When recruiting accountancy and finance staff, a CV tells you what someone has done. An interview helps you understand how they communicate and whether they could fit your team. But sometimes, it’s what someone else says about them that gives you the extra confidence to make a decision.
A good verbal testimonial can be incredibly powerful.
At Benjamin Edwards Recruitment, we speak to finance professionals and employers across Lincolnshire every day. We regularly meet candidates with similar qualifications, systems experience and technical backgrounds, so the difference between a good candidate and the right candidate isn’t always obvious from a CV.
That’s where reputation and a trusted recommendation can add real value.
Lincolnshire is a small place
Accountancy and finance is a particularly well-connected market. People move businesses, Financial Controllers become Finance Directors, Management Accountants become hiring managers and former colleagues cross paths again years later.
One of the most valuable things we can hear about a candidate is:
“I worked with them. They’re really good.”
Or even:
“I’d employ them again tomorrow.”
Those few words can tell you something a CV simply can’t.
They come from someone who has actually seen that person at work. They know whether they meet deadlines, take ownership, communicate well with colleagues, remain calm under pressure and can be relied upon when month-end gets busy.
Technical skills are only part of the picture
When recruiting for an accountancy position, it’s relatively straightforward to establish whether somebody has experience of management accounts, purchase ledger, credit control, payroll, budgeting, forecasting or a particular finance system.
What is much harder to establish is everything behind those technical skills.
Are they reliable?
Do they take ownership?
Can they build relationships with non-finance colleagues?
Will they admit when they’ve made a mistake?
Can you trust them with sensitive financial information?
Will they support the rest of the finance team?
Would their previous manager employ them again?
A genuine verbal testimonial can provide valuable additional insight into these areas.
We regularly speak to people across the Lincolnshire finance community who have previously worked with candidates we are representing. Being able to tell a client, “We know this person’s reputation and the feedback we’ve received about them has been excellent” can provide an extra level of reassurance when making an important hire.
Why trust matters when recruiting accountancy staff
Trust is particularly important in accountancy recruitment. Finance employees often have access to commercially sensitive information, payroll data, bank accounts and confidential business information, while also being responsible for the accuracy of numbers that influence key decisions. Technical ability is essential, but employers also need people with integrity, reliability and good judgement. Understanding a candidate’s professional reputation can therefore be just as valuable as understanding their experience.
A good recruiter should know their market
There is a big difference between simply sending CVs and genuinely knowing the local candidate market.
Working within Lincolnshire over the long term means building relationships with finance professionals throughout their careers. Candidates become clients, clients become candidates and people we placed several years ago may now be recruiting teams of their own.
That network gives us a wider picture than a CV alone.
It means we can understand where somebody has worked, what environments they perform well in and, where appropriate, draw on genuine professional feedback and relationships to give employers greater confidence in the people they are considering.
A quick note on GDPR and consent
Of course, verbal testimonials and references need to be handled appropriately. Candidate information should not simply be shared around the market, and previous employers or referees should not be contacted without the appropriate knowledge and consent. At Benjamin Edwards Recruitment, we believe in being transparent with candidates about how their information is being used and ensuring recommendations and references are handled professionally and in line with UK GDPR and data protection requirements.
Recruiting accountancy staff in Lincolnshire?
At Benjamin Edwards Recruitment, we believe successful accountancy recruitment is about much more than matching keywords on a CV to a job description.
We work closely with employers to understand their business, the finance team, the culture and what the role genuinely requires. We also take the time to know our candidates – their experience, motivations, strengths, reputation and what they are looking for from their next career move.
That means we can introduce people with context, rather than simply sending CVs.
When you’re trusting someone with your company’s finances, who you recruit matters – and knowing the person behind the CV matters even more.
