For all the doom and gloom in the white-collar job market these days, the corporate finance and accounting sector may be a bright spot, for now.
Both hiring and compensation in the space are expected to tick up this year, according to a recent survey by the nonprofit Controllers Council.
Released last week, the survey of finance chiefs, controllers and other similarly situated executives showed an increase in the number of respondents who said they plan to increase hiring this year compared to last. To wit: 38% of respondents in this year’s survey said they plan to increase hiring versus 24% who said the same in 2025.
Just 4% of survey takers said they plan to decrease hiring, down from 5% last year. The report also showed that salaries “have increased substantially from 2025 across all corporate accounting and finance staff levels,” with an average increase of 6.7% for executives, 6.2% for directors and 5.7% for clerical workers.
At the same time, the share of businesses who say they’re facing talent shortages in corporate finance and accounting grew. This year, 61% of respondents said they’re facing a shortage versus 46% last year. And among the share reporting shortages this year, there was a year-over-year increase in the number of respondents who said they’re facing “significant” challenges, bumping up from 11% in 2025 to 15% in the latest survey.
“Expected CPA and accountant shortages have been forecasted for years, and now are gaining momentum with significant increases in year-over-year shortages identified,” the Controllers Council wrote in the report. “These results indicate that while hiring demand has increased, the supply of experienced finance professionals continues to lag employer needs.”
The council said it received responses from more than 350 controllers, CFOs, chief accounting officers, VPs of finance and other similar leaders at North American organizations for this year’s survey, which was conducted from May to June.
In a webinar discussing this year’s results, Controllers Council Executive Director Neil Brown noted that this is only the second year his organization has specifically asked about talent shortages in the survey, which has been running for years.
“It’ll be interesting to see next year because if shortages continue or get worse, we could be identifying a crisis,” he said regarding talent shortages.
What types of finance and accounting roles are hardest to fill? Per the survey, 44% of respondents cited controllers and assistant controllers as the most challenging to recruit. Bookkeepers and other financial reporting professionals came in second, cited by 34% of respondents.
Toward the bottom of the list, 11% of respondents pointed to treasurers as the most difficult to fill, while just 8% cited accounts receivable managers and clerks.
Those findings may not come as a surprise to many CFOs, who’ve seen the demands of their own roles expand in recent years.
“The results reinforce that today’s accounting and finance talent shortage is concentrated in positions requiring leadership, technical expertise, and specialized skills rather than transactional accounting skills alone,” the Controllers Council stated in the report. “As finance organizations become more technology-enabled and data-driven, demand continues to shift toward professionals who can combine accounting knowledge with strategic thinking, analytical expertise, and tech know-how.”
