Here’s a fun fact that’ll keep you up at night:
For every accountant entering the profession, 1.5 are walking out the door with their retirement watch.
(That math doesn’t work in our favor, folks.)
The problem isn’t that there’s no talent out there.
The problem is that 99% of firms are fishing in the same tiny pond with the same boring bait while the good candidates swim right past.
That’s why, in this article, I’ll show you how to attract the right people and get them excited about working in your firm.
Let’s go!
Table of Contents
- What Do Accountants Look for in Firms?
- What Traits Do Great Accounting Team Members Have?
- 5 Tips for Recruiting Great Accountants
- Where to Recruit Accountants
What Do Accountants Look for in Firms?
The best candidates aren’t just looking for any job.
They’re also evaluating whether your firm offers the things that matter to them.
For example, if you keep listing “competitive salary and benefits” like every other firm out there…
You’ll keep getting mediocre applicants.
Because when you sound exactly like everyone else, you attract exactly the same candidates everyone else is fighting over.
Get these fundamentals right, and recruiting becomes much easier.
A Great Team Culture
My first hire was a disaster.
I thought I’d found the right candidate, and she seemed eager to get started.
(Here’s a picture of me and her from back then)
However, she left after just a few months.
The problem wasn’t her skills…
It was me.
I had no idea how to manage an employee, and there was basically no culture to speak of.
I didn’t know much about running a business at this point, and it showed.
After she quit, I had trouble finding anybody willing to work with me.
Here’s what I learned:
Without a good team culture, your hires won’t want to stick around.
Why?
Good accountants want to work somewhere they can contribute ideas, not just execute orders.
They want to feel like their experience matters and that you trust them to do their job well.
If their work is just checking boxes, they’ll leave for the first good job offer.
But if they feel like they’re helping build something meaningful, they’re more likely to stick around.
Fair Pay
Accountants know their worth and will walk if compensation doesn’t match the market.
Offering competitive pay shows you value their skills and aren’t trying to squeeze talent for cheap.
For reference, take a look at this salary data from Big 4 Transparency:
Here’s what this data tells us about current market rates for onshore talent:
Staff/Analyst Level:
- Big 4: $75,000 – $90,000
- Non-Big 4: $68,000 – $80,000
Senior Level:
- Big 4: $97,000 – $118,000
- Non-Big 4: $90,000 – $100,000
Manager Level:
- Big 4: $139,500 – $165,000
- Non-Big 4: $125,000 – $142,000
In other words, your potential hires can see exactly what their peers earn and know what they should earn.
This transparency works in your favor if you pay well, but it’ll hurt you if you’re lowballing candidates.
Here’s what competitive pay looks like:
- Base salary within 10% of these market rates
- Clear bonus structure or profit sharing
- Comprehensive benefits package
- Defined path for salary increases
Don’t use perks as an excuse to pay below market.
As an example, while my Future Firm team members aren’t accountants, one of the biggest perks at the company is unlimited paid time off.
That’s included on top of the salary that they are happy with.
The result is an eNPS score I’m very proud of. 🙂
Work Flexibility
Fair pay gets you in the conversation, but flexibility can be the deciding factor.
This was one of our main selling points when I was hiring people at Xen Accounting, and it still is with my current Future Firm team.
Flexibility in hours and location is one of the biggest perks accountants look for in a firm. Firms that offer hybrid or remote options immediately stand out from the rest.
For example, here’s how I positioned flexibility at Xen Accounting:
(This was from 2013!)
Notice how we led with being “100% virtual, fully paperless” and highlighted specific flexibility benefits like remote work arrangements and no timesheets.
This wasn’t just marketing copy…
It was 100% the reality of how we operated, and it helped a lot with finding and retaining team members.
Here’s what flexibility looks like in practice:
- Remote work options (full-time or hybrid)
- Flexible hours during non-busy seasons
- Results-focused culture instead of time tracking
Giving people control over their schedule shows you trust them to manage their responsibilities.
If you’re hesitant about flexibility, start small.
Try hybrid schedules or flexible hours during slower periods.
You might be surprised by how much it helps you attract better candidates.
What Traits Do Great Accounting Team Members Have?
Not every qualified applicant on paper will be a good fit for your firm.
Technical skills obviously matter…
But trust me — they’re not everything.
The Right Attitudes
Most new hires that fail do so not because they lack the skill, but because they don’t have the right attitude.
In fact, a Leadership IQ survey found that most failed hires fail because of attitude, not skill.
Software and processes can be learned, but attitude cannot.
The correct attitudes required for success shows up in how someone responds to feedback, tackles challenges, and collaborates with teammates.
For example, listen to how candidates talk about their previous roles.
If they constantly blame others or speak negatively about past employers, that’s a sign that they’ll bring the same energy to your team.
Humility
Even the most skilled accountants are not immune to mistakes, but what matters is how they handle them.
Team members who can accept responsibility are the ones who learn and grow.
As ESCP Professor Christoph Seckler puts it:
“Humble people see value in errors and the information that they provide for their own learning. This gives them an edge over others.”
This is one of the most critical traits I look for, not just when I was running Xen Accounting but with my Future Firm team too.
Humility shows up as accountability and willingness to own mistakes.
Instead of making excuses, humble team members say, “I messed up, here’s what I learned, and here’s how I’ll prevent it next time.”
Coachability
Humble people are coachable people.
And coachable people usually become your strongest team members over time.
Coachable people don’t just accept feedback…
- They actively seek it out.
- They ask follow-up questions.
- They implement changes quickly.
They might even end up coaching you right back by asking questions that make you think differently about how you do things!
To help you gauge a candidate’s coachability, I highly recommend asking this sequence of 5 questions from Mark Murphy’s Hiring for Attitude:
- “What was your previous boss’s name? Please spell the full name out for me.”
You want the candidate to know there’s a chance you’ll reach out to their former boss (with their approval, of course). This also tends to make them more honest in their answer to the next questions. - “Can you describe them as a boss?”
This helps you understand whether the candidate did or didn’t like their former boss. It’ll also show you what traits the previous boss possessed. - “What’s something you could’ve done differently to improve your relationship with them?”
If the candidate can’t provide an answer, it means they’re not able to self-assess. If they can’t provide an answer, they are most likely not coachable. - “When I talk to them, what will they tell me your biggest strengths are?”
This question sets up the more important final question: - “When I talk to them, what will they tell me your areas to improve in are?”
Like the third question, this one tests for a candidate’s ability to self-assess. Great employees will always have an answer to this question even if they know they performed very well.
The coachable ones will give you specific, honest answers.
The others will either dodge the question or give you some variation of “I work too hard.”
Adaptability to Technology
Technology will only continue to improve.
AI is a great example.
While I don’t believe that AI will replace accountants, accountants who can make the most of it are more likely to succeed than those who can’t.
That’s also the same reason why I require my Future Firm team to use AI in their work.
The accounting industry is changing fast, and AI is accelerating what’s possible now more than ever.
Team members who are not developing a reflex for using AI and automation or who struggle to adapt will quickly fall behind.
Here is what tech adaptability looks like:
- Willingness to learn new software and tools
- Curiosity about how technology can improve processes
- Comfort with change rather than fear of it
- Initiative to explore and suggest new solutions
The best hires see technology as an opportunity to do better work, not a threat to their job security.
5 Tips for Recruiting Great Accountants
Great candidates with these traits above are out there.
So, how do you make them want to work for your firm instead of someone else’s?
It takes more than posting on job boards and hoping for the best.
You need a strategic approach that positions your firm as the place top talent wants to work, and it all starts with how you present the opportunity.
1. Write Job Posts That Sell
Most accounting job posts read like grocery lists of requirements.
They’re boring, generic, and give candidates no reason to get excited about the opportunity.
To be honest, I didn’t put much effort into recruitment back then…
I’d snap my fingers and I’d get a whole bunch of people coming my way.
Give or take 10 minutes, I’m already done writing a job post.
I was even using all sorts of stupid titles because I thought it would be fun, like “Guru,” “Protege,” and other creative names:
I was expecting to find candidates without any difficulty…
But that’s not what happened at all.
Because the job postings I created were just as generic and lifeless as most other ones out there…
I struggled to find good candidates.
That’s when it hit me: if you can’t sell the job, you can’t hire good candidates.
As I talked about in a podcast episode, everything you do in your firm is sales.
Yes, this includes recruitment.
You need to treat your job post like a sales document, instead of just a list of requirements.
Here are what make job posts compelling:
- Lead with what’s in it for them, not what you need
- Highlight your unique culture and benefits
- Use specific, exciting language instead of generic phrases
- Show the growth opportunity and impact they’ll have
For example, check out this job post I used back when I was looking for an accounting manager.
An interesting and compelling job post gets people interested, but the ones you really want will most likely take a look at your firm’s background.
If you need help with job posts and descriptions for your team, check out these guides (with free templates you can swipe):
- Senior Accountant Job Description
- Staff Accountant Job Description
- Bookkeeper Job Description
- Tax Preparer Job Description
2. Showcase Your Culture on Your Website and Social Media
The candidates you want will most probably do some research on your company a bit, especially if they have other options.
If your online presence is nonexistent, outdated, or looks like every other accounting firm, it’ll be hard to get them interested.
You need to differentiate yourself and show what makes your firm unique.
Take Bean Ninjas, for example.
Here’s another example — this is from Full Send Accounting, one of the firms we featured in our Top 50 Modern Accounting Firms of 2025.
Instead of generic copy, they use authentic language and clearly communicate their values and approach.
It gives a sense of the firm’s personality and culture.
Here are some of the things you can do to showcase your firm’s culture:
| Platform | What to include | Examples |
| Website | Replace stock photos with real team pictures | Actual photos from team meetings, office space, or remote setups |
| Add “About Us” or “Our Story” page | Your firm’s values, approach, and what makes you different | |
| Feature employee testimonials | What current team members love about working there | |
| Social Media | Behind-the-scenes content | Team meetings, daily operations, work-from-home setups |
| Employee achievements | Promotions, certifications, and work anniversaries | |
| Client success stories | Real problems you solved (with permission) | |
| Work-life balance examples | Flexible schedules, team events, and time-off policies |
When candidates can actually picture themselves working with your team, the right ones get excited to apply.
The wrong ones realize they’re not a fit and move on.
This natural filtering saves you time and brings in people who genuinely want to work at your specific firm, not just any accounting job.
3. Screen for Fit and Attitude, Not Skills
Most firms have this backwards.
They spend interview time testing QuickBooks knowledge or asking about depreciation schedules.
Meanwhile, they barely scratch the surface of whether someone will actually thrive on their team.
Remember that Leadership IQ data we looked at earlier?
89% of failed hires fail because of attitude issues, not technical incompetence.
Yet we keep interviewing like technical skills are the hardest thing to fix.
At Future Firm, our hiring process usually starts with a Vervoe assessment.
We do this to understand how they think through problems, communicate under pressure, and respond to feedback.
Here are some key questions that reveal character:
- “Tell me about a time you made a significant mistake. How did you handle it?”
- “Describe a situation where you had to learn something completely new. What was your approach?”
- “How do you typically respond when you receive feedback that’s difficult to hear?”
- “Walk me through how you’d approach a problem you’ve never encountered before.”
Listen for ownership, not excuses.
When candidates describe challenges, do they take responsibility or blame circumstances?
Do they show curiosity about learning, or just want to know if they got the job?
Here are some red flags to keep an eye out for:
- Consistent blaming of others
- Unwillingness to admit weaknesses
- Rigid thinking
- Speaking negatively about previous employers
For a detailed list of interview questions that help you evaluate attitude and fit, check out my guide on accounting interview questions.
This approach takes more time upfront, but it prevents months of frustration later when you realize someone doesn’t fit your culture or work style.
4. Pay Well
I mentioned earlier that you need to treat recruitment as a sales process.
Well, you can’t have an effective sales conversation without addressing the biggest factor in most buying decisions:
Price!
That said, my experience started very differently from my current philosophy.
I used to think I was being smart by negotiating salaries as low as possible.
Back in my Xen Accounting days, I’d try to hire talented people for less than they were making elsewhere.
But those “wins” never lasted.
People would stick around just long enough to find something better, then leave.
The constant turnover was exhausting and expensive.
Here’s what happens when you underpay:
- Higher turnover rates
- Constant recruiting cycles
- People who are always looking for the next opportunity
- Difficulty attracting top talent who have options
That’s why I shared on LinkedIn that I pay my team members above the market rate:
Paying well doesn’t solve every retention problem, though.
People may still leave for career growth, life changes, or better opportunities.
Still, I sleep well knowing nobody (that I know of) on my team is browsing job boards because they need more money.
When you take care of your team financially, they tend to take care of your business and often exceed expectations.
It’s not a guarantee, but it sets the right foundation.
Fair compensation gives you:
- A better candidate pool to choose from
- People who can focus on work instead of job hunting
- More honest feedback when someone does decide to leave
- A reputation that makes recruiting easier
This approach works particularly well with offshore talent, where you can pay significantly above local market rates without a major impact on your margins.
Paying well isn’t a magic bullet, but underpaying almost guarantees retention issues.
The challenge is figuring out what “paying well” actually means in your market.
Here’s how you can research competitive salaries:
- Search Indeed or ZipRecruiter for similar roles in your area and filter by “salary estimate”
- Look at job postings that are very similar to yours to see what they’re offering
- Aim for at least market rate, 10-15% above for hard-to-fill positions
This way, you’re competing on the work itself instead of hoping people will stick around.
5. Make Recruitment a Great Experience
Your hiring process is the candidate’s first real taste of what it’s like to work with you.
If it’s smooth, respectful, and engaging, it shows you run a professional, people-first firm.
Unfortunately, most firms treat recruiting like an afterthought.
Candidates wait weeks for responses, go through multiple rounds of redundant interviews, only to never hear back.
This sends a clear message about how you operate.
Treat recruitment like onboarding: it should make candidates feel excited to join, not drained by the process.
Here’s what a great recruiting experience looks like:
| Stage | What Candidates Experience | What This Shows |
| Application | Clear job descriptions, easy application process | You respect their time |
| Initial Contact | Response within 24-48 hours, clear next steps | You’re organized and communicative |
| Interview Process | Prepared interviewers, relevant questions, and defined timeline | You’re professional and efficient |
| Decision Making | Updates on timeline, feedback regardless of outcome | You care about people, not just filling roles |
I recommend these extra tips to further improve your recruitment process as well:
- Set up email templates for common recruiting communications
- Create a recruiting timeline and stick to it
- Train everyone involved in interviews on what to ask and look for
- Always follow up with candidates, even rejections
Remember, candidates are evaluating you just as much as you’re evaluating them.
A poor recruiting experience will cost you great hires who decide you’re not worth the hassle.
Remember: the best candidates have options.
Make sure your process gives them reasons to choose you over the competition.
Where to Recruit Accountants
Remember my first hire who quit after a few months?
After she left, I needed someone with more experience to actually help me grow the business.
The problem?
Convincing a seasoned accountant to join a one-person firm that barely had any revenue was incredibly difficult.
I eventually resorted to a recruitment agency, which would cost 15% of someone’s first-year salary.
(If they made $80,000, that’s $12,000 right off the top.)
That’s a massive expense to say the least, especially considering the firm wasn’t generating much revenue at that point.
But I bit the bullet and paid the fee, which didn’t work either.
All changed when I did the work myself and focused my energy on finding people on social media, particularly…
I turned to LinkedIn out of desperation and spent countless hours shortlisting people, reaching out with cold messages, trying anything that might work.
My pitches were terrible:
- “Hey, I have this opportunity. You want to jump on a call?”
- “Let me have a chance to convince you to leave your job to come work for me.”
Yikes!
But that process taught me something important:
I wasn’t selling what I was offering well enough.
People couldn’t see why they’d want to leave their stable jobs for my chaotic startup.
Eventually, when I started figuring out what candidates valued, I was able to get better results.
Here’s what my “Why Us” page looked like:
LinkedIn works better than a lot of job boards because accountants are already there.
They’re checking it regularly, connecting with colleagues, and many are quietly open to new opportunities even if they’re not actively job hunting.
Here are three ways that you can make the most out of the platform:
- Share your openings as content, not just listings: Regular posts get more visibility than job board postings. Don’t just post whenever you’re looking for talent; use the platform to share your experiences, expertise, and thoughts too.
- Build relationships in accounting groups: Join conversations, share useful insights, and help people with questions. When you do post about openings, people already recognize your name.
- If you message people directly, make it about them: Reference something specific from their profile. Explain what caught your attention about their background. Lead with curiosity, not desperation.
The key is patience.
LinkedIn is a powerful platform, but it’s about building connections over time, not mass messaging strangers.
Referrals From Your Current Team
Cold outreach on LinkedIn has its place, but warm introductions from people who already work for you tend to yield better results.
Your current team members might know other accountants who likely share similar values and work styles.
They understand your culture better than any recruiter and can spot people who’d actually thrive in your environment.
Here at Future Firm, we prioritize referrals from our current team and even offer bonuses for those who successfully bring in new hires.
Whenever you are in need of talent, send an email that your team can forward to their network whenever you have openings.
Make it easy for them to share and give enough information to generate interest.
Here’s a template you can swipe:
| Hi Team, We’re looking to add a [Job Title], and I wanted to give you the details first in case you know someone who’d be a great fit. Role Details: – Position: [Job Title] [Setup ex. fully remote] Salary range: [Provide the Salary] Responsibilities: • [List the requirements] Growth opportunity: Clear path to management within [duration] What we offer (as you know): –100% remote work –No timesheets or micromanaging –4-day work weeks during non-busy season –Professional development budget ($X/year) –Collaborative team where everyone’s input matters If you know someone who might be interested, feel free to share this information with them or forward this email directly. You can also have them reach out to me at [email] or [phone number]. As a reminder, we offer a $[amount] referral bonus for successful hires who complete their first 90 days. Thanks for keeping your eyes open for great people! [Your name] |
Most team members would rather work alongside someone they already know and can vouch for.
It makes their own job easier when they can trust the new person to pull their weight and fit in with the group.
The referral bonus is nice, but the real motivation is getting to work with people they want to spend time with.
Online Communities
Many accountants spend time in online communities like Slack groups, Reddit threads, or Facebook groups dedicated to accounting.
These spaces are goldmines for finding talent because people are already engaged and often open about their career situations.
Here are some places where you can find accounting communities:
- Reddit: r/Accounting, r/TaxPro, r/Bookkeeping
- Facebook groups: Local CPA society groups, accounting software user groups
- Slack communities: Accounting-focused workspaces and professional networks
- Professional forums: State CPA society discussion boards, specialty accounting forums
You can also find like-minded firm owners inside Future Firm Accelerate, where members often share ideas, resources, and sometimes even talent leads.
The community aspect means you’re not just posting to strangers.
You’re tapping into a network of people who understand your challenges.
Here’s a 3-step approach I recommend if you’re considering online communities to look for talent:
Step 1: Join and contribute first
- Find 2-3 active communities in your niche (tax, bookkeeping, etc.)
- Spend 2-3 weeks answering questions and sharing insights
- Build recognition before mentioning you’re hiring
Step 2: Share opportunities naturally
- Post job openings in designated channels or weekly threads
- Frame it as “we’re growing our team” rather than “we’re desperate”
- Include what makes your firm different in 1-2 sentences
Step 3: Engage with interested people
- Respond quickly to comments or DMs
- Move conversations to private messages for detailed discussions
- Be transparent about role expectations and culture fit
Offshore
Offshoring means hiring team members in another country who can provide the same services you’d get from local accountants:
- Bookkeeping
- Payroll
- Tax prep
- Auditing
- Etc.
To be honest, I didn’t explore offshore hiring during my Xen Accounting days.
It wasn’t until I started Future Firm that I really embraced offshore hiring.
Now I’m a big believer and advocate of this approach.
The entire Future Firm team is proudly 100% offshore.
Here’s a picture of us in the Philippines during our second team retreat.
Here are a few reasons offshoring works so well for accounting firms:
- Access to global talent: Not limited to your local area’s candidate pool
- Cost efficiency: Pay highly competitive rates in their market, save on your end
- Strong work ethic: Many offshore accountants are highly dedicated professionals
- English proficiency: Countries like the Philippines, South Africa, India, etc., have excellent English-speaking talent
To get started with offshore hiring, you have a few options:
Option 1: Use a Specialized Hiring Service
If you want someone else to handle the recruiting, screening, and onboarding, you can check out work with an agency like TeamUp (affiliate link).
They specialize in connecting accounting firms with offshore talent and handle much of the heavy lifting for you.
If you want other options, you can check out my guide to the best accounting staffing agencies.
Option 2: Hire Direct
If you want more control over the process and potentially lower costs, you can hire directly through online platforms.
This requires more effort, but it gives you complete control over candidate selection and relationship building.
Here are a few platforms where you can commonly find offshore candidates:
| Platform | Best For | Cost Structure |
| OnlineJobs.ph | Philippines talent, direct hiring(a number of my Future Firm team members came from here) | Free/monthly membership fee |
| Upwork | Global talent, project-based or full-time roles | Platform fees on payments |
| Freelancer.com | Quick searches, competitive bidding | Project or membership fees |
Here are some tips to help you find good candidates:
- Define the role clearly: List specific tasks, software requirements, and hours needed
- Set your budget: Research market rates in your target country
- Create a skills test: Simple tasks to evaluate actual abilities
- Plan communication: Decide on overlap hours and communication tools
- Prepare onboarding: Document processes and provide necessary software access
Here’s what you can expect the timeline to look like:
- Week 1-2: Post job and review applications
- Week 3: Conduct interviews and skills tests
- Week 4: Make offer and complete onboarding
- Month 2-3: Full integration into your processes
The key is starting with one role and building from there.
Don’t try to offshore your entire operation at once.
Also, don’t rely on just one recruiting method.
If applicable, start with referrals from your current team, then move to online communities and LinkedIn if needed.
If you’re still coming up short, consider offshore talent.
Think of it as expanding your search: start local and trusted, then go broader when necessary.
The goal is to have a system that consistently brings in quality candidates, not using every method at once.
For more detailed guidance on offshore hiring, check out our complete offshore accounting guide.
Increase Your Success Rate at Recruiting Quality Accountants
The difference between firms that struggle to hire and those that attract great people comes down to three fundamentals:
What they prioritize in candidates, how they present opportunities, and where they focus their search efforts.
Start with one area that needs the most work in your current process.
Pick one strategy from this guide and implement it before you move on to the next.
Now, I want to hear from you.
What’s been your most frustrating recruiting experience lately?
Which of these methods do you think would work best for your firm?
Let me know in the comments below!
