Industry Insights

The blog explains that hiring accounting and bookkeeping professionals is difficult because many strong candidates are already employed and may only be casually exploring opportunities. Employers should therefore focus not just on technical qualifications, but also on understanding a candidate’s real motivations, career goals, and readiness to change jobs.

The blog argues that traditional job interviews are often unnecessarily stressful and ineffective, causing candidates to underperform and interviewers to misjudge true ability. It introduces transparent interviewing, sharing questions and expectations in advance, as a better alternative.

Firms apply far more rigor to buying software or equipment than they do to hiring employees—even though hiring mistakes often carry greater long-term costs. The blog argues that hiring should adopt the same “trust but verify” mindset as procurement, using more systematic, evidence-based methods to reduce risk and improve outcomes.

A recent LinkedIn post by Queensland recruiter Christine Foggiato highlights a costly hiring mistake that many accounting firms face. A CA-qualified accountant with eight years of experience moved from an $85,000 role to a $130,000 senior position, but was let go after just five months due to underperformance.

Hiring accountants is meant to be objective, but research shows that first impressions—based on faces, voices, and even names—often influence decisions before real skills are evaluated. 

Hiring offshore accounting staff carries the same risks as in-office hiring—but often with higher hidden costs. A bad hire leads to lost productivity, rework, frustrated managers, and strained client relationships, and these issues can be amplified in remote settings.

AI hiring has entered a new regulatory era. A proposed class-action lawsuit filed in California against Eightfold AI alleges that its hiring algorithms evaluated candidates using hidden scores, sensitive personal data, and opaque processes—without disclosure, consent, or the ability for applicants to review or challenge the results. The case claims potential violations of U.S. consumer-protection laws, fair employment regulations, and, for non-U.S. use, the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.

Accounting firms are turning to AI to ease talent shortages and improve efficiency, but this shift increases—not reduces—the importance of strong hiring decisions. As AI handles routine tasks, accountants must focus more on judgement, critical thinking, ethics, and clear communication—skills that are hard to assess through CVs and interviews alone.

The story of “Winston” illustrates the high cost of a bad hire in accounting. Despite a strong, AI-polished resume and confident interview, Winston lacked core technical skills, which became obvious within weeks. After failed improvement efforts, he was terminated, forcing the firm to restart the hiring process. Bad hires are common, damaging morale and productivity, and can cost at least 150% of salary—made worse by firms delaying tough decisions.

The piece argues that modern hiring has become distorted by AI. Employers use AI to improve job descriptions and screen applications, while candidates use the same tools to tailor resumes and cover letters—sometimes embellishing them. This results in “perfect” applications that reflect AI skill rather than real capability, while more authentic candidates are disadvantaged.

When two top candidates make it to the final stage, choosing between them can be surprisingly difficult — and waiting too long risks losing both. To decide with confidence, take a long-term view by considering each candidate’s future growth potential, not just their ability to fill today’s needs. Look closely at cultural fit by having them interact with your team to see who aligns best with your workplace environment. Use objective testing — technical, cognitive, and personality — to gain an evidence-based comparison beyond interviews and résumés. And if both candidates are truly outstanding, consider whether hiring both could be a strategic advantage, depending on budget and workload. If you do select only one, keep the other warm through ongoing connection, as they may be a strong future hire.

The blog outlines two effective ways to integrate pre-hire testing into your recruitment process to improve decision-making and reduce time spent on unsuitable candidates. Both strategies lead to faster, more focused hiring and can result in offers being made within a week. The post invites readers to share their hiring processes via a LinkedIn poll and offers support for firms wanting help with testing.