Blog · For employers
Contract or permanent? Choosing the right shape for your next finance hire
July 2026 · 4 min read
Match the engagement to the problem
A contractor is the right answer when the problem is bounded: a system implementation, a maternity leave cover, a year-end crunch, a reconciliation backlog. A permanent hire is the right answer when the problem is ongoing: building capability, owning a function, developing a team. Trouble starts when a permanent problem gets a temporary solution.
Contract makes sense when
- The work has a clear end date or deliverable
- You need specialist skills you will not need long-term
- Headcount approval is slow but the work cannot wait
- You want to trial a new function before committing to it
Permanent makes sense when
- The role owns relationships, knowledge or a team over time
- You are building capability you want to keep
- The learning curve is long and you want the return on it
- Culture fit and continuity matter as much as output
The middle path
Temp-to-perm arrangements let both sides test the fit before committing. They work best when the role is genuinely likely to become permanent — candidates can tell when it is a hedge, and the strongest ones will not wait around for a maybe.
If you are weighing up a hire in banking, accounting or finance, call Stonefish Careers on 1300 062 990. A ten-minute conversation about the shape of the role often saves months of the wrong search.
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