The Next Chapter: My Move to the BVOH Consulting Team

In 2004, we started BVOH as individuals who had worked in the finance and accounting staffing industry and saw the need for a more relational approach to the job. The focus of the firm over the first several years was on building our permanent placement practice, and our goal was to apply our recruiting skills in a high-quality way that prioritizes the success of our clients and candidates over our own success.

As we grew our permanent placement practice, we heard from our clients that they were also experiencing a talent shortage when looking to hire contractors. As their businesses grew, their finance organizations needed to take on special projects and they started to experience turnover on their teams. When interim needs like this came up, they didn’t feel like they had a recruiting firm they could trust.

In August 2009, we launched BVOH Consulting and we applied our same high-quality process of recruiting to meet consulting needs as well. Now, I’m thrilled to join our consulting team and to focus the next chapter of my career on helping this business grow and thrive.

The Benefits of Consultants for Finance and Accounting Teams

Throughout my twenty years of recruiting experience, I’ve focused on helping companies solve complex hiring issues in finance and accounting. Until now, I looked for permanent solutions to those issues. Much of that work was helping founders and CFOs build their organizations from the top-down. I loved working with companies as they grew from raising Series-A funding to building out their finance organization and eventually going public.  

When they needed to hire, these companies wanted the best talent on the market — and often that meant a search took longer than initially expected. After all, it takes time to find the ideal long-term candidate. 

“Essentially, hiring consultants is a way to buy time without sacrificing growth.”

While finding the right fit is worth the wait, it resulted in a 2-6 month gap during which the current team members were overextended. This gap in resources led to employee burnout and sometimes even stalled the growth of the company. 

For many of our clients, this gap still exists. In my next chapter at BVOH, I’m excited to help our clients hire consultants to fill this gap so they can remain laser-focused on finding the right long-term fit for their open positions.

Companies also benefit from hiring consultants to help out with special projects, system implementations, technical accounting projects, or IPO preparation work. Essentially, hiring consultants is a way to buy time without sacrificing growth. 

Helping Companies Who Need Help Now

Some companies don’t have the luxury to wait months to find the right person — they need help now. 

More often than ever, we’re seeing companies enter the SPAC market and their finance organizations need to be public company ready in a short period of time. They can’t afford to wait to find the perfect SEC reporting manager — they need someone STAT. As we’ve helped these companies hire interim SEC reporting and technical accounting professionals to move through the SPAC process, they’ve been able to make the transition effectively and quickly. 

We’ve also worked with startups through the process of raising their Series-B financing. Up until this point in their company, many founder-CEOs have been running finance on their own (with maybe a few overseas transactional accountants to help). But as they move into Series-B financing, these founders are spending enormous amounts of time on accounting and finance. They need someone to help them navigate the process immediately. We’ve been able to help place interim CFOs with proven fundraising experience in these positions temporarily. Then, at the end of this round of financing, they can evaluate if it makes sense to hire permanently. 

The greatest joy of my work is providing immediate relief to my clients. We want to help our clients make the best use of their time and skills. With an interim hire, our hiring managers know that the routine day-to-day work is taken care of so that their time can be freed up to work on growth-focused, strategic projects. 

“Choosing a short- or long-term career as a consultant offers a creative solution that meets the needs of candidates and clients alike. The client has a short-term need. The candidate isn’t looking for long-term employment. They’re a great fit.”

Helping Professionals Who Need Flexibility

Because we focus so much on building long-term relationships with our candidates at BVOH, their stories become personal to us. For all these years, I’ve found deep fulfillment in hearing how a career change benefits individuals on a personal level. 

Consulting is another way we can accommodate the personal needs of our candidates, specifically those who need more flexibility in their careers. Over the past year, this desire for flexibility has increased even more for finance and accounting professionals. Perhaps they want the option to take three months off to help a family member get through a difficult situation. Then, they may take on a 3-month consulting project. When it’s complete, they can afford time off again. 

As a working parent, I know the challenges of balancing work and parenting. Consulting is often the option some working parents need as they strive for this balance. Choosing a short- or long-term career as a consultant offers a creative solution that meets the needs of candidates and clients alike. The client has a short-term need. The candidate isn’t looking for long-term employment. They’re a great fit. 

As I begin to work with our consulting team, I hope to continue to do what I’ve always done — apply a high-quality, relationship-focused approach to meeting the consulting needs of my clients and contacts. 

To me, the relief on a founder’s face when they fill a position and gain freedom or the relief of a working parent who has chosen a career in consulting so they can also take care of their family, are irreplaceable joys.

This is why I do what I do — and why I’m so excited to help our consulting team through our next wave of growth.