When your long-serving controller or CFO gives notice, you have two jobs: protect access to the bank, systems and payroll, and find a permanent successor. Owners who have to replace a controller or CFO tend to ask the same questions. They run from the first 72 hours to choosing between promoting a senior accountant and hiring a controller from outside.
If you own an established private company in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Hamilton, Waterloo Region or Ottawa, expect to see more of these departures. Statistics Canada puts the average retirement age in Canada at 59.9 in 2025, so many long-serving finance leaders are reaching that point now.
The First 72 Hours After Your Controller or CFO Gives Notice
Secure bank, system, payroll and Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) access before you think about the job ad.
My controller just resigned. What do I do first?
Update bank signing authority first, so the departing controller isn’t the only person who can sign for the company at the bank. Next, take over admin rights to your accounting or ERP (enterprise resource planning) system, and make sure someone besides the departing person can run payroll.
After that, check government access. Through your CRA account you can view, modify or delete a representative’s authorization, including one held by the departing controller or your outside accountant. Our controller handover checklist has the full list.
Can I ask them to stay on while I hire?
Yes, a retiring controller may agree to stay on part-time as a bridge until your permanent successor starts. In 2023, 1 in 10 Canadians aged 55 and older who had retired were working, and 73% of them worked part-time.
Agree on hours, a firm end date tied to your new hire’s start, and what they’ll own, such as year-end and the bank relationship. If they’re leaving for another employer, lean on your senior accountant and your external accountant. They can keep the month-end close running, so each month’s books still get finalized.
How Long Does It Take to Replace a Controller or CFO?
A controller search takes several weeks to a signed offer and a CFO search takes longer, with the new hire’s notice period on top.
How long will it take to hire a new controller?
Most controller searches reach an accepted offer within several weeks. Your start date then depends on the new hire’s notice period, which varies with seniority and contract. Senior finance leaders often owe their current employer more time than a staff accountant does.
CFO searches with specific requirements, such as deal or lender negotiation experience, take the longest. Our recruitment timeline guide breaks down each phase and what tends to slow a search down.
Why is it hard to find a good controller right now?
The controllers you want already have jobs. Finance and insurance was the only sector with a year-over-year increase in job vacancies in January 2026, up 14.3%, and in May 2026 vacancies in the sector rose 10.7% from April.
Most owners want a controller who knows ASPE, the Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises. They also want someone who has run year-end with an external accountant and is comfortable with lender reporting. You reach people like that with a direct approach, not a job ad.
Is Your Senior Accountant Ready to Replace the Controller?
Promote your senior accountant if they can run finance on their own today. If they’re close, you can promote them with support: a development plan, with your external accountant carrying more of the first year-end. If they’d still have to learn the role, hire from outside.
Should I just promote my senior accountant?
Sometimes, but test it first, and don’t promote just because it’s the easy option. Three signals help: they already own the whole month-end close, your bank and external accountant already trust their numbers, and the rest of the team takes direction from them.
If any of those is missing, a straight promotion can set a good person up to struggle in a role they weren’t ready for. Our guide to whether you need a controller or a senior accountant covers when promoting makes sense.
Do I need a CPA to replace my controller?
In most cases, yes: you’ll want a CPA, or someone well along in the CPA program, at the controller and CFO level. That holds for most established private companies with lenders, an outside accountant who reviews or audits your year-end, and HST (harmonized sales tax) or payroll complexity. In those companies, outside parties rely on your numbers.
Before you make an offer to a designated CPA, check CPA Ontario’s public member directory. It shows whether a member is in good standing or suspended. We cover the trade-offs in when your Ontario private company needs a CPA.
What Hiring a Controller Actually Costs, and Who Should Run the Search
You’ll pay a market salary plus a search fee. To run the search, choose a CPA-led recruiter that focuses on permanent hires.
What will it cost to replace my controller or CFO?
On top of salary, you’ll pay a search fee, usually a percentage of the new hire’s first-year base salary. The exact rate depends on the fee model and how senior the role is. Our guide to recruiter fees in Canada explains how each model works. For the salary side, see what a controller costs to hire in Toronto and our 2026 salary guide for current pay ranges.
The hidden cost is your own time. If you’re back in the books for a quarter, you lose hours meant for customers and lenders. And a rushed hire who leaves within a year puts you back at the start.
Why use a boutique recruiter instead of a large firm?
A CPA-led boutique tests technical depth before you meet anyone. Large national staffing firms and generalist agencies often screen a controller the same way they screen any other role. That means gaps in ASPE knowledge or in running a reliable month-end close can first show up in your interview.
Minted Search Group is a CPA-led boutique, and every placement we make is permanent. Partner Jack Kalb, CA, CPA, started his career in audit at EY. Here’s how a CPA-led screen tests a controller ahead of your first interview.
What if my CFO is also the person who’d run succession?
Hire for the job ahead, not the one that’s ending. BDC reports that nearly one in five Canadian companies plans to exit within the next five years, yet only 24% of those likely to exit have a formal succession plan or exit strategy.
Your next CFO may be the person who gets the company ready for a sale or a family successor. Make that experience part of your CFO recruitment brief. We cover the timing in CFO succession planning for retiring owners.
FAQ
Which recruiters in Toronto can replace a CFO quickly?
Look for a CPA-led firm that focuses on permanent hires and moves quickly from your first call to a shortlist. Ask any recruiter how many finance searches like yours they ran last year. Keep in mind that the start date still depends on the candidate’s notice period. Minted Search Group typically sends first resumes within 24 hours of intake on new mandates and a shortlist within 7 to 10 business days.
Can I replace a controller at my Mississauga or Vaughan business with a Toronto recruiter?
You can, and we place finance hires across the GTA, including Mississauga, Vaughan, Brampton, Oakville and Burlington. Commute matters more than city lines when you’re hiring a controller, so a good search looks at where candidates live relative to your office.
Should the new controller overlap with the old one?
Yes, if you can arrange it. Ideally, make the overlap long enough to cover one month-end close, so the new controller runs it with the outgoing one beside them. Agree on the dates with the departing controller early so they’re firm before you make an offer.
How do I keep the search confidential?
Keep the internal circle small and have your recruiter describe the role by industry, size and location without naming the company. Share the company name only after a screening call, and ask finalists to keep the conversation private. Decide in advance what you’ll tell your team, and when.
Next Steps
If your controller or CFO has just given notice, start with a conversation. We’ll give you a straight read on the market for your role and a realistic timeline from first resumes to your new hire’s start date. You can also see how our accounting and finance recruitment works.
Talk to Minted Search Group about a permanent, CPA-screened successor when the timing suits you.
No Pressure, Just Possibilities.
