When hiring for accounting and finance roles, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers—years of experience, CPA licenses, GPA, Excel skills, and the like. These metrics matter, of course. But if you’ve ever worked with a truly exceptional accounting and finance professional, you know that what sets them apart usually isn’t on their resume. Yes, resumes are helpful, but they only tell part of the story. They show you what someone has done—not how they think, how they handle challenges, or how they work with others. They won’t tell you if a candidate can explain a complex report in plain English, spot red flags before they become problems, or stay calm when numbers don’t add up five hours before a board meeting.
The best accounting and finance professionals combine technical knowledge with human qualities that make them easy to work with, dependable, and adaptable. They solve problems before they become issues. They connect the dots others don’t see. They help other departments, not just with numbers, but with clarity and perspective.
So how do you spot that kind of candidate? You look beyond the resume…into the person behind it.
1. Strategic Curiosity
Finance professionals don’t just report numbers, rather, they investigate them. The best one’s approach problems with genuine curiosity: Why are margins down this quarter? What does this variance mean? Where is the data leading us? Great finance professionals see the story behind the numbers. They don’t just track metrics—they make sense of them, predict what’s coming, and choose the best course of action.
How to Spot This Quality:
- Listen for the “why” in their answers, not just the “what”
- Ask about a time they uncovered a financial insight others missed
- See if they can explain how their work supported business growth, efficiency, or risk reduction.
2. Communication that Connects
A great candidate can explain complex data in clear, relatable terms, and tailor the message to who’s listening. Sure, finance can be complex but explaining it shouldn’t be. A good candidate can break down financial data in ways that make sense to non-finance stakeholders, from department heads to executives.
How to Spot This Quality:
- Ask them to explain a technical concept to a layperson (you!)
- Give them a messy report and ask how they’d summarize it for leadership
- Look for clarity, structure, and empathy in their language
3. Judgment under Pressure
In finance, things don’t always go as planned. A deadline gets bumped up, a spreadsheet’s got an error you didn’t see coming, or an auditor decides today’s the day to pop in. When that happens, the real pros don’t freak out. They pause, get their bearings, and figure out the smartest next step. That calm in the middle of the chaos…it’s what keeps small problems from turning into disasters.
How to Spot This Quality:
- Ask them to walk you through a high-pressure moment they handled
- Notice if they talk about thinking things through instead of just reacting
- Give them something challenging to solve with a tight clock and watch how they work
4. Adaptability
Regulations shift. Tools evolve. Market conditions fluctuate. What worked last year might not work next quarter. The best finance hires stay open to change and hungry to learn.
How to Spot This Quality:
- Ask how they’ve updated their skills in the past year
- See how they handle unfamiliar terminology or changing data
- Candidates who thrive in change often share what they learned, not just how they survived it.
5. Collaboration and Teamwork
In finance, you’re never just stuck at your desk crunching numbers. Some days it’s working with HR to get payroll right, other days it’s sitting with sales to map out forecasts. The people who do well can slide into different conversations and work easily with all kinds of teams. They know the numbers are important but so is making sure everyone understands each other. When that happens, there are fewer mistakes, and the job gets done quicker.
How to Spot This Quality:
- Ask about a time they worked with another department and what part they played
- Listen for moments where they showed empathy or solved problems together and not just the work they ticked off
- Collaborative candidates often speak about shared goals, not just personal achievements
Final Thoughts: Hire the Person, Not Just the Resume
In accounting and finance, it’s easy to default to hard skills when evaluating candidates—education, certifications, software proficiency, and technical knowledge often dominate the checklist. Well, after all, it’s been the standard for years. A lot of recruiters still think hard skills matter more than soft skills, but that idea really shouldn’t stick. If you observe thoroughly, once someone is in the role, it’s rarely their spreadsheet mastery or exam scores that determine whether they thrive. It’s more…it’s the way they think through problems, how they get their point across, how they hold up when things get messy, and the choices they make when the right answer isn’t obvious.
The best professionals bring something deeper to the table…they’re curious, which makes their analysis sharper. They take ownership, which earns trust. They speak up, when something doesn’t look right. They won’t just blindly follow procedures; they’ll question them if there’s a better way. They think ahead so problems don’t catch them off guard. And when the pressure’s on — which happens a lot in this field — they stay calm, work with others, and keep their focus on finding answers.
In addition, technical skills can be trained. Software can be learned. But the traits that make someone a great long-term fit usually come from who they are. Yes, these human qualities may be harder to spot, and even way harder to measure, but they’re often what make the difference between someone who simply performs their tasks and someone who becomes a long-term asset to your team.
Don’t be afraid of going deeper during interviews. Go and ask about real experiences, be more observant and pay close attention not just to what’s said, but how it’s said. Are they self-aware? Do they take initiative? Can they explain complexity with clarity, and contribute without ego?
In the end, the strongest hires are those who align with your business not just technically, but holistically. The numbers will always matter. But it’s the person behind them who makes the biggest difference. Don’t believe us? Try it for yourself! Or you can skip the trial and error and let us do the work for you. Because at South Florida Recruiters, we specialize in finding these difference-makers.
We go beyond credentials to connect you with finance and accounting professionals who bring both skill and substance—people who don’t just crunch the numbers but move your company forward.