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Industry Insiders: Aman Sodi on Recruitment in Finance and Accounting

Aman Sodi

Director, Recruitment

Aman Sodi

Director, Recruitment

“If you have a hard-to-fill position, come to me!” Aman Sodi declares. She boasts a diverse book of recruiting business, but her true strengths shine in high level searches with complex, hard-to-fill positions.

“We’re working on and have recently filled a lot of high level searches in the finance and accounting area,” she shares. “At Summit Search Group, we have a strong practice within the most complex spaces. We don’t shy away from a challenge. We love working with clients who have especially difficult positions to fill.”

We chatted with Aman about what’s happening in finance and accounting recruitment right now, and what we should expect from the industry in the coming year. 

Industry Demands for Accounting and Finance

Aman has been particularly busy in the last few months, noting that there’s been a very focused set of demands placed on finance and accounting professionals in many of her clients’ organizations. 

“In light of COVID-19’s impact on businesses and this incredibly unusual year, we’re seeing finance and accounting professionals in an unprecedented spotlight. Businesses are looking to these specialists and their teams to crunch the numbers and manage risk. They’re digging deep right now. Can we get through this? That’s what they need to know, and these are the experts with the answers.”

Hard-to-fill Roles in Accounting and Finance

Although Aman is proud to have a strong diversity of experience and clients across many fields, she’s enthusiastic about her work with difficult accounting and finance fills. 

“Many clients often tend to be reserved, with a very particular idea of the kind of talent they want,” she says. “They’re conservative, with very specific parameters. Often they prefer that new candidates align quite closely with their previous talent: they want to see the same industry ties, specific software experience, a knowledge of their sector (whether it’s public or private), and someone who fits overall into a very particular framework. Sometimes they also want the complete opposite: someone from a new industry to share best practices, a fresh new perspective, and so on.”

She credits Summit’s strong practice, extensive network, and solid visibility within the space with their consistent success in challenging placements. 

“We get the roles, and we understand the business.”

Hiring Strategies for Hard-to-fill Finance and Accounting Roles

In building a hiring strategy for her clients, Aman points to high potential candidates — and notes that they’re often overlooked. 

“These candidates routinely have a lot to offer — maybe it’s someone with exclusively private experience, or maybe it’s someone who’s an ‘up and comer.’ Sometimes it’s this exact talent, who might not otherwise be on a client’s radar, who are the ones to provide a really amazing long-term fit,” she offers. “We truly represent our clients in the marketplace. We do our due diligence, and have built that credibility over time. We’re able to work outside of the box for them. We find and present candidates who are the perfect fit, even when their skills may not have been defined by the original parameters.”

Tips for Connecting with Top Finance and Accounting Talent 

Attracting top talent for these challenging roles can often boil down to two big “c” words: compensation and culture. Aman reminds clients that the two can be deeply intertwined, and that building smart total compensation packages now boosts culture — and your online reputation — later.

“It can be anything now! Compensation can include variables that range from base salary to stock options to gym memberships and everything in between. Pensions, RSP, fitness allowance, insurance benefits, car allowance, you name it! Culture often ties into the compensation, too. For example, a culture that really promotes health and wellness is more likely to offer a fitness allowance.”

Aman also notes that great candidates do their due diligence, and your reputation counts with them. Don’t discount Google reviews and Glassdoor comments, because smart candidates are watching. 

“More than ever, people are seeking cultural fit and knowledge of the workplace experience, up front. They want to find a sense of connection and camaraderie. Company achievements, philanthropy, team building events, all of that counts with talent today,” she adds. “We want to get people interested, and we work to connect them with the kind of companies we’d want to work for, too!”

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