Executive Search Services

Controller Executive Search — Powered by True Headhunting

Pacific Executive Search recruits Controllers and Assistant Controllers for middle-market, PE-backed, public, and growth companies. We specialize in accounting and finance leadership — identifying proven professionals through direct headhunting, not job boards or resume databases.

Whether you need a replacement for a departing Controller, a first hire after an acquisition, or a leader to fix close problems and prepare for audit, we deliver vetted candidates who have done it before.

Why Great Controllers Are So Hard to Find

Controllers are the most in-demand finance role we see — and the hardest to fill through traditional recruiting. The best Controllers are entrenched at their current companies, highly compensated, and too busy running the month-end close to browse job boards.

Staffing agencies flood your inbox with active candidates who may lack the depth you need. Retained firms charge large upfront fees and may take months. Our headhunting methodology bypasses both problems: we directly identify the Controllers who match your requirements — industry, ownership structure, ERP systems, team size — and engage them personally.

Controller Profiles We Place

Corporate Controller

Owns the full accounting function — close, consolidations, audit, compliance. Typically CPA with Big 4 or large public company background.

Assistant Controller

Supports the Controller on day-to-day operations — journal entries, reconciliations, close process. Often the bridge between staff accountants and executive leadership.

PE Portfolio Controller

Manages accounting for sponsor-backed companies — lender reporting, board packages, cash management, purchase accounting, and multi-entity consolidation.

Divisional / Regional Controller

Runs the accounting function for a business unit or region. Common in multi-site manufacturers, property companies, and franchise organizations.

Learn how we recruit Controllers for manufacturing, aerospace, and defense organizations.

Our Controller Search Process

1
Define the Seat
We scope the Controller role with your leadership — reporting structure, ERP environment, team size, ownership type, and the specific problems this person needs to solve.
2
Map the Market
We identify every Controller and senior accounting leader in the relevant geography and industry who matches your criteria — active and passive.
3
Headhunt Directly
Senior headhunters reach out personally to top targets. No spray-and-pray InMails. Confidential, direct conversations.
4
Deliver a Shortlist
You receive 3-5 vetted candidates with detailed profiles — background, motivations, compensation, systems experience, and our assessment of fit.

Headhunting vs. Traditional Controller Recruiting

Staffing Agencies

• Post and wait
• Resume matching
• Volume-based submissions
• Limited screening depth

Retained Search

• Large upfront retainer
• Generalist researchers
• Months-long timelines
• Handoff to juniors

Pacific Executive Search

• Proactive headhunting
• A&F specialists only
• Senior-led, start to finish
• Shortlist in ~14 days

Available as Exclusive Executive Search

For high-stakes Controller searches requiring structured decision support, this role is available through our Exclusive Executive Search offering. You'll receive Candidate Dossiers with fit scoring and risk assessment, Weekly Search Intelligence Reports, and an explicit, evidence-backed recommendation.

Learn about Exclusive Executive Search →

When Employers Engage Us for Controller Search

Controller Replacement

Your current Controller is leaving and you need a seamless transition with no disruption to the close process.

Post-Acquisition

A PE sponsor or acquirer needs a Controller who can own purchase accounting, lender reporting, and integration.

ERP Implementation

You're migrating systems and need a Controller who has led a full ERP implementation before.

Close & Reporting Problems

Month-end takes too long, reconciliations are behind, or reporting quality is declining. You need a proven operator.

Audit Readiness

Preparing for your first audit, a restatement, or SOX compliance and need a Controller with the right experience.

PE-Backed Growth

Portfolio company is scaling and needs a Controller who can build the accounting function from the ground up.

Search Fee Offset Calculator →

Does reducing an offer actually offset the search fee? Run the arithmetic.

Start Your Controller Search

Tell us about the role and your company. A senior headhunter will respond within 24 hours with a search strategy.

Schedule an Employer Consultation

View Our Process

Frequently Asked Questions — Controller Search

Why are Controllers so hard to find through traditional recruiting?
The best Controllers are deeply embedded in their current companies — running the close, managing audits, overseeing compliance. They're not browsing job boards. Our headhunting methodology reaches them through direct, confidential outreach and relationships built over decades.
What types of Controller roles do you fill?
Corporate Controllers, Assistant Controllers, PE Portfolio Controllers, and Divisional/Regional Controllers. We match your specific requirements — ERP systems, team size, industry, and ownership structure. See our Controller search page for profile details.
How quickly can you deliver Controller candidates?
Median 3.7 days to the first qualified candidate selected for interview; 75% within 9 days. Because we proactively headhunt rather than waiting for applicants, we launch your search by defining the mandate and mapping the relevant market directly.
Do you screen for specific ERP or systems experience?
Yes. We routinely screen for NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Workday, BlackLine, Sage, and Microsoft Dynamics experience. ERP proficiency is often a make-or-break requirement for Controller roles, and we assess it early in the process.
Do you charge an upfront fee for Controller searches?
No. We operate on a performance model — you pay when you hire. This means we have to deliver results, not just process. Schedule a consultation to learn more.
What is the average cost of a headhunter for a Controller?
Fee structures vary by engagement and are confirmed in the search agreement. At Pacific Executive Search, we use a performance-based model — you only pay when a hire is made, with no large upfront retainer. This structure ensures our incentives are aligned with your outcome.
Is it worth hiring a headhunter to find a Controller?
Yes — especially when the cost of a bad hire exceeds the cost of the search. Controllers manage the close, audits, compliance, and internal controls. A prolonged vacancy or mis-hire at this level creates reporting delays, audit risk, and operational disruption that far outweigh search fees. Headhunters also access passive candidates who aren't applying to job postings — the strongest Controllers are typically already employed and performing well. Learn more about why companies use executive search.
How do I find a good headhunter for accounting and finance roles?
Look for a headhunter who specializes exclusively in your discipline — not a generalist who recruits across all industries. Ask how they source candidates (proactive headhunting vs. job postings), what their typical placement level is, and whether they have direct relationships in your market. A specialized accounting and finance headhunter will understand technical requirements like CPA credentials, ERP systems, and Big 4 experience without you having to explain them.
How do we know whether to post a role or headhunt it?
Ask one question before assigning the search: if someone handed you the perfect candidate tomorrow, is that one specific individual, or a profile that describes a hundred people?

If it describes a hundred people, post it. Some of them are looking, and your employer brand and referral network will reach them. If it describes one individual, that person is employed and is not reading job boards. The question becomes whether anyone has a way to contact them and a reason for them to call back.

The same title can give you either answer. A company with a large finance organization hiring constantly knows its Controller market well. A company that hires a Controller every five years is looking for one individual.
Why use an executive search firm when we already have internal recruiters?
Because the two specialize along different axes. Your internal team specializes by company — they know your compensation bands, your competitors, why people join and why they leave, and the internal politics of each hiring manager. No outside firm has that or can acquire it during an engagement.

A specialized search firm specializes by discipline — the people in one function, across many employers, over years. Neither is better. What a given role requires determines which one it needs.

Pacific Executive Search works exclusively in Accounting & Finance, which means a search begins from an existing map rather than from a blank page.
Isn't it cheaper to use recruiters we are already paying?
Not necessarily, because recruiting capacity you already pay for still has an opportunity cost. The hours spent on one search are hours not spent on another.

The sharper issue is reach rather than cost. In a market where nearly everyone qualified is already employed, the methods that work well in your core talent markets — postings, employer brand, referrals — reach a thin and self-selected slice of the people who could do the job. Assigning the search internally does not change that.
Shouldn't our internal recruiters be able to recruit accounting and finance professionals?
Capability is not usually the constraint. Reach is.

Recruiting knowledge compounds inside a market a team works often enough to stay current in — who is where, who was strong but unavailable last time, what offer actually wins. That position takes years to build and it decays when a team is away from a market. A team that hires from a market rarely is starting over each time, however skilled its recruiters are.

The useful question is not whether your team could do it. It is whether building deep accounting and finance recruiting capability is the best use of recruiting resources at a company that hires those roles infrequently.
Which talent markets should our internal team own?
The ones tied to your company's core operations — the roles you hire for continuously, where your team's knowledge stays current and compounds, and where nobody outside understands your employer proposition better than the people inside.

For a software company that typically means engineering, product and design, account management, and business development. For an engineering or construction firm it means engineers, project managers, site managers, and trades.

Accounting and finance belongs in that lane at some companies and not others. A firm with a large finance organization hiring constantly will build real depth in it. A 200-person manufacturer hiring a Controller every five years will not, and should not try.
Why are accounting and finance roles harder to fill than our other roles?
Because almost everyone qualified is already employed.

Unemployment for accountants and auditors was 1.0% in May 2026, against a national rate of 4.3%. The pipeline behind that is structural: CPA exam candidates fell roughly 43% between 2016 and 2024, and accounting degree completions reached a twenty-year low near 55,150.

At 4.3% unemployment, posting a role reaches a reasonable cross-section of people who could do it. At 1%, it reaches whoever happens to be between things. That is not a judgment about anyone who applies — it is what a tight market does to an applicant pool.

The pipeline is improving slowly. Accounting enrollment at four-year colleges rose 8.9% in spring 2026, a third consecutive year of growth. But a decade of shortfall does not reverse in three years.
What makes Pacific Executive Search different from a generalist recruiting agency?
Where the candidates come from, and how long we have known them.

Across our placements, 81% came from direct sourcing and 6% from inbound response channels. A generalist works active candidates across many markets at once; that breadth is the product. We work one discipline in selected geographies, which means the relationships and market knowledge from each search carry into the next.
Do you recruit people who are not looking for a new role?
Yes. That is the majority of what we do — 81% of our placements came from direct sourcing rather than inbound response.

Some of those professionals are people our recruiters have known for years, through earlier roles and earlier searches. Others are identified through market research for a specific mandate. Both paths run in parallel on an engagement.

Why Great Controllers Are So Hard to Find

Controller Profiles We Place

Corporate Controller

Assistant Controller

PE Portfolio Controller

Divisional / Regional Controller

Our Controller Search Process

Define the Seat

Map the Market

Headhunt Directly

Deliver a Shortlist

Headhunting vs. Traditional Controller Recruiting

Staffing Agencies

Retained Search

Pacific Executive Search

Available as Exclusive Executive Search

When Employers Engage Us for Controller Search

Controller Replacement

Post-Acquisition

ERP Implementation

Close & Reporting Problems

Audit Readiness

PE-Backed Growth

Search Fee Offset Calculator →

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Start Your Controller Search

Frequently Asked Questions — Controller Search

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