Senior accountants have become the most difficult finance professionals for companies to hire, a sign that America’s accounting shortage has moved well beyond entry-level jobs and into the experienced ranks that keep corporate books from going off the rails.
A 2026 CFO Pulse Survey released June 2 by Personiv, an eClerx division that provides outsourced finance and accounting services, found that 43% of finance leaders named senior accountants as the hardest roles to fill.
Staff accountants came in a distant second at 26%, followed by tax accountants at 11%.
The message from finance chiefs is blunt: Companies do not just need more accountants. They need battle-tested ones—and there are not enough to go around.
The Shortage has Climbed the Ladder
For years, the accounting crunch has been blamed on a shrinking pipeline of young workers entering the field. Fewer students have pursued accounting degrees, while many junior employees have looked elsewhere for careers with higher pay, better hours or faster advancement.
But Personiv’s latest survey suggests the squeeze is now hitting where it hurts most: the middle and senior ranks.
These are the professionals companies rely on to manage complex accounting work, review financial statements, spot errors, keep month-end close on track and help translate raw numbers into useful business information.
The problem is being squeezed from both ends. Fewer new accountants entered the profession in recent years, while many experienced accountants are nearing retirement or have already left the workforce.
That has left companies fighting over a smaller pool of seasoned talent and paying more to get it.
According to the survey, 51% of finance leaders said rising salary expectations are their biggest hiring challenge.
Open Roles are Stacking Up
The survey, conducted in March 2026, included 203 finance and accounting leaders across more than 19 industries. Most respondents were directly involved in hiring decisions.
The numbers show just how quickly the problem has intensified.
Companies reported an average of 17 open accounting and finance roles this year, compared with five in 2025 and just two in 2024.
Overall, 84% of senior leaders said there is a finance and accounting talent shortage. That is slightly below the 87% who said the same last year, but still far above the 63% who reported a shortage in 2020.
Large companies are feeling the pain most acutely. Among organizations with more than 5,000 employees, 95% said they are facing an accounting talent shortage. Half said it takes more than 120 days to fill open finance and accounting roles.
That is four months of delayed hiring in departments where deadlines rarely move.
Finance Teams are Asked to do More With Less
The shortage comes at a difficult time for corporate finance departments.
Accounting teams are no longer expected to simply close the books, process invoices and track expenses. Companies increasingly want finance departments to provide clean data, forecasts, analysis and business insights that help executives make faster decisions.
That puts more pressure on the very workers companies are struggling to hire.
Senior accountants are especially critical because they sit at the center of the finance function. They are close enough to the numbers to catch mistakes, but experienced enough to understand what those numbers mean.
When those jobs stay open, the work does not vanish. It gets pushed onto already stretched teams—increasing the risk of burnout, delays and mistakes.
AI is Becoming Part of the Staffing Plan
With experienced accountants hard to find, companies are changing the way finance work gets done.
Personiv’s survey found a sharp increase in the use of AI and automation as a response to hiring pressure.
In the firm’s Q1 2025 survey, 23% of finance leaders said AI and automation were reducing the need for certain roles. This year, 63% said they are using those tools to reduce the need to fill roles.
Nearly every respondent said their organization now uses some form of finance and accounting AI or automation. Just 3% said they had not implemented it.
The savings are already showing up.
Thirty-six percent of respondents said AI or automation reduced finance operating costs by 11% to 20%. Another 25% reported savings of 21% to 30%, while 19% said costs fell by more than 30%.
But technology is not a full replacement for experienced finance talent.
AI can process invoices, reconcile transactions, flag anomalies and handle high-volume repetitive work. It can help finance teams move faster. What it cannot fully replace is the judgment of a senior accountant who knows when something looks wrong—and why it matters.
Outsourcing is Filling the Empty Seats
That is why companies are also leaning heavily on outside help.
The survey found that 94% of finance leaders use outsourcing to fill open accounting positions.
The most commonly outsourced functions include accounts payable, accounts receivable and cash application—high-volume tasks that can bog down internal teams.
By outsourcing high-volume work, companies can free in-house finance employees to focus on higher-value projects, according to the report, which says finance leaders are moving toward a “hybrid” model that combines internal talent, AI, automation and outside support.
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