Hiring in 2026 will require a strategic partner you can trust. Don't get behind AI excelerated workflows, talent supply constraints, and the current temperature on candidate expectations.

Build a 2026 compensation plan that won’t trigger churn

Access our latest salary and hiring benchmarks, then we’ll help you calibrate role scope and ranges for your market.

1. define scope tightly,
2. hire for skills + systems + judgment (not just years of experience), and
3. build compensation ranges and interview processes
   

Around what’s actually changed since 2025...

• Accelerated AI-enabled workflows,
• persistent talent supply constraints, and
• higher expectations for flexibility, development, and stability. 

What changed since 2025?

1) Skills disruption is still high—just more predictable

World Economic Forum research shows employers expect 39% of workers’ core skills to change by 2030, and technology skills (including AI and big data) are among the largest net increases in “critical skills” over the next five years. Translation for hiring managers: candidates who can modernize close, reporting, controls, and planning processes will continue to outpace “traditional-only” profiles.

2) AI isn’t removing the need for finance talent—it’s changing what “great” looks like

PwC analyzed close to a billion job ads and found that wages are rising faster in the most AI-exposed industries—evidence that organizations are paying for people who can apply AI responsibly to real work (automation, anomaly detection, forecasting, narrative reporting, controls).

3) The accounting pipeline constraint is real (and shows up in time-to-fill)

AICPA reports a continued contraction in accounting graduate supply (with some signs the rate of decline is slowing), and the CPA candidate pipeline has seen notable swings year-over-year. 
Meanwhile, 2025 research from Robert Half found 93% of finance/accounting leaders said it’s challenging to find needed talent—and reported ~7 weeks average to hire for permanent roles (a useful baseline for planning 2026 capacity). 

Add to that the very visible industry response: U.S. firms expanding offshore talent strategies to relieve CPA shortages.

4) Compensation planning is stabilizing, but “starting salary pressure” is still a thing

Two signals matter for 2026 budgeting:

• WTW reports U.S. organizations planning ~3.5% salary increases for 2026, roughly in line with 2025, with more targeted allocation beneath the surface (starting salaries, critical skill groups, retention levers).
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported wage-and-salary growth of about 3.5% year-over-year (12 months ending September 2025) via the Employment Cost Index—helpful context for merit budgets and internal equity planning.

5) Candidate motivators: flexibility is important, but so are stability + development

SHRM shows employers rate flexible working benefits and professional/career development benefits as high-priority categories (alongside healthcare, retirement, and leave). In practice, the “package” that wins is a mix of flexibility + growth + credible career path. 
Within insurance specifically, National Association of Insurance Commissioners–regulated environments amplify this: role clarity, training, and progression reduce churn when compliance/accountability is high. (More on that below.)

Teams most impacted

Below are the 2026 differentiators we recommend hiring for—what separates “qualified” from “needle-moving.”

Controllership

Hire-for signals

• Close acceleration + clean reconciliations (not just “owns the close”)
• Controls mindset (SOX/ICFR where applicable), issue prevention, audit readiness
• Systems fluency: ERP, consolidation, workflow automation, reporting layers
• Business partnership: explaining variance drivers in plain English

Watch-outs

• Can’t articulate root-cause analysis (only “I prepared schedules”)
• Weak ownership of reconciliations, controls evidence, or audit narrative

FP&A

Hire-for signals

• Driver-based models, scenario planning, and forecast accuracy under uncertainty
• Strong data hygiene: assumptions tracking, version control, sensitivity logic
• Executive storytelling: turning numbers into decisions

Watch-outs

• “Dashboard-only” FP&A without real decision influence
• Overreliance on tools without understanding business mechanics

Statutory Accounting

Hire-for signals

• Hands-on NAIC statement experience, schedule ownership, SSAP knowledge
• Comfort partnering with actuarial and reinsurance teams
• Precision + deadlines + audit/exam readiness

Watch-outs

• Confuses GAAP vs statutory impacts
• “Reviewer only” experience with no true ownership of schedules/filings

Tax

Hire-for signals

• Multi-entity / multi-state experience, strong review skills, proactive planning
• Ability to coordinate across legal/investments/operations with clear documentation

Watch-outs

• Pure compliance mindset with limited advisory communication
• Weak project management during peak cycles



Treasury

Hire-for signals

• Cash forecasting rigor, liquidity planning, counterparty/risk awareness
• Clear policy/process discipline (controls + documentation)

Watch-outs

• No framework for stress testing liquidity assumptions
• Treats treasury as “bank portal operations” only

Hiring playbooks

Insurance carriers

Insurance is balancing an aging workforce with the need to keep key operational functions resilient—claims, service, and regulatory reporting included. 

Playbook

1. Define statutory vs GAAP vs management reporting scope explicitly.
2. Build a “regulatory readiness” work sample (mini Schedule/footnote exercise, issue spotting).
3. Offer a visible career path (manager → sr manager → director) and training plan (stat updates, exam readiness).

Brokers / agencies

Playbook

1. Prioritize integration + reporting talent if M&A is active.
2. Hire for speed + operational excellence: close cadence, commission/accounting coordination, clean data.
3. Use scorecards that test problem-solving under time pressure.

Asset managers / retirement platforms

AI is shifting value toward people who can standardize data, automate reporting, and strengthen decision support—especially in roles adjacent to performance reporting and management reporting. 

Playbook

1. Test “data-to-decision” capability (messy dataset → insights → exec summary).
2. Calibrate on controls and accuracy; small errors can become client trust issues.
3. Ensure strong partnership skills with investments, ops, and client teams.

Multi-Family Offices (MFOs) / UHNW advisory platforms

Talent constraints on the advisor side are expected to intensify—firms are rethinking operating models and productivity. That reality increases pressure on back office and finance to be fast, accurate, and service-oriented. 

Playbook

1. Hire for multi-entity complexity (trusts, entities, alternatives, cash movement, reporting).
2. Test documentation discipline and client-ready communication.
3. Look for “quiet leadership”: calm execution, high trust, low drama.

Interview scorecards

Use a structured scorecard* to avoid “resume bias” and ensure consistent evaluation.

*Consider a 100-point model:  Universal scorecard categories

• Technical mastery (25): role-specific accounting/finance fundamentals, error detection
• Systems + process (20): workflow design, automation mindset, tool fluency
• Judgment + risk (20): controls thinking, issue spotting, escalation instincts
• Business partnership (20): clarity, influence, stakeholder management
• Leadership behaviors (15): ownership, coaching, pace, integrityWork-sample ideas by role family
• Controller: reconcile a small set of accounts + identify risks + propose close improvements
• FP&A: build a simple driver model + write a 1-page exec readout
• Statutory: map a fact pattern to statutory vs GAAP outcomes + deadline plan
• Tax: interpret a scenario + outline the steps, stakeholders, and documentation
• Treasury: cash forecast from inputs + stress assumptions + policy controls

Red flags that predict churn or underperformance

• Can’t explain “why” behind decisions; only describes tasks
• Blames other teams for everything; weak ownership
• Avoids specifics on controls, errors, or lessons learned
• Needs perfect data to produce any insight
  
  

Compensation planning ranges

Instead of guessing, anchor your 2026 ranges to three layers:

Layer 1: Baseline market reality

Use national wage benchmarks as guardrails:

• Accountants & auditors: median ~$81,680 (May 2024); finance/insurance industry median higher in the same dataset.
• Financial managers: median ~$161,700 (May 2024).

These won’t perfectly map to your specialized titles (Statutory Manager, FP&A Director, etc.), but they provide a reality check for internal equity and budget sanity.

Layer 2: 2026 salary movement expectations

For budget planning, 2025 data suggests:

• Salary increase budgets in the U.S. are planned around ~3.5% for 2026 (with more targeted allocation).
• Wage/salary cost growth has been running about ~3.5% YoY (ECI context).

Layer 3: Scarcity premiums (where churn risk lives)

Based on 2025 market evidence of persistent hiring difficulty and skills gaps, plan for higher bands when roles combine:

• regulatory/accounting depth +
• systems/process modernization +
• stakeholder-facing influence

How to avoid churn in 2026

• Publish a clear leveling framework (what “Manager vs Sr Manager” means in scope).
• Budget for compression fixes (tenured high performers vs new hire offers).
• Decide upfront whether you’re paying for a “builder” (process design) or a “caretaker” (steady-state ops)—and price accordingly.

5 Lyneer Insights for 2026 Hiring

At Lyneer Search Group, the searches that close fastest in 2026 will share five traits:

1. Tight scope in the first intake (no stealth additions after interviews start)
2. One “must-have” skill cluster (e.g., statutory + Schedule F + reinsurance partnering), not five
3. Work-sample interviews that test real execution (reduces false positives)
4. Comp bands built around scarcity, not legacy titles
5. A sellable career story: what changes in the first 6–12 months, who they’ll learn from, what “great” looks like

Want our finance & accounting interview scorecards?

We’ll share role-specific scorecards (Controller, FP&A, Statutory, Tax, Treasury) and a work-sample template you can deploy in your next hiring cycle.

Frequently Asked Questions

Talk to an search consultant.

Hiring in 2026? Let’s pressure-test your plan in 15 minutes.

We’ll validate scope, compensation banding, and interview design—then tell you what it will take to land talent in today’s market.