If you’re hiring a CFO, VP Finance or other senior finance leader in Mississauga, Burlington, Hamilton or Kitchener-Waterloo, the recruiter’s fee is rarely the real question, fit, speed and confidentiality are. This guide breaks down how executive recruiters actually price finance-leadership searches, what drives the number up or down, and how to pick a model that matches your timeline and risk tolerance. It’s written for hiring managers and boards evaluating whether to bring in outside help, and for finance leaders weighing whether a recruiter belongs in their search. Elby has focused exclusively on accounting and finance recruitment across the West GTA since 2009, and the ranges below reflect what this market actually pays.

An executive recruiter is a specialist retained or engaged on contingency to source, screen and place senior finance leadership; Controller through CFO, and is paid a fee tied to the placement, most often a percentage of first-year total compensation.

What an executive recruiter does (and doesn’t)

• Market mapping and confidential outreach to passive finance leaders who aren’t applying to postings

• Technical and leadership vetting, verifying real ownership of consolidations, audit relationships, board reporting and team-building track record

• Compensation benchmarking, so the offer lands inside the market rather than below or above it

• Interview coordination, reference checks and offer negotiation

• Counteroffer and retention risk management once a candidate accepts

What a recruiter is not is a substitute for internal alignment. If the board and the hiring executive haven’t agreed on scope, reporting line and compensation band, a recruiter will surface that gap fast, but can’t close it for you. The best searches happen when the recruiter owns the market and the client owns the decision.

What drives an executive search fee

Role seniority. A Controller search prices differently than a CFO or VP Finance mandate, scarcity and impact both push the fee up.

Confidentiality. Replacing an incumbent or building a new leadership layer without a public posting requires more careful, resource-intensive outreach.

Market depth. Niche finance leadership, multi-entity consolidations, private equity-backed finance, regulated industries, draws from a shallower Ontario pool.

Geography and scope. A single-site West GTA search costs less to run than a mandate spanning multiple regions or requiring relocation.

Timeline. Compressed searches (a departure with no succession plan, an audit deadline) increase the resourcing a firm has to commit.

Firm track record. A firm with a documented history of finance-leadership placements in your sector can generally support a premium fee with faster, higher-quality results.

Fee models compared

Contingency keeps upfront risk low but means the recruiter is competing for the candidate’s attention against other open searches, a real constraint for roles where speed and confidentiality matter. Retained search costs more upfront but buys exclusivity, deeper market mapping and a recruiter who is accountable for the full outcome, which is why most CFO and VP Finance mandates in this market run retained.

When to call an executive recruiter instead of hiring internally

The role controls month-end close, audit readiness or board reporting. Every additional week of vacancy at this level compounds, reporting delays, audit exposure, a finance team without direction.

The search needs to stay confidential. Replacing an incumbent or building a new layer above an existing team isn’t something you can run through a public posting.

Your internal search has stalled. Six-plus weeks with a thin or unqualified shortlist usually signals a compensation or positioning problem, not a talent-pool problem.

You’re covering a leadership gap during a transition. A parental leave, an unplanned departure or an ERP implementation may call for interim finance leadership rather than a rushed permanent hire.

You’re building leadership in a new market. Expanding from Kitchener into Mississauga, for example, without an existing network means starting outreach from zero.

Questions to ask before you sign

• What is your typical fee structure and percentage for this role and seniority level?

• Can you share a market map and a sample candidate profile before the search starts?

• What replacement guarantee applies if the hire doesn’t work out within a defined period?

• What’s included in the retainer, market mapping, interview prep, reference checks, onboarding support?

• How will you report progress, and how often?

A West GTA scenario: filling a VP Finance role

Consider a mid-sized manufacturer in Burlington preparing for a private equity transaction, needing a VP Finance who could own the diligence process without disrupting existing reporting. The internal team had no bandwidth to run a confidential search alongside day-to-day close. A retained executive recruiter mapped the regional finance-leadership pool, approached passive candidates directly, and presented a shortlist of four within three weeks, each pre-screened for transaction experience and ASPE-to-IFRS transition exposure. Because the recruiter absorbed technical and reference verification upfront, final interviews focused on leadership fit rather than credential-checking, and the hire started before the diligence timeline tightened.

Tips for a productive recruiter partnership

Give a precise brief, scope, reporting line, board exposure and the two or three things that would make a candidate thrive in the role. Agree on interview cadence before the first profile arrives, and protect those slots. Feed back within 24 hours; slow feedback is the single most common reason a strong search drifts. Ask for market intelligence, comparable offers, counteroffer patterns, realistic time-to-fill, and use it in your own compensation planning. Name every decision-maker before the search starts; each approver discovered mid-process adds a week.

For finance leaders: what a recruiter does for your search

If you’re a Controller, Director of Finance or CFO evaluating your next move, working with a recruiter costs you nothing, employers pay the fee. What you get is access to confidential mandates that never reach a public posting, an honest read on how your experience lands with a hiring board, and current compensation benchmarks so you’re not negotiating blind.

Key takeaways

• Match the fee model to the role: contingency for Controller and Director-level searches, retained for CFO and confidential mandates.

• Confidentiality and speed are usually worth more than the fee saved by going it alone.

• Benchmark compensation before the search starts, most stalled searches are pricing problems, not talent-pool problems.

• A precise, written brief with named decision-makers is the single biggest lever on search speed.

• Retained search buys exclusivity and accountability; contingency buys optionality at the cost of priority.

Your next step

Start with a precise brief and decide where a recruiter fits your process. A single confidential search is a practical way to test fit, speed and candidate quality before committing to a broader leadership build-out.

Hiring? Send us a brief with your timeline, reporting line and required experience, and we’ll come back with a market overview and a shortlist. Request a candidate or contact our team.

Looking for your next finance leadership role? Browse current accounting and finance openings across the West GTA.

Frequently asked questions

Do executive recruiters charge candidates? No. In Ontario, executive recruiters are paid by the employer. Candidates access the search process and compensation benchmarking at no cost.

How much does an executive recruiter cost in Ontario? Contingency searches typically run 20, 25% of first-year total compensation, payable only on a successful hire. Retained searches, used for CFO, VP Finance and confidential mandates, carry staged fees of roughly 25, 35% in exchange for exclusivity and prioritized effort.

How long does a CFO or VP Finance search take? Controller-level searches commonly run two to six weeks from brief to signed offer. CFO and VP Finance mandates typically take four to ten weeks, depending on confidentiality requirements and compensation alignment.

When should I use a retained search instead of contingency? When the role is senior, confidential, or hard to fill from a shallow local pool, retained search buys exclusivity and a recruiter fully accountable for the outcome, which matters most at the leadership level.