Make Year-End Reconciliation Agile With Contract Finance and Accounting Talent

Article

By Brandi Britton, Executive Director, Contract Finance and Accounting, Robert Half

As year-end approaches, your finance and accounting team faces one of the busiest stretches of the year. Reconciliation tasks tend to pile up quickly, with ledgers to validate, books to close, audit trails to prepare and compliance checks to complete.

Across industries, companies are engaging contract/temporary finance and accounting professionals to help manage these pressures. With in-demand skills and the ability to ramp up quickly, they can provide the agility needed to keep year-end reconciliation on track.

If you use this staffing strategy for your finance organization in the months ahead, you would not be alone. Research for Robert Half’s latest Demand for Skilled Talent report shows 70% of finance and accounting leaders are increasing their use of contract talent in the second half of 2025, citing access to specialized expertise and workforce flexibility as leading benefits.

Contract Finance Talent: The Key to Agile Year-End Reconciliation

Why the year-end reconciliation process is so demanding
Where contract finance and accounting talent can add value
Structuring year-end engagements: Tips for success
How contract talent can support audit readiness and compliance reviews
The strategic upside of engaging contract talent beyond year-end

Why the year-end reconciliation process is so demanding

No matter what’s happening in the economy, the year-end close is one of the toughest periods for finance and accounting teams. The sheer volume of work can be overwhelming—from reconciling multiple bank accounts to validating intercompany balances to making sure every journal entry is accurate before auditors arrive.

Deadlines are nonnegotiable. Financial reporting must be finalized quickly to satisfy shareholder, board and regulatory requirements, while also reinforcing the confidence of investors and lenders. And when tax preparation, compliance reviews, preparing for audits and forecasting all converge, the pressure only intensifies.

The consequences of mistakes during year-end reconciliation can be significant. Inaccuracies can lead to audit findings, regulatory fines, reputational damage, and the erosion of investor or lender confidence that can limit access to capital. Meanwhile, the toll on employees is real. Long nights and weekend work are common, fueling fatigue and increasing turnover risk—just when experienced staff are needed most.

Find out why managing employee burnout is an imperative for finance and accounting leaders.

Where contract finance and accounting talent can add value

The year-end surge doesn’t always justify permanent headcount increases. However, it does create an ideal opportunity to adopt a flexible staffing strategy that includes engaging highly skilled contractors. Here are some of the reconciliation projects where contract finance and accounting talent can make a swift and significant difference:

Bank reconciliations: Contract talent can take on high-volume account reconciliations, clearing transactions and investigating variances, so your permanent staff can concentrate on exception handling and reporting.

Intercompany reconciliations: Temporary finance professionals for reconciliation projects can validate balances across entities, align accounting policies and resolve mismatches that might otherwise delay consolidation.

Fixed asset reconciliations: From depreciation schedules to disposals, contract talent with specialized knowledge can help make asset reporting both accurate and compliant.

Revenue recognition and accruals: Contract F&A professionals familiar with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) or International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can support complex reconciliations for revenue cutoffs, deferred revenue, and expense accruals.

By offloading these and other labor-intensive tasks, you can give your core employees more time to focus on analysis, decision-making and other high-value priorities. The result is not only a smoother reconciliation process but also a stronger, more motivated finance team.

Structuring year-end engagements: Tips for success

You’ll want to approach year-end engagements thoughtfully so you can maximize the time and talent of the finance professionals working for your firm on a contract basis. That means looking beyond short-term task coverage and focusing on integration, planning and collaboration. Aim to do the following:

Start early: Onboard contract talent a few weeks before peak deadlines to make sure they’re trained, familiar with key software and systems, and ready to contribute when workloads spike.

Define scope: Write clear role descriptions and set performance expectations so contract finance and accounting talent stay aligned with team priorities and avoid scope creep.

Provide access: Grant contract talent the necessary system permissions, templates and reporting tools from day one. Nothing slows productivity faster than waiting for approvals.

Encourage collaboration: Pair contract F&A professionals with permanent employees for handoffs and joint projects to help build trust and maintain continuity in workstreams.

How contract talent can support audit readiness and compliance reviews

Audit readiness has shifted from an annual event to an ongoing commitment, with boards, regulators and investors expecting transparency year-round. Contract finance and accounting professionals don’t just help you close—they can also help your organization prepare for audits and pass them with fewer adjustments. Additionally, they can support internal compliance reviews to make sure your financial reporting and controls can stand up to scrutiny.

You can look to skilled finance professionals working as contract talent to:

Perform account reconciliations and tie-outs: They can address high-risk accounts, confirm subledger balances and clear aged reconciling items before auditors arrive.

Manage “Provided by Client” (PBC) lists: Contract talent can rack requests and package supporting documentation in auditor-ready formats, so auditors receive what they need timely.

Update processes: These professionals can refresh walkthroughs and narratives, confirm control design and operating effectiveness, and gather evidence for sample testing.

Provide Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance support: Contract F&A professionals can assist public companies with control testing, remediation and deficiency follow-up.

Handle exceptions: Contract talent can help resolve issues quickly, draft adjustment memos when needed and prevent last-minute surprises that extend audit timelines.

When you embed contract finance and accounting talent early—ideally, a few weeks before fieldwork—they can help clean up problem areas, standardize workpapers and lay the groundwork for a more efficient audit process.

Learn about the strategic role of interim consultants in meeting the 2025 Standards for internal audit.

The strategic upside of engaging contract talent beyond year-end

Engaging contract F&A talent as part of a flexible staffing strategy can provide benefits that extend well beyond the year-end close. Your finance organization can:

Scale on demand. You can quickly add capacity during peak periods throughout the year, without increasing permanent headcount.

Control costs. You pay only for the skills and hours you need while reducing overtime expenses.

Build talent pipelines. Contract/temporary engagements can serve as extended interviews, helping you identify and observe top performers you could potentially hire for your permanent team.

Contract finance and accounting talent can also provide support for critical initiatives such as enterprise system implementations, mergers and acquisitions, and initial public offering (IPO) preparations. And because they have worked across a wide range of organizations and industries, they often bring proven best practices, introducing fresh ideas and efficiencies that can benefit your team long after their engagement ends.

In an environment where finance leaders and their teams are confronting tighter deadlines, complex reporting requirements and rising audit expectations, contract talent can offer more than just additional support. Used strategically whenever they are needed, these skilled resources can help your finance organization stay agile and audit-ready throughout the year—and maintain stakeholder confidence.

Secure highly skilled contract talent for your finance team fast, with help from Robert Half

Finding contract talent can be time-consuming—and during the year-end push, time is something finance leaders simply don’t have. That’s where an established talent solutions resource can make all the difference. A specialized recruiting firm like Robert Half can handle the heavy lifting, such as:

Matching technical experience. Connecting you with contract talent experienced in reconciliations, close processes and accounting frameworks like GAAP or IFRS.

Confirming system proficiency. Sourcing candidates familiar with relevant software platforms, AI and analytics tools, and advanced spreadsheets so they can contribute immediately.

Assessing soft skills. Evaluating for problem-solving ability, attention to detail, adaptability and communication skills that keep teams performing under pressure.

With access to a deep network of experienced finance and accounting professionals, Robert Half can help your finance organization find experienced professionals at the right time—whether you’re closing the books, preparing for audits, tackling compliance reviews or advancing your strategic priorities.

Follow Brandi Britton on LinkedIn.

Managing Employee Burnout: An Imperative for Finance and Accounting Leaders

Why a Flexible Staffing Model is Essential for Businesses Today

Meeting the 2025 Standards for Internal Audit: The Strategic Role of Interim Consultants