.
Find an interim financial controller
We aren’t the only ones in our market space. A couple of our competitors are Michael Page and Robert Half. However, we at CFO Recruitment are working at the forefront of scouting high-quality & talented financial controller candidates and relish any competition that keeps us on our toes.
