1
Define the hire
We work directly with the Partner or Hiring Manager to define the role before going to market. That includes technical scope, client exposure, growth path, and the traits required to succeed in your firm - not just a job description.
2
Map the market
We identify and engage the right talent directly, rather than relying on inbound applications. Each candidate is evaluated on technical depth, career trajectory, and alignment with your firm’s operating style.
3
Introduce selectively
Only candidates aligned on both technical and cultural factors are introduced. Shortlists are intentionally small. Many introductions happen before roles reach the open market.
Meet The Team
Every search is led by one of our Partners, here's a bit about them.
Louis Fayers
Partner & Lead Tax Recruiter
San Diego & South California
Originally from England, I spent 5 years working in Tax before moving into recruiting where I've specialized in tax, finance and accounting roles. I've seen busy seasons, technical reviews, compliance and advisory work. That shapes how I assess candidates: technical depth, client ownership, and revenue contribution, not just resume keywords. For candidates, I can truly empathize with your goals and frustrations - I've lived them myself before.
I run every search personally across Southern California and San Diego.
Sam Croft
Partner & Lead Tax Recruiter
Bay Area & Sacramento
I've spent over 5 years recruiting finance and accounting professionals, including tax roles at mid to senior levels before co-founding Faycroft. I've built my West Coast tax market knowledge through direct relationships with partners and senior practitioners - understanding what firms actually need beyond job descriptions, how candidates evaluate partnership track credibility, and where the real gaps are.
I run every search personally across the Bay Area and Sacramento.
Why Faycroft?
A deliberately focused search model, built around technical credibility and commercial alignment.
Partner-led search
Every search is run directly by a Faycroft partner, not delegated to junior recruiters or researchers. We've built our experience in tax recruiting over multiple years, and we run the full process - intake, sourcing, qualification, and delivery.
Vetting by Tax Experience
Our screening is shaped by real tax complexity: K-1 partnerships, Form 1041 estates and trusts, FBAR reporting, passive activity loss rules, Section 1031 exchanges. We assess what candidates have actually prepared and supervised, not just titles or years served.
West Coast only
We work exclusively with West Coast public accounting firms. This gives us deeper market knowledge, stronger candidate relationships, and better alignment on both technical requirements and firm culture.
What People Say About Us
We run searches properly. Here's what that looks like to the people we work with.
How We Can Help
Although tax search is, and always will be, our core offering - here are the different ways we support Partners and Tax Professionals.
Tax Headhunting
Most independent CPA firms hire reactively - post a job description, review whoever applies.
The problem is that the best tax professionals aren't browsing job boards, and the ones actively applying often have a reason (compensation issues, firm fit problems, or they're just starting their search and applying everywhere).
We work proactively. When a firm has a search, we map the market for tax professionals who match the technical profile and career stage, then reach out directly. Most aren't actively looking - they're employed and performing well, but potentially open to the right opportunity if it's genuinely better than what they have now.
This requires understanding the firm's actual requirements in detail (client mix, technical scope, partnership track structure) so we can have credible conversations with passive candidates about why this specific role might be worth considering.
We don't work in huge volumes, we're identifying people who could credibly do the work, qualifying interest individually, and only sharing resumes once both sides are genuinely interested.
The outcome: shortlists of 2-4 candidates who are genuine fits, most of whom wouldn't have applied to a posting, all properly qualified before you spend interview time on them.
Confidential Candidate Advisory
Most senior tax professionals can't afford to have their current firm know they're exploring options - especially in tight-knit markets like California where partners talk to each other. We structure our process to protect that confidentiality.
Initial conversations are exploratory and off-the-record. We discuss what you're looking for, what you'd need to see in an opportunity to make a move worth considering, and how firms would likely evaluate your background. No resumes shared, no introductions made, no commitment required.
If we identify a genuine fit with a firm that matches what you're looking for, we have the conversation about next steps - including how to manage the process discreetly, what information gets shared when, and how to time everything around busy season or other constraints. You control when your name gets attached to anything, and nothing moves forward without your explicit approval at each stage.
This approach works because we're not volume recruiters trying to hit monthly placement targets.
Talent Market Insight
We speak to tax professionals across California every week - Senior Associates through Partners, across HNW individual, partnership, trust and estate, corporate and many other specialisms. That gives us direct visibility into compensation benchmarks, firm growth trajectories, partnership track timelines, and what's actually driving people to explore moves.
When you're hiring, we can tell you what other independent firms are offering for similar roles, which firms are actively recruiting in your market, and how candidates are evaluating opportunities beyond base salary. When you're considering a move, we can explain which firms are genuinely growing their tax practices versus backfilling turnover, and where partnership track promises are credible versus aspirational.
This isn't aggregated salary survey data or LinkedIn job posting analysis. It's direct market intelligence from hundreds of real conversations, updated continuously as we work the market.
Insights
Our observations on hiring, retention, and career movement in public accounting.
Planning your tax career in public accounting? Understand realistic timelines, salary benchmarks, and what it takes to advance from staff tax accountant to tax partner.
Compensation matters, but it is rarely the primary reason experienced tax professionals change firms.
Many small and mid-sized CPA firms assume tax seniors move for incremental pay increases. In practice, the decision is usually more nuanced.
Tax hiring on the West Coast remains difficult, even as demand for services continues to grow. The reasons are structural, not short-term.