Say a GTA distributor refinances, starts buying from US-dollar suppliers and adds a second lender. The controller who “also does treasury” now spends much of every week on cash forecasts and covenant tests. The owner posts a treasury manager role and gets a pile of applicants, and none of them has run a 13-week cash forecast (a week-by-week cash projection for the next quarter).
Two role families cause this problem again and again: treasury and technical accounting. In our experience, they’re the seats owners most often bring to finance recruiters in Toronto after a posting comes up empty. These roles are hard to fill because supply is thin and the skills are learned in only a few places, so a better posting alone rarely fixes it. Small employers feel the pinch broadly: 69% of small businesses told CFIB that a shortage of qualified candidates is a key challenge in recruiting skilled staff. If your search stalled for other reasons, see why finance recruitment searches fail or fixing a stalled accounting search in Ontario.
Treasury and Technical Accounting Roles: Why Each Is Hard to Fill
These four seats are hard for different reasons, so each needs a different screen.
| Role | Why supply is thin | Where strong candidates come from | What the screen must test | Realistic search length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Treasury manager | Few private companies have a treasury seat, so most people learned it in large organizations | Corporate treasury teams, banks, PE-backed companies | A 13-week cash forecast, covenant tests, FX exposure | Longer than a typical controller search, plus notice period |
| Cash management / treasury analyst | Usually a narrow junior seat in big teams; few have owned it end to end | Larger corporate treasury teams, bank cash management | Daily cash positioning, bank reconciliations, payment approvals | Closer to a senior accountant search; longer with FX or several banks |
| Technical accounting manager (IFRS) | Complex transactions are occasional; few accountants have led a new standard | Audit managers at accounting firms, public-company reporting teams | Writing a position paper, leading an IFRS change | Longer than a controller search; busy season can shift timing |
| Technical accounting / reporting lead (ASPE, private company) | Most ASPE experience is compliance work, not judgement on unusual deals | Mid-sized firm audit files, private-company reporting teams | Applying ASPE to a lease or revenue arrangement and defending it | Similar to a controller search; longer if IFRS is coming |
Pay isn’t in the table because it moves with scope. Our 2026 salary guide has current Toronto ranges for FP\&A and treasury roles.
Why Treasury Roles Are Hard to Fill at Private Companies
Treasury managers are hard to find because many learned the job inside banks, large public companies or multinational subsidiaries. Very few have worked somewhere treasury sits beside the controller in one small team.
At a private company, the job covers a cash forecast the owner trusts, banking relationships and covenant reporting, currency (FX) exposure on US-dollar buying or selling, and payment controls that stop fraud before money leaves. A large corporate spreads that work across several desks. Here it lands on one person.
The pressure on that seat is rising. On September 2, 2026, the Bank of Canada held its policy rate at 2.25% and flagged energy prices and new US tariffs as upside risks to inflation. For importers and exporters, that turns cash timing and currency swings into a weekly conversation.
The way money moves is changing at the same time. Payments Canada expects the first phase of Real-Time Rail, Canada’s new real-time payment system, to launch in Q4 2026, and 60% of businesses it surveyed say they would use real-time payments in certain situations. Faster, final payments leave less time to catch a fraudulent change to a supplier’s bank details, so approval controls matter more.
Where Treasury Candidates Come From (and How to Pitch Them)
The best treasury candidates are usually not job-hunting. They sit in treasury teams at banks, larger corporates or private-equity-backed (PE-backed) companies, and they won’t see your posting.
What draws them to a private company is scope: owning the whole function, working directly with the owner and seeing results within a quarter. What worries them is being a department of one with no treasury system.
Your pitch can be two honest lines: “You’ll own cash, banking and FX and report straight to the owner. The tools are basic today, and we’ll budget for a treasury system.” Only say the second part if it’s true, because candidates find out by the second interview.
Technical Accounting: Why IFRS and ASPE Judgement Is Scarce
Technical accounting roles are hard because the job is judgement on complex transactions, and many accountants only see those issues a few times in their careers. Plenty of people know the standards, but far fewer have defended a position to an auditor.
On the IFRS side (the international standards public companies and some private companies use), IFRS 18 replaces IAS 1 for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, adding required income statement subtotals and disclosures of management-defined performance measures, the adjusted figures a company reports outside its standard statements. IFRS reporters need someone to lead that change. On the ASPE side (the standards built for private companies), the AcSB’s detailed review of ASPE covers inventories, leases, revenue and financial instruments, so private companies should expect change there as well.
Two situations tend to force the hire. A buyer asks for IFRS statements and nobody on the team has prepared them. Or a complex lease or revenue arrangement needs a position paper, a written case for how the standard applies, that the external accountant will accept.
Where Technical Accountants Come From
Most technical accountants come from audit files at accounting firms or a public-company reporting team. The challenge is finding one who wants to work in a smaller business.
New people keep entering the field at a steady rate. ESDC projects about 83,100 openings for financial auditors and accountants from 2024 to 2033, with about 77% driven by replacement demand, mostly retirements. CPA Ontario’s 2026 annual report counts 2,396 people who passed the CFE, the CPA program’s final exam. But retirements remove experienced people, and new CPAs need years of complex files before they can lead one.
Someone who has managed audits at an accounting firm can read a standard, document a position and speak the auditor’s language. What they often haven’t done is own the close, build the process behind the number and explain it to an owner who doesn’t care about paragraph references. That gap is what your screen should test.
Finance Recruiters in Toronto: How Minted Runs These Searches
For scarce roles, Minted maps the market, approaches people who aren’t applying and has a CPA test their technical judgement before you meet them. Every search is for a permanent hire, not volume staffing. We compare the options in five ways to hire an accountant in Toronto.
- Calibrate the role. Decide whether it’s true treasury or cash plus banking a strong controller could own.
- Map target employers where the skills are actually learned.
- Approach directly, since many people on the map aren’t looking.
- Run a CPA-led technical screen on forecasting, covenants or standards judgement, before candidates reach your desk.
- Present a short list with notes on each candidate’s strengths and gaps.
- Support the offer and help plan around the candidate’s notice period.
You get a short list, not a pile: our shortlists typically run two to eight candidates per role, and our founders run searches personally.
FAQ
Who are the best finance recruiters in Toronto for treasury roles?
Look for a firm that runs direct-approach permanent search and has an accountant screen the technical side. Minted Search Group is a CPA-led Toronto firm placing permanent accounting and finance hires, including treasury, at mid-market and PE-backed companies.
Why can’t I find a treasury manager?
Supply is thin, and experienced candidates work in banks and large corporates, not on job boards. The role is also often mis-scoped: if it’s mostly cash forecasting and bank reporting, a controller with treasury exposure may fit better.
Do I need a technical accounting manager or a stronger controller?
If you report under IFRS, face a conversion or regularly handle unusual leases, revenue or financing, a technical specialist earns the seat. If those issues come up once a year, a technically strong controller plus outside advice is usually enough. For the controller side of that decision, see our guide to hiring a controller or CFO for a private company in Toronto.
How long does it take to hire a treasury manager in Toronto?
Expect longer than a typical controller search, plus the candidate’s notice period. As our Toronto page notes, highly specialized mandates can extend to 8 to 12 weeks or more.
Treasury and Technical Accounting, in Short
Treasury seats are hard because the skills are learned in banks and large corporates, by people who aren’t looking. Technical accounting seats are hard because real judgement comes from a handful of complex files, and few who have it want a smaller business.
If one of these roles is open, talk to Minted Search Group. We place permanent treasury and technical accounting hires in Toronto, and we’ll tell you whether the seat is scoped right before we start. See how our accounting and finance recruitment works. That’s what No Pressure, Just Possibilities means in practice.
