I’ve had a few conversations recently with Controllers who made a move in the last year and didn’t stay. Not my placements — just people I know in the market. And the reason they left is worth paying attention to if you’re hiring.
It wasn’t the money. It wasn’t the commute. It was that the job wasn’t what they were told it would be.
In both cases, the companies were enthusiastic in the interview process. The role sounded like a genuine opportunity — real scope, real influence, leadership support, room to build something. And then they got in and found something different. Processes that hadn’t been maintained. Expectations that extended well beyond the job description. A leadership team that said the right things in interviews but operated differently in practice.
Both left before 90 days. Both said they felt like they’d been oversold.
This is more common than companies realize
I don’t think most hiring managers do this intentionally. When you’ve had a seat vacant for months and you finally have a strong candidate in front of you, it’s natural to put your best foot forward. You want them to say yes. You talk about the upside and minimize the friction.
The problem is that Controllers — the good ones, anyway — are experienced enough to know the difference between a company that’s being honest and one that’s performing. And when they get in and the reality doesn’t match, they don’t usually wait around to see if things improve. They’re in a market where they have options, and they use them.
That 90-day window is expensive. It costs you the search fees, the onboarding time, the disruption to the close cycle, and often a few months of a function operating without real leadership. And then you’re back at the beginning, except now the market knows you’ve had turnover in the seat.
What I ask clients before we start
Before I take on a search, I want to understand what’s actually going on in the role. Not the polished job description — the real situation. What’s the state of the books? What does the month-end close actually look like right now? What did the last person find when they got in?
If there are challenges, I’d rather know up front so I can find a candidate who’s specifically suited to them. Some Controllers are energized by a cleanup project. Others want to walk into a well-run function and optimize it. Those are different people, and presenting the role honestly is the only way to match correctly.
The searches that hold — where someone is still there two or three years later — are almost always the ones where the client was straightforward about what they were walking into. Candidates who know what they’re getting into can make an informed decision. And when they choose to accept, they’ve already bought in.
A word about fit
Technical qualifications matter, obviously. But I’ve seen plenty of hires fail that looked perfect on paper. The Controllers I place who stay are the ones where I understood both sides clearly — what the company actually needs and what the candidate is actually looking for. That alignment doesn’t happen by accident.
If you’re opening a search or thinking about one, the most useful conversation we can have isn’t about the job description. It’s about what’s true right now — the good and the complicated — so we’re recruiting for the real role, not an idealized version of it.
You can reach me at maryann@mamrecruiting.com.
Mary Ann Markowitz is the founder of Mary Ann Markowitz & Associates, a boutique recruiting firm specializing in accounting and finance placements across Dallas-Fort Worth.