Picture a family-owned food processor on London’s east side whose controller of 22 years is retiring. The posting draws 140 applicants. Not one has run a year-end with inventory costing. London has plenty of accounting applicants, but few have owned standard costing, covenant reporting (tracking the financial conditions in a loan agreement, such as minimum ratios) and a private-company audit or review.
That’s when many owners call a CFO recruiter in London, Ontario, because the same specialists fill controller roles. Others try accounting recruiters in London, Ontario who know the local CPA market.
London’s Private-Company Economy and Why Controller Demand Is Different Here
Most of London’s controller hiring comes from owner-managed manufacturers, agri-food processors and professional services firms. These businesses need a hands-on controller, not a head-office specialist.
Manufacturing made up 9.2% of London’s total workforce in 2023, with fabricated metal at 14.3% and food manufacturing at 12.4% among the largest subsectors by number of establishments. The agri-food sector employs more than 7,500 people across 120-plus companies. Many are private and family-run: big enough to need a controller, but too small for a full finance department.
That size shapes the job. A controller at a London metal fabricator or a St. Thomas parts maker owns:
- Standard costing and variance analysis
- Inventory valuation and count reconciliation
- Lender reporting and covenant calculations
- The year-end file under ASPE (Accounting Standards for Private Enterprises), prepared alongside a regional CPA firm
- HST filings and CRA correspondence
Food processors add spoilage and yield to that list. We cover those skills in our guide to hiring an accountant for a food manufacturing company.
Where Accounting Recruiters in London, Ontario Find Controllers
The best candidates are usually senior accountants and managers at regional audit firms who are ready to move into industry. London’s schools turn out far more staff accountants than ready-made controllers.
Western University’s Graduate Diploma in Accounting lets students complete a substantial proportion of the CPA Professional Program before starting full-time work. Fanshawe College’s Business – Accounting diploma prepares graduates for bookkeeping, payables and staff accountant roles. Regional public-practice firms do much of the training after that. Their seniors and managers spend years on ASPE engagements for the owner-managed businesses that later hire them.
You may hesitate over these candidates because they don’t carry an “industry” title. We explain why that worry is usually misplaced in our piece on moving from public practice to an industry controller role.
Private companies aren’t the only ones hiring CPAs, though. Finance, insurance and real estate employment in the London Economic Region grew 33.5% from 2018 to 2023. A manufacturer in Middlesex County is now competing with insurers and financial services employers for the same CPAs.
The London Labour Market Right Now: Lots of Applicants, Few Controllers
A high local unemployment rate doesn’t make senior finance hiring easy in London.
London’s unemployment rate was 8.4% in September 2026, up 2.1 percentage points from a year earlier. At junior levels, that means a deep candidate pool. Experienced controllers are mostly employed, fairly paid and not reading job boards.
Retirements tighten things further, because the local workforce is ageing. People aged 65 and older make up 21.8% of the region’s population aged 15 and over. Controllers who joined a business in the 1990s are retiring at roughly the same time, so several London employers end up chasing the same few candidates.
A job ad brings volume, not fit. You have to approach the right controller directly.
Pay, Relocation and Hybrid: Recruiting Controllers From Toronto and K-W
London controller roles can win over candidates from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Kitchener-Waterloo, or K-W, who value cheaper housing and a shorter commute. Your offer still has to hold up against Toronto pay, though.
In our experience, the London searches that work combine local CPAs with GTA and K-W candidates willing to relocate or drive Highway 401. Check our 2026 salary guide before you set a number. Our analysis of how Hamilton employers compete with Toronto offers works through the same regional-versus-Toronto math. If you’re recruiting cost accountants or costing-heavy controllers from K-W, our guide to hiring manufacturing cost accountants in Waterloo Region covers that pool.
Three things tend to decide these searches:
- Relocation: for a GTA candidate, a moving allowance and some flexibility on start date can count for more than a top-of-range base.
- The 401 corridor and nearby towns: people in Woodstock and Ingersoll along the 401, or in St. Thomas just south of London, are natural candidates. Some K-W controllers will also commute for the right role.
- Hybrid: controllers need to be on site at year-end and for the month-end close, when they finalize the month’s books. A remote day or two mid-month is common. Fully remote rarely works for a business that runs a plant.
Our Waterloo Region recruitment page explains how we cover the K-W side of that pool.
Choosing a CFO Recruiter in London, Ontario Without a Big HR Budget
Scope the role tightly first. Then bring in a specialist for the shortlist, whether that’s one of the accounting recruiters in London, Ontario or a firm covering the region from Toronto or Waterloo.
- Define the role. Decide whether you need a true controller or a strong senior accountant. That choice changes the pay and the candidate pool. Our guide to controller vs. senior accountant at a private company can help.
- Decide whether to promote, promote with support, or hire. If someone internal is close, a structured assessment beats a gut call. You or your team can cover the gap internally until the permanent hire starts.
- Compare recruiter types. National staffing firms bring scale and large databases. London-based executive search boutiques have local relationships, often across many functions. CPA-led specialists can screen accounting candidates technically. Ask any recruiter who they’ve placed in Southwestern Ontario recently.
- Understand fees. With contingent search, you pay only if your hire starts. Retained search, where you pay part of the fee up front and the rest in stages, is more common for CFO-level roles. See how recruiter fees work in Canada.
- Screen technically. Ask finalists to walk you through an inventory reconciliation, a covenant calculation or a year-end adjustment they owned.
At Minted Search Group, we’re a CPA-led boutique covering Southwestern Ontario from Toronto and Waterloo Region, and we place permanent hires only.
FAQ
What’s the best recruitment agency in London, Ontario for hiring a controller?
Look for a CPA-led, permanent-only recruiter with a proven Southwestern Ontario network, such as Minted Search Group. CPA-led screening means someone can test inventory costing and ASPE knowledge before you ever meet a candidate. Whoever you choose, expect a shortlist of screened candidates you can interview.
Can a Toronto-based recruiter find candidates for a London job?
Yes, as long as the recruiter has real relationships with candidates in the region. Many strong candidates for London roles live in the GTA or K-W today and would relocate or commute for better scope and cheaper housing. Ask where the shortlist will come from. We cover that in our piece on working with recruiters outside Toronto.
Should I require my controller to be in the office five days a week?
You can allow some remote work, as long as the controller is on site for the close. At manufacturers and processors, that means month-end, inventory counts and year-end fieldwork. Outside those windows, one or two remote days is a reasonable ask, and it widens your pool, especially among 401 commuters. If you need daily presence on the floor, say so in the posting.
How long does a controller search take in Southwestern Ontario?
Plan on several weeks from kickoff to an accepted offer for a well-scoped permanent search, then add the candidate’s notice period on top. Searches move faster when the scope and pay range are settled before the first interview. They move slower when the role needs a rare mix, such as food costing plus lender reporting. Our recruitment timeline guide for Canada breaks down each stage.
When the Right Controller Isn’t Among the Applicants
That east-side food processor will probably find its next controller among people who never applied. The person who can cost inventory and close the year with the CPA firm may well work somewhere along the 401 today. They would move for better scope or a shorter commute. You can see how our accounting and finance recruitment works. When you’re ready to start that permanent search, talk to Minted Search Group. Our CPA-led team will give you an honest read on the London market first.
No Pressure, Just Possibilities.
