Hays Accountancy & Finance - January 2008
Commerce & Industry
Hotspots
NSW:
Accounts payable and accounts receivable candidates with high volume experience and strong technical skills (SAP) are required as increased business activity requires these transactional roles. Most multinational companies need candidates with good time management and communication skills who can cope with workload pressures. In addition, there is a real shortage in collections with fewer people entering the credit industry and increased business levels generating higher collection targets.
Assistant accountants at the $50,000 - $70,000 level, both degree-qualified and undergraduates, are also in high demand while payroll candidates are in short supply. The availability of these candidates is influenced by internal promotions, which are increasing as employers focus on succession planning in an attempt, wherever possible, to retain existing employees.
Part-time, all-round bookkeepers are needed for small businesses to support external accountants. Part-time candidates are sought since many small businesses lack the workload to support permanent on-site personnel.
At a more senior level there is an increase in demand for financial and management accountants at the $70,000 - $80,000 level. Financial accountants with financial services experience are also required for temporary roles since permanent candidates are in short supply and employers are turning to temporary candidates to assist with projects and short-term workload peaks.
Cost accountants are growing in demand as employers seek these skills to improve processes and reduce costs while technical accounting candidates are also a hotspot due to SOX, IFRS compliance work and the limited supply of candidates entering the commercial market.
Commercial and financial analysts with up to three years experience, regulatory accounting candidates and risk candidates have become more selective about the roles they will consider and hence the demand for these candidates has also risen.
In an industry-specific trend, ongoing pressure on manufacturing companies to reduce costs and maintain margins in the face of cheaper imports, combined with the lack of newly qualified accountants choosing to move into the manufacturing industry, has created a need for qualified accountants with hands-on experience in manufacturing or production environments. Candidates experienced in costing and the reporting/analysis of key manufacturing metrics with a proven track record of translating this knowledge into a beneficial effect on the P&L are in demand.
Victoria
Merger and acquisition activity resulting from consolidations and a vibrant economy have created a hotspot within corporate finance, while statutory accountants, internal auditors and experienced tax accountants are also required.
Employers are very confident about their hiring needs for the first quarter of 2008, particularly within the property, property funds, financial services and construction sectors. Melbourne has also seen activity in the retail industry, which is also generating vacancy activity.
Queensland
Economic and infrastructure growth are together creating new vacancies, most notably for analysts since many larger companies are becoming more efficient. These roles are often very specialist, such as payroll analysts or sales analysts, and are increasing in number as employers require someone to identify inefficiencies within specific parts of the business and create better strategies.
Management accountants and financial accountants are hotspots, simply due to supply and demand; there are not enough candidates to meet the number of current vacancies.
Unqualified accountants, such as bookkeepers, are also increasingly sought by small to medium businesses as an alternative to using external accounting firms. Meanwhile the demand for degree-qualified candidates studying towards their CPA/CA is so high that they typically receive multiple offers and move in and out of the recruitment market within a few days.
The continued growth of infrastructure projects has created a need for candidates with experience in the construction or engineering industry. With mining and manufacturing also remaining very buoyant, candidates with experience in these areas are equally highly sought.
Given the current buoyancy of the recruitment market, employers have begun to seek 'stable' candidates, with demonstrated long-term tenure with past employers. With vacancies high, some candidates have jumped from role to role, chasing higher salaries and Queensland employers have become wary of those unable to demonstrate stability. Accounts payable, accounts receivable, credit control and accountants with over two years experience with their current employer are most sought and salaries are rising for these candidates as new employers value their demonstrated loyalty.
Western Australia
In Western Australia there are many expanding businesses creating new roles while CFO's are spending more time on commercial matters, further increasing the need for support staff. As a result financial accountants, management accountants and business analysts are in demand to assist with due diligence, acquisitions and ASX listing. There is also a continued demand for project accountants within the oil and gas, construction and engineering industries and a distinct lack of candidates with these skills. Immediately available candidates are in most demand by employers. Meanwhile group accountants with professional practice experience who have moved into commerce and have consolidations experience are required.
Western Australia's mining employers have ongoing requirements for candidates with FIFO experience. These candidates are increasingly finding work in the Perth CBD with mining employers and are moving out of FIFO roles.
South Australia
With South Australia's energy, resources and mining, defence and financial services sectors all experiencing growth, vacancies for suitably qualified and experienced technical accountants have increased. In particular demand are risk management/compliance and process improvement candidates. Project accountants are also required as mining start-ups and utility organisation mergers transpire.
ACT
Given the ongoing growth in the economy, degree qualified accountants with between two and five years experience remain in high demand, without a corresponding supply. These extremely scarce candidates receive multiple offers. Vacancy activity has also increased for financial controllers and finance managers at the $100,000 to $120,000 level yet there is a severe shortage of candidates for supply. CA or CPA financial accountants with between four to five years experience are also in demand.
The coming quarter
Permanent recruitment is expected to increase mid-January and peak by mid-February as employers secure skills for the year ahead and prepare for continual growth at a time when there is a strong economy.
While new jobs are still being created due to additional headcount requirements or the restructuring of roles internally, the majority of vacancies are the result of staff departures.
The temporary candidate pool has received a solid injection of European travellers with strong backgrounds in business services, audit and management accounting. These candidates hold working holiday visas and often receive multiple offers of employment since they can work for an organisation for up to six months and bring solid accounting experience and systems knowledge.
Meanwhile temporary-to-permanent recruitment is increasing in use, as employers use this strategy to test candidates that may not be the perfect match.
Employers need to move quickly if they do identify a candidate they wish to offer a role to, as good candidates will continue to receive multiple offers of employment. Considering candidates with experience from overseas or from industries other than their own will open up the choice of high calibre candidates available for their roles.
Regional centres such as Canberra and the Gold Coast are expecting a slight increase in the supply of candidates this quarter as people relocate at the start of the year for lifestyle reasons.
Executive recruitment
Strong demand remains for finance managers at the $100,000 to $120,000 level, with financial accountants, tax and audit executives at the $150,000 - $220,000 level following closely behind. The demand for these skills is not expected to abate in the short term.
In addition, more companies are recruiting strategic executives rather than financial controllers, as they realise the value this can bring a business. Consequently CEO, commercial manager and general manager vacancies are available.
Slow recruitment processes are delaying appointments in some states, such as Western Australia. So while the executive recruitment market remains steady, vacancies remain empty for a longer period of time than in eastern states. Western Australia has also witnessed a noticeable increase in the number of CFO vacancies for start-up or junior exploration companies in the mining and oil and gas market.
South Australia is another busy executive market, with merger and acquisition activity and the evolution of start-up businesses in the state requiring general management and commercial management candidates.
Salaries
Following some rapid increases, salaries for the most part will remain steady, yet competitive. The exceptions are newly qualified candidates and certain hotspot skills in demand since companies are competing for the limited supply of these skills. It is however still essential for employers to offer a competitive salary since available candidates typically receive more than one job offer.
Salary pressure is not only evident in the permanent market. Temporary rates are increasing as candidates have more than one job offer and companies often negotiate with the candidate to fill their temporary roles.
Salaries are also rising in regional centres, such as Wollongong, where candidates are prepared to commute into CBD areas for higher salaries if local employers will not offer a competitive rate.
Some employers have become increasingly frustrated with increasing salary pressures, and are instead using performance-based bonuses to remain competitive; although conditional, these bonuses are in most cases very significant. For example, a recent $90,000 role included a bonus of up to 20% and a $120,000 role offered up to two months salary as a bonus. Both were conditional upon individual and company performance.
A discrepancy exists between the salary employers are prepared to offer, and the higher salary candidates expect. Given high vacancy levels and candidate shortages for certain skills, this is likely to continue over the coming quarter.
Candidate trends
Accounting skills are in demand across the board, with more vacancies than suitable candidates. Candidate flow at the support level is very restrained, with assistant accountants, payroll candidates, accounts payable and receivable all in short supply. With competition for quality candidates high, some remain in the market for just 48 hours, which means it is essential for employers to act quickly.
Due to the buoyant market, more candidates are taking the opportunity to increase their skills and gain valuable knowledge through temporary and contract work. With an almost guarantee of continuous employment, candidates are able to achieve a flexible work/life balance.
There has been an increase in the number of candidates with solid experience yet very specific salary and condition requirements. A number of employers are placing limitations on what they are prepared to offer and will not accommodate excessive candidate requirements, meaning overall candidate turnover has fallen.
In regional trends, Gold Coast employers can select from an increasing pool of candidates thanks to the number of people relocating to the area. Despite this, candidate availability cannot keep up with demand. Meanwhile in Perth there has been a recent increase in candidates open to considering FIFO (fly-in fly-out) vacancies in order to gain mining experience in these buoyant times.
This quarter traditionally witnesses an increase in UK arrivals to the local market - either those relocating to Australia or Australians returning home. Despite the shortage of candidates, some employers will not consider overseas candidates who have no local experience - one way to help overcome this is to employ the candidate firstly in temporary roles to build their local experience.
Other trends
Some employers have started interviewing candidates for temporary roles, which has slowed the recruitment process and resulted in many candidates accepting roles elsewhere.
