Top 15 Accounting/CPA Recruiting Firms and Headhunters

Are you looking for an accounting job? Or are you searching for a recruiter to help you hire or get hired as an accountant?

You're in the right place! Here's a list of the top 15 accounting recruiting firms and headhunters.

1 - Toptal

Toptal describes itself as a network of freelancers helping companies hire only the TOP 3% talent in any field. Besides other professionals, Toptal hires accountants, CPAs, finance experts, and more.

Toptal is a good option if you prefer having multiple clients rather than a traditional job. Getting into Toptal is hard as they only select the top candidates.

2 - Kelly Services

Kelly Services is a staffing company with offices in dozens of countries and revenue of more than $5 billion. They provide recruitment services, and management consulting in multiple areas, including accounting and finance.

3 - Accounting Principals

Accounting principals is an accounting and finance staffing agency. The advantage of working with specialized firms is that they understand your needs better than a generalist firm.

As of this writing, they have nearly 1,000 accounting and finance jobs available.

4 - Aerotek

Aerotek is one of the biggest recruiters in the world. They serve thousands of companies, including many Fortune 500 companies. Started in 1983 by Todd Mohr, the company has grown to become the 4º largest recruiter in America.

5 - KBW Financial

KBW is another company specializing in matching and placing financial and accounting professionals with top firms. KBW offers temporary, permanent, and contract placements.

Professionals placed include CFOs, accounting managers, controllers, bookkeepers, collections specialists, and more.

6 - Kforce

Kforce is a generalist provider of recruiting and staffing services. It has grown to become one of the biggest staffing companies in America. It also helps companies hiring finance and accounting professionals.

7 - SNI Financial

SNI Financial is a recruiting firm specializing in placing workers in the areas of accounting, finance, tax, and banking. If you're looking for a specialized recruiter, this is it.

8 - Manpower

Manpower is the third-largest recruiting company in the world. They provide job opportunities for accountants, CPAs, and other professionals. Last year, Manpower made more than $20 billion in revenue.

9 - Accounting Now

Accounting Now is a company that specializes only in recruiting and placing accountants, banking, and finance professionals. They have temporary, contract-to-hire, and permanent positions available.

10 - Express Employment Professionals

Express Pro is a recruiting firm focusing on professional careers. Yearly, they employ more than half a million people, amongst them accountants and tax professionals.

11 - AccountStaff

AccountStaff is yet another specialist staffing company focusing on placing accounting and finance talent into leading companies. They also provide direction to professionals, guiding them through the recruitment process, increasing their chances of getting a well-paid job.

12 - Adecco

Adecco is one of the world's biggest recruiting firms with a truly global footprint. Adecco hires accountants, auditors, bookkeepers, and more.

13 - Vaco

Vaco helps companies hire the best people through their consulting, matching, placement, and executive search services. Started in 2002, Vaco also helps accountants and CPAs get their dream jobs.

14 - Accent Professional Recruiting

Accent is yet another professional recruiting firm, focusing on financial, accounting, sales, management, and creative professionals. They are a smaller but very competent staffing company.

15 - eFinancialCareers

They are not a recruiting firm, however, they are one of the best sites to check for accounting and CPA jobs.

What do accounting recruiters look for?

Recruiters are looking for professional people who take work seriously. They value work ethic, passion for your job, intelligence, and depending on requirements, work experience.

It's ok if you don't have work experience, some recruiters are specifically looking for junior candidates.

How do I talk to an accountant recruiter?

Network with people in the accounting industry, go to events, meet people. Make sure you have a good LinkedIn profile, as recruiters often look there first. Don't forget to clean your social media accounts...

Be honest about your career plans. You don't want to waste a recruiter's time. Importantly, don't oversell or undersell yourself. You don't want to come across as too eager to please.

Finally, don't lie about your qualifications and job experience. If it's found that you lied during the interview process, you might find yourself blacklisted from the recruiter's database!

Should I pay a headhunter to find me a job?

Not a good idea. Headhunters and recruiters work for the companies that hire them, not for you. From a business perspective, you are their product. It makes little sense to pay them to find you a job.

That said, some recruiters will help you prepare for the interview. It's in their interest to help you get the job. They will give you tips on interviewing and how to impress hiring managers.

Is there a high demand for accountants?

Yes. The jobless rate for accountants is 1.4%, much lower than the official unemployment rate. Also, the average salary for accountants is now higher than $80,000.

And that number only goes higher when your level of skill and expertise increases. There is a high demand for accountants.

Recruiting firm hiring process

The hiring process depends on how involved the recruiting company is. Some will only search for candidates and do phone screening before passing candidates to the hiring company.

Others will also interview and test the candidate and present the final candidates to the hiring manager.

How to get the job

Dress well for the interview. Accountants deal with money, people expect you to dress formally and behave conservatively. Above all, you need to be humble but confident in yourself. Be ambitious and clearly demonstrate the value you bring to the table.

Are CPAs in high demand? Does a CPA help you get a job?

Yes. While you don't need a CPA to succeed as an accountant, having a CPA means you met specific state and education licensing requirements. It's a demonstration of hard work and intelligence.

Additionally, there are certain tasks that only a CPA can do, such as preparing an audited financial statement, or a reviewed financial statement.

What services do recruiting companies offer?

Recruiting companies provide staffing services such as helping companies hiring workers on a temporary, contract, or permanent basis.

They use their network and database of candidates to locate, screen, interview and select workers to place in businesses.

They might also provide consulting, executive search, and other services related to human resources.

Recruiting firms don't work for you

This is something many people don't understand: a recruiting firm is not working for you. They have a contract with a business to select a candidate for a job opening.

They get paid by the business, typically a commission of your first year's salary (15% to 20%). Don't worry though, that money doesn't come out of your salary. The business pays this fee.

Be careful with bad recruiters

Some recruiters are only interested in making their fee without concern for your long-term career goals.

They might place you in a company that is not a good fit for you. Or they might oversell a job opportunity. Never get pressured into accepting a job just because it's available.

You are free to tell recruiters not to send your resume to a company unless you give permission. A good recruiter should take your needs and career goals into account.

Advantages of using a recruiter

  • Access to jobs unavailable elsewhere
  • Some will try harder to get you a higher-paying job (helping them get a higher commission).
  • Can make finding a job easier
  • Some will help you prepare for the interview
  • They know better than anyone what hiring managers are looking for

Disadvantages of using a recruiter

  • Some will push you to a low-paying job to get their commission faster
  • Never forget: the recruiter does not work for you
  • Might not know much about accounting and finance (specialized recruiters are better in this respect).
  • They might recommend jobs that are not a good fit for you

Positions available for accountants:

  • Chief Accounting Officers
  • Accounting Directors, Managers, and Supervisors
  • Junior and Senior Accountants
  • Controllers
  • Business Analyst
  • General Accountant
  • CPAs
  • Tax Accountants
  • Financial Accountants
  • Accounts Payable and Receivable Specialists
  • Revenue Tax Specialist
  • Collections Managers
  • Managerial Accountants
  • Accounting Clerks
  • Bookkeepers
  • Cost Accountants
  • Payroll and Budget Managers
  • Internal Audit Director

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