Hiring guide
How to Hire a Controller
Where to find financial controllers, the close, controls and GAAP or IFRS skills to test, a month-end review work sample, red flags and onboarding.
The short answer
Hiring a Controller comes down to verifying owning and shortening the month-end and year-end close, technical accounting under us gaap, ifrs or your local framework, including revenue recognition (asc 606 / ifrs 15) and designing and testing internal controls, and sox compliance where relevant before you commit interview time. The process below runs 5 stages, screens on evidence rather than résumé claims, and scores every candidate against the same criteria.
- Watch for: Cannot describe their close calendar, owners and review steps in detail
- Watch for: Treats audit adjustments as normal rather than something to prevent
- Score on: Planted errors found and correctly prioritised in the work sample
- Score on: Sound technical accounting reasoning tied to the relevant standard
Paste your Controller job description; Cohesyve finds, contacts and tests candidates on the real work and ranks them. Ten candidates free, no card.
Applying for a role like this? Practise the assessment free →When you hire a controller, you are hiring the person who owns the accuracy of your books: the monthly close, accounting policies, internal controls and the audit. The right controller turns a slow, error-prone close into a predictable process and gives leadership numbers they can trust. This guide covers where to find controllers, the technical skills to test, a realistic work sample, red flags and how to onboard one.
Why this role matters
Financial statements, lender covenants, tax filings and board packs all start with the controller's close. A strong controller sets clear policies, builds controls that catch errors and fraud, and gets through audits without surprises. A weak one leaves you with late closes, audit adjustments and a CFO or owner who cannot rely on the figures.
Where to find candidates
- Accounting and finance job boards and LinkedIn, filtering for CPA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA or CMA holders with close ownership
- AICPA and state CPA societies in the US, ICAEW and ACCA in the UK, and ICAI in India
- IMA (Institute of Management Accountants), whose CMA credential is common among controllers
- Audit firm alumni networks: senior managers leaving public accounting often move into controller roles
- Finance recruitment agencies that specialise in qualified accountants
- Your auditors and accounting advisers, who can recommend people they have worked with
Skills to look for
Red flags
- Cannot describe their close calendar, owners and review steps in detail
- Treats audit adjustments as normal rather than something to prevent
- Weak on revenue recognition or other technical areas central to your business
- Has always relied on a senior controller or CFO for judgement calls
- Dismisses controls as bureaucracy, or cannot explain segregation of duties
The interview process
- 1
Screen with the CFO or finance lead
Confirm qualifications, frameworks, company size, ERP and team size. Ask them to describe a close they improved and how.
- 2
Technical accounting interview
Discuss a few scenarios relevant to your business, such as a multi-element contract, a capitalisation decision or an accrual for an unbilled supplier. Look for clear reasoning that ties back to the relevant standard.
- 3
Month-end review work sample
Provide a draft trial balance, a few reconciliations and a flux analysis with planted problems: an unreconciled balance, a missing accrual, a misclassified cost. Ask them to review it as they would before sign-off and list what they would send back. A job simulation of this real work is one option if you want every candidate to face the same task.
- 4
Team and stakeholder interviews
Meet the accounting team they would lead and a business partner, such as the head of operations, to assess leadership and communication.
- 5
References
Ask former CFOs and auditors about accuracy, audit outcomes and how they handled pressure at close.
Cohesyve
Start the Controller interviews from a ranked shortlist
Cohesyve takes your Controller job description, finds and contacts candidates and tests each one on an AI job simulation of the job, so the stages above start with people who have already done the work. Ten candidates free, no card.
How to evaluate
- Planted errors found and correctly prioritised in the work sample
- Sound technical accounting reasoning tied to the relevant standard
- A credible plan to run or improve your close
- Understanding of controls and audit readiness
- Leadership and coaching of an accounting team
- Clear explanations to non-accountants
Onboarding
- 1Share the last audit management letter, open audit points and the close calendar on day one
- 2Let them observe one full close before changing the process
- 3Introduce them to the audit partner and tax adviser early
- 4Agree the policies they own and the decisions that need CFO approval
- 5Ask for a short review of controls and close bottlenecks within their first months
Common questions
What is the difference between a controller and a CFO?
The controller owns accounting accuracy: the close, policies, controls and audit. The CFO owns financial strategy: planning, capital, investors and the wider finance function. In smaller companies one person may cover both.
Does a controller need to be a CPA?
It is not legally required for most controller roles, but a CPA, ACA, ACCA, CIMA or CMA is common and helps with technical accounting and audit. Experience owning a close matters most.
When should a company hire its first controller?
Typically when the close is slow or unreliable, an audit is coming, or the bookkeeper or outsourced accountant can no longer keep up with transaction volume and complexity.
Is ex-auditor experience a good fit for a controller role?
Often yes for technical accounting and controls. Check that they have also run a close themselves, or plan extra support while they learn day-to-day operations.
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