Author: Rachelle Reyes

The Accounting Talent Shortage Is No Longer a Forecast—It’s Here

By Ron Blair, President & COO, Century Group

Finance leaders have heard predictions about an impending shortage of accountants and finance professionals for years. Today, those predictions have become a reality. 

According to the 2026 Controllers Council Corporate Finance & Accounting Talent Study, 61% of finance leaders report experiencing accounting and finance talent shortages, compared with 46% in the prior year’s survey. At the same time, hiring demand continues to grow, with 38% of companies planning to increase hiring in 2026, compared with 24% in 2025.

The bottom line: Demand for accounting and finance talent is growing faster than the available supply of experienced professionals.

 

What’s Driving the Shortage?

Several long-term trends are converging:

An Aging Workforce. Many experienced accounting and finance professionals are approaching retirement, taking decades of professional capabilities with them.  According to a Wall Street Journal article, 75% of CPAs are at or nearing retirement age. 

A Shrinking CPA Pipeline. The profession has also experienced declining CPA exam participation and fewer graduates entering traditional accounting careers, reducing the supply of future talent. The Controllers Council notes that anticipated CPA and accountant shortages are now “gaining momentum” year-over-year.

Growing Business Complexity. Organizations are asking finance teams to do more than ever before. Beyond closing the books, finance professionals are expected to provide strategic insights, support technology initiatives, improve forecasting accuracy, and help drive business performance. 

The result is a widening gap between employer demand and available talent. 

Hiring Is Becoming More Competitive

The Controller’s Council study also found that compensation for accounting and finance professionals has risen substantially over the past year. Executive-level finance salaries increased an average of 6.7%, directors 6.2%, managers 5.9%, and clerical staff 5.7%.

Employers are responding to market realities, but compensation alone is not solving the problem. 

According to the research, the primary reason finance professionals leave organizations is not compensation—it’s lack of career advancement opportunities. More than half of respondents cited career growth limitations as the top cause of turnover.

Today’s candidates are evaluating employers through a broader lens:

  • Career progression
  • Leadership opportunities 
  • Flexibility and work-life balance 
  • Company culture 
  • Professional development 
  • Compensation and benefits 

Organizations that focus exclusively on salary may still struggle to attract and retain top talent. 

The Most Difficult Roles to Fill

At Century Group, we see these challenges firsthand every day.  The most challenging positions for our client are to recruit are Staff/Senior Accountant, Accounting Manager, Assistant Controller and Controller.   Tax Accounting roles are also a challenge. 

Searches that once took 30 to 45 days are often extending considerably longer. Highly qualified candidates frequently receive multiple offers, and counteroffers have become increasingly common. The strongest candidates are rarely active job seekers for long. 

For employers, this means every stage of the hiring process matters. Delays in interview scheduling, lengthy approval processes, and slow decision-making can result in losing top talent to competitors. 

What Smart Employers Are Doing Differently

The most successful organizations are adapting their hiring strategies to today’s market. 

They are: 

  • Building proactive talent pipelines rather than waiting for openings. 
  • Using interim and project professionals to bridge critical gaps. 
  • Working with specialized recruiting firms to fill challenging roles. 
  • Moving faster through the hiring process. 
  • Offering clear advancement opportunities. 
  • Investing in employee development and retention. 
  • Benchmarking compensation regularly against market trends. 

Most importantly, they recognize that talent acquisition is becoming a strategic business initiative rather than simply an HR function. 

Looking Ahead

The accounting and finance talent shortage is unlikely to ease anytime soon. In fact, most indicators suggest the challenge will continue as demand grows and experienced professionals remain in short supply. 

For organizations that prepare now, there is an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage. The ability to attract, retain, and develop finance talent will increasingly separate high-performing companies from those struggling to keep pace.

The question for leadership teams is no longer whether a talent shortage exists. It’s whether your organization has a strategy to compete for the talent it needs.

Whether you’re hiring for a critical finance role or building a long-term talent strategy, Century Group can help. Contact our team to learn more.

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Why Controllers Are One of the Most Critical Hires for Growing Companies

Rapid growth puts pressure on your finances long before it shows up neatly in a report. Revenue increases, headcount expands, new entities come online, and lenders and investors  begin asking more sophisticated questions. The finance processes that supported a $5 million company often struggle to keep pace with a much larger organization.  

That is where the modern Controller earns a place at the leadership table. 

Once viewed primarily as a back-office accounting function, Controllers have evolved into strategic business partners who help growing companies improve financial reporting, cash flow management, internal controls, compliance, forecasting, and decision-making. For the founders and finance leaders steering that growth, a strong Controller delivers the financial clarity every major decision depends on. 

The Controller’s Shift From Back Office to Boardroom

Today’s Controllers own more than the historical record. They shape forecasting and guide the cash flow decisions that keep a scaling business steady, giving finance leadership a clear read on what lies ahead. Analysis from EY captures a shift that’s become one of the most discussed topics in finance thought leadership: the Controller has grown into a “value articulator,” someone who assesses whether investments deliver on their promises and helps steer strategy accordingly. 

A strong Controller can be a trusted advisor at the decision-making table, translating complex data into insight that owners and executives can act on. 

Financial Visibility at the Speed of Growth

One of the most valuable contributions a Controller makes is improving the quality and speed of financial reporting.  

Accurate, timely financial reporting turns month-end from a scramble into a source of truth, giving you a real-time view of where cash sits and where it’s heading. That timing changes how you lead. When your numbers arrive late or carry a margin of doubt, every big decision gets made with a hedge built in. A Controller delivers reliable internal controls, so finance leadership can commit to a forecast instead of hedging against it.  

For a company courting investors or heading into an audit, that reliability often shapes the terms of the deal itself, because the diligence process rewards a business that can show its financial house is in order. 

Five Signs Your Company Is Ready for a Controller

Many companies realize they need a Controller when growth begins creating operational and financial complexity. Common indicators include: 

  • You’re raising capital or taking on debt, and investors expect GAAP-compliant reporting. 
  • Your monthly close keeps stretching longer, and you’re making decisions on numbers that feel stale. 
  • New entities, locations, or revenue streams have made the books genuinely complex. 
  • Your CFO or founder is buried in reconciliations rather than driving strategy. 
  • Forecasts routinely miss, and no one can fully explain why. 

When several of these challenges emerge at once, the question often shifts from whether to hire a Controller how quickly you can find the right one. 

The Cost of Waiting Too Long

Without a Controller, your financial information stays slow and a little unreliable. That is fine until you need it fast and precise. When an investor or lender asks for three years of clean, audit-ready statements, an unprepared finance function can stall the deal while you scramble to catch up. 

The everyday cost is simpler. Your best people, including you, spend hours fixing spreadsheets and chasing numbers instead of running the business. And when the numbers you do have arrive late, you end up making big decisions on shaky information. A Controller delivers reliable numbers, ready when you need them. 

Building the Finance Team Your Growth Requires

Finding a Controller who fits both your numbers and your culture takes a targeted search. The strongest candidates pair Big 4 or Fortune 500 experience with the judgment to grow into a strategic partner as your company scales. They tend to be in high demand and rarely on the open market, which makes the right sourcing partner a genuine advantage. 

At Century Group, our recruiters focus exclusively on accounting, finance, and HR, so we know the Controllers who turn accurate reporting into forward-looking insight your leadership can act on. That specialization means a curated shortlist of professionals aligned with your goals, delivered at the speed your growth requires. 

A great Controller builds the financial foundation your next stage of growth stands on. When you’re ready to make that hire, Century Group is here to help.