Featured Candidate: Credit Analyst

We at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources pride ourselves on providing our clients with the best job candidates available in accounting and finance. Here is one of our featured candidates, a credit analyst based in the Chicago area:

  • Fantastic work history!
  • Strong MFG industry experience handling a portfolio of 400 accounts with a $6 million balance.   Experience includes research, analysis and collections.  Designed and implemented a web based credit application and credit limit process for new customers and monitoring credit lines for current customers.
  • Available for: Temp to Hire and Direct Hire
  • Location:  Chicago IL and Near West Suburbs 

Like what you see? This is just one of the great candidates we have to offer. Contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources today and let us place the right accounting and finance worker with your company!

Top Accounting And Finance Talent For Fall 2014

We at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources pride ourselves on providing our clients with the best job candidates available in accounting and finance. From accounting clerks to CFOs, we are committed to fitting your vacant positions with the appropriate talent. Here are some examples of our featured candidates:

Credit Analyst:

  • Fantastic work history!
  • Strong MFG industry experience handling a portfolio of 400 accounts with a $6 million balance.   Experience includes research, analysis and collections.  Designed and implemented a web based credit application and credit limit process for new customers and monitoring credit lines for current customers.
  • Available for:   Temp to Hire and Direct Hire
  • Location:  Chicago IL and Near West Suburbs

Senior Accountant:

  • CPA with excellent work ethic.  Experience includes:   Financial Statement preparation, consolidations, budget preparation, has supervised A/P and A/R.
  • Available for:   Temp, Temp to Hire and Direct Hire
  • Location:  Northwest Suburbs

Accounting Clerk:

  • Reliable/Great references
  • Expertise in Accounts Payable, payroll processing, monthly accruals, journal entries, G/L reconciliations, intermediate excel skills
  • Available for:   Temp to Hire and Direct Hire
  • Location:  Northwest and West Suburbs

Senior Payroll Administrator:

  • ADP and multi-state payroll experience within both large corporate setting (several thousand employee) and small company (several hundred employee) environment using ADP software.   Respond to payroll inquiries, garnishments, conduct payroll audits, provide SOX reports, administer 401k.
  • Available for:   Direct Hire only
  • Location:  Northwest Suburbs

CFO/Controller:

  • Small/mid size privately held company background
  • CPA with a progressive work history.    Excellent communication skills.   Service industry and distribution industry background.  Recently lead finance for a $210M dollar company with multiple sites and helped facilitate the sale of the company.
  • Available for:  Direct Hire
  • Location: Flexible

Payroll Professional:

  • Areas of expertise: Multi state payroll and multi company federal reporting
  • Over 10 years as Payroll Manager and administrator processing up to 3500 employees and 7 companies. Instrumental in automating systems in 2 companies,  supervised payroll staff. Proficient with  SAP,Ceridian, ADP.
  • Available for:  Temp to hire or direct hire.
  • Location:  Wauconda IL  area

Financial Analyst, Sr Accountant:

  • Demonstrated success in project management, accounting, IT projects related to finance and supply chain, general management, and operations. Fortune 500, mid and small companies, as well as new business startups. Experienced in accounting applications and functions; evaluated and streamlined processes, cost and efficiencies; and detailed business analysis in engagement and project work. Extensive knowledge of SAP and Oracle. Advanced Excel skill sets include pivot tables, v-lookups, and if-statements. Candidate for the CPA exam.
  • Available for:  Temp to hire or direct hire.
  • Location:  Chicago IL

A/P, A/R expert:
Manufacturing, Retail, Healthcare, Transportation

  • Vendor invoicing, coding, posting to GL, created batching, ,expense reports, vendor coordination, national accounts.  MS Dynamics AX vouching, TSS, Oracle. Customer cash application, Credit cards/PayPal reports. ACH wire transfers. Posting, processing of bills, vendor information. Matching of purchase orders with shipping/receiving documents. Extensive Excel skills, extensive software knowledge.
  • Available for:  Temp to hire or direct hire.
  • Location:  Chicago IL and near suburbs.

Like what you see? These are just some of the great candidates we have to offer. Contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources today and let us place the right accounting and finance worker with your company!

Seasoned Veteran vs Young Talent: Who To Hire?

Companies across the country are faced with a dilemma on a daily basis; do they hire a seasoned veteran of the workforce or young talent just out of college for an accounting position? This can be a difficult question to answer, but we will discuss both options, so companies know how to go about their hiring process for open positions.

Hire the Seasoned Veteran

As we take a look at hiring veteran workers, one thing we need to keep in mind is the fact that this should not be gauged by birthdays. Instead, companies need to gauge a veteran worker by the years he has worked within the industry, the experiences they have amassed, the personal networks created, and the trials and errors solved throughout their career.

If your company wants to hire a veteran worker, it needs to take into account the wisdom and experiences that worker has accumulated during their career. The more wisdom and experience an employee has, the more effective or helpful he/she will be to the company hiring him/her.

Hire the Young Talent

Companies that hire young talent will be rewarded with fresh ideas and new perspectives to complete projects assigned to them. Young talent right out of college, or with very little time in the workforce, will be more inclined to take risks with projects in order to see their company succeed.

Hiring young talent often means that they likely will not finish their career with your company. Gone are the days of employees working for one company their entire career. This means that within two to five years, you will need to replace the young talent as they move to other ventures.

The bottom line here is that you need to look at both veteran workers and young talent when positions become available at your company. Reach out to Casey Accounting & Resources in Chicago IL and hire a suitable temporary employee to try before you commit to any one employee. This gives you a chance to see what they are all about while they prove their worth to your organization.

Why Having a Referral for an Accounting Job is so Important

You may not realize just how important it is to have a referral for an accounting job until you get passed over for a position by someone who has an inside contact at your dream company. If you enter a job search without having a referral, you could be putting yourself at a major disadvantage. Why is having a referral so critical to your success?

  • It gives you a chance to breeze through the application process faster than other candidates.
  • A referral can get your resume in the right hands of a hiring manager sooner than just waiting around for a response.
  • Direct referrals can give you added insight into what to expect in the hiring and interviewing process, so you have an advantage of correct interview preparation.

When searching for a new job, you should do everything possible to put yourself ahead of the pack, but make sure what you do is positive and does not negatively impact your search. We will discuss the importance of using a referral in an accounting job search here.

Using an Internal Referral

One of the most effective types of referrals for accounting jobs is that of the internal referral. This means that you will need to know someone working at the company where you want to apply for a job. Many companies today are using their employees to find their new hires because it can be less costly than traditional recruitment methods. This means that they rely strongly on their employees and trust their judgment when it comes to referring potential candidates. When you begin the search for an accounting job, think about all your friends and family members and where they work. One of them could turn out to be an internal referral for you.

Get Referred by a Staffing Agency

When you are registered with a staffing agency that has a relationship with multiple companies that hire accounting and finance professionals, you have a major advantage. Your resume goes to the top of the pile in most cases, the recruiter calls the hiring manager directly to promote you, or you may just be placed into an assignment right away. Once you prove yourself in a temporary accounting assignment, often this can lead to regular full-time employment at the client.

Referrals Push you to Top of the List

As with any type of job, having a referral in the accounting industry can push your resume to the top of the candidate list. Why does this happen? You would not refer someone for a job who might be shaky or might not have the experience needed for the job because it will reflect poorly on you. The same can be said for someone referring you for an accounting job. If you can acquire a referral, you will more than likely be called for an interview because you instantly have credibility in the search by the company for a new hire.

Personal Attention from the Employer

If you have a referral for an accounting job, it is likely that you will receive personal attention from the hiring manager or human resource executive. This happens because the person who referred you to the company probably handed your resume directly to the person who is hiring for the open position. This instantly increases your chances of being interviewed and offered the job. When you receive personal attention from the hiring manager, you are already ahead of the game.

Send a Referral Letter

Another important tip to consider is sending a referral letter to the potential employer. This will only help your cause in finding an accounting job. After your referral says he or she talked to the hiring manager about you, submit the letter to that person. Make sure you explain how you know the common connection and even offer a little bit about your background and experience in the letter.

Using a referral to find an accounting job can put your resume atop the list of candidates. Make sure you take advantage of this job search secret the next time you apply for a new job.

Do Sign On Bonuses Really Pay Off?

When it comes to recruiting finance and accounting employees, a sign on bonus can be a great way to increase the ability to attract the best candidates. Yet, some still wonder if a sign on bonus is worth offering or if there are other incentives that may provide equally positive results?

Get the Facts on Sign on Bonuses

Let’s go over the basics first. A sign on bonus is generally a lump sum of money that’s offered to a new employee once they have been selected and completed a short period of time on the job. The sign on bonus is used to attract high level candidates away from other job opportunities and is often advertised to accomplish this.

In some cases, a sign on bonus may only be offered if the candidate meets the required performance goals of the job and stays onboard for the first 30-90 days of employment. Sign on bonuses are generally used for recruiting executive level candidates and those with specialized skills that are hard to find. Other times, sign on bonuses are used to attract new college grads who have updated skills.

Making the Case for Sign on Bonuses

Before you decide to offer a sign on bonus, there are certain considerations you will want to understand. Any bonus is a cash investment in the future success of your company. It can be a way to boost performance and productivity for new hires. But it should only be used selectively as a recruitment tool. Getting the most from sign on bonuses means you need to have the following factors present:

#1 – Is the position very difficult to fill using standard methods?

The only time you will want to use a sign on bonus is if the position tends to be highly difficult to fill. This happens with specialized skillsets and projects that make it impossible to find candidates for. For example, you may have a project that requires someone to have a specific degree combined with work experience in a rare talent.

#2 – Are industry competitors offering a sign on bonus for similar job types?

Look around at what your closest competitors are offering their new hires. Check to see if they are advertising sign on bonuses for the same types of jobs that you have openings for. Then step things up with a higher sign on bonus. Even a small amount can be very attractive to the best candidates – meaning you beat the competition.

#3 – Is there a direct project you can allocate the bonus to?

Before offering a sign on bonus, consider that you must have a way to warrant the expense against client billings. Look at the projects that are coming in and decide how you will make a business case to offset the cash reward to the employee. You may want to take it to the negotiations table on specialize projects that require the best skills, then bill at a higher rate to make this more feasible.

#4 – What can the bonus do for my business in terms of revenues generated?

You are in the business of being in business, which means every employment cost needs to result in growth for your organization. Therefore, decide how a sign on bonus can help a new hire ramp up his or her skills sooner so that there is a chance of earning more money through added productivity. Sign on bonuses can be a positive incentive for getting more from your workforce early on.

As you develop a program for offering sign on bonuses to key assignments within your business, review these factors several times to make sure they fit well. Try to come up with a total compensation package that is attractive to your target candidates that include a well-rounded approach. Talk with the staffing pros at Casey Accounting & Finance Resources – part of the Arlington Resources family and a leading Chicago staffing firm for more help with recruitment sign on bonuses.

Casey Cares

Casey Accounting & Finance Resources is committed to giving back and helping those who are in need. We find ourselves in a very fortunate position to be able to help others find jobs AND to be able to help people in other ways, too.

During the second quarter of 2014, for every temporary and direct hire placement we make at our clients, we are donating funds to Feed My Starving Children. “The approach is simple: children and adults hand-pack meals specifically formulated for malnourished children, and we ship these meals to nearly 70 countries around the world.” So far we have provided the funds for 6,696 meals! Please help us in our mission and in the process let us find you the best candidates available for your accounting and finance positions!

Save the date for our annual 5k CureSade Fun Run/Walk! On October 4th, 2014 we will hold our 4th annual 5k run/walk at Deer Grove in Palatine. Donations raised during this event support the Northwest Community Hospital Cancer Patient Assistance Fund. Get on your running shoes and join us for this fun event!

Please reach out to Patty Casey at pcasey@arlingtonresources.com if you have questions on these events.