Whether you are buying a good or service, or hiring a cost accountant for your company, if you want the best, you have to pay for the best. Cost and value, however, are two separate things, and hiring decisions should not be based on cost alone. In other words, you will need to balance the relationship between the hard costs and economic benefit associated with hiring a particular employee. In this article, Contemporary Staffing Solutions looks at true costs involved with hiring a successful Cost Accountant.
Calculating the hard costs is the easy part. These are things such as salary, employee benefits, payroll taxes, recruiting and training expenses. The least qualified a candidate, the less these costs should be (except for the training expenses, which, are inversely related to a candidate’s level of experience).
In the New Jersey market, according to salary.com, salaries for cost accountants range from approximately $45,000 for the 10 percentile to around $65,000 for the 90 percentile.
The difficult part is calculating the economic benefit that an employee will bring to your organization. These are things that do not fit neatly into a financial analysis because they include soft factors like an employee’s personality as well as their efficiency and efficacy in performing the job, among other things. The only way to assess an employee’s economic benefit is by having a well-developed hiring process that thoroughly vets the candidate for fit and compatibility to the company and the position for which they are being considered.
How do you find and recruit a cost accountant with the perfect mix of cost and economic benefit?
First you must clearly define the position you are looking to fill. Do you want a cost accountant with a specific skillset who will also be an excellent manager within the organization and work directly with top management? Or are you looking for someone less experienced whom you can groom internally to eventually become a great department head?
Great candidates at different points in this spectrum are looking for different things and give different weight to different factors. You must adapt your value proposition accordingly in order to attract the best. For example, a senior candidate will perhaps be more interested in the managerial responsibilities of the job. A more junior candidate, on the other hand, may be more interested in career development.
Contemporary Staffing Solutions will help you recruit the most qualified accounting professionals in the industry. Contact one of our recruiting experts today to start your search. As demonstrated leaders in accounting and finance recruiting, we can help connect you with the talent that will drive your business forward.