Second only to the IT profession, the accounting area enjoyed a reasonable degree of insulation during some difficult years for many professions.
With a marginal, but cumulative, increase in “jobs to market” across the board through 2013 and into H1 of 2014, there has been a parallel increase in opportunities right across the accounting jobs market.
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS:
• The bulk of hiring continues to be at two specific levels, namely 1) the recently qualified to 2 years PQE level and 2) the part qualified (with 2-3 years’ practical experience while studying) level
• The majority of roles are within shared services, group HQ, large indigenous businesses, financial services and advisory environments – common thread being businesses are either multinational in nature with local operations serving an international customer base or indigenous in nature serving multinational companies resident in Ireland.
• Small and Medium sized business have made a marginal return but tentatively so, opting often for contract/temporary hires over permanent hires
• The senior end of the market remains challenged with an oversupply of high calibre people and an undersupply of relevant roles at Finance Director or equivalent level
• ACA, ACCA, CIMA and CPA all have reported an increase in recent intakes (first time all four have reported this together in many years, with some institutes even attracting record numbers of students) – bodes well for the supply of talent to the market in Ireland which is key for attracting and retaining foreign direct investment
• The influx of foreign software businesses to Ireland has not necessarily directly resulted in an increase in accounting roles in this area, with many of the start-ups only establishing development or technical support business units while finance remains off shore (obviously with some exceptions)
• The establishment of some large shared services centers
In summary the upward trend witnessed in 2013 has continued, albeit marginally, into H1 2014. The usual suspects continue to be a stalwart for accounting jobs however a pickup in the SME market (the beginnings of which we have seen) will hugely accelerate demand and create real movement and real opportunity in the accounting market at all levels.
SKILL DEMANDS WITHIN ACCOUNTING:
• Corporate Finance (executive to manager/director level) has seen a definite resurgence with stockbroking to large advisory firms to Plc/acquisitive businesses seeking accountants at all levels, in particular those with full transaction experience – a promising trend indeed.
• Technical accounting experience in the area of IFRS and US GAAP continues to be in high demand – reflective of the strong level of US FDI
• Financial Planning and Analysis (even tending towards data analysis) has become more prevalent over the past 12 mths with financial modelling, strong Excel/Access/SQL and similar becoming part of the landscape more than ever before. This is of particular importance as investment into “big data” ramps up and companies begin to look to highly analytical, quantitative accountants with strong soft skills to fill an emerging skill shortage in this area. Accountants with an engineering, science, maths or similar background should expect an ever increasing demand for their talents over the coming year and beyond
• Commercial finance (the more front office side of FP&A) has been consistently in demand as companies continue to prize accountants with the ability to interact with internal and external stakeholders, and effect revenue generating change
• Internal Audit is another area that remains buoyant with many larger Irish companies preferring to hire into and promote from this area. Similarly Risk and Compliance remain priority hires within all areas of financial services
• Accountants with fluent English and a second European language are also in demand, in particular within EMEA focused shared services centres and large Irish companies with business units in mainland Europe
In summary there is a bias towards two extremes in demands for accounting skills – the technical area (bounded by IFRS’s and Audit) and the analytical area (in particular with a commercial/stakeholder facing slant).
THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS
• An expectation of flexibility towards travel continues to be a requirement for many companies – especially relevant if you want to build your career in a large Irish business.
• Counter offers are becoming more prevalent in 2014 as we begin the gradual shift from a hiring manager to a candidate driven market – and consequently retention rather than attraction comes back into vogue
• Many top tier accountants are receiving multiple offers (in particular in the areas of demand cited above) – creating a definite need for businesses to be more proactive in their recruitment process and reactive to changes in a potential employees situation
• Employers are more willing to be flexible on salary (to a point) with a 5-10% increase in total compensation (base + expected bonus + peripherals) to be expected for high in demand skills/experience levels.
• “In role” annual salary reviews are expected to level out with a 1.9% increase (up from 1.3% in 2013) according to a recent PWC report
Overall the accounting profession has been resilient in recessionary times and rallied well over the past 18 months, something reflected in the majority of reports issued by major employers, recruitment firms and similar.
In my opinion the gradual increase in opportunities for accountants in Ireland is set to continue. In time this should also result in an increase in mid-management and senior management level roles, especially once the SME market picks up pace.
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Ed is a Partner with Barden, a specialist accounting and finance recruitment practice. Having worked for over 10 years in accounting recruitment, both locally and internationally, Ed now spends much of his time advising accountants at all levels as a subject matter expert on accounting careers.