Hays Accountancy & Finance - July 2009
Commerce & Industry
Hotspots
Employers are looking to ensure they have the best senior teams that can add value, increase productivity, streamline processes and increase efficiencies. This trend has produced a flurry of recruitment activity at this level and a hotspot of demand for quality candidates.
This need to add value has also seen demand rise for permanent business and commercial analysts who can improve long-term efficiencies within a business. System accountants are needed to maximise reporting effectiveness and the capabilities of systems and reporting tools in order to identify areas of opportunity, and to manage change and integration.
The increasing regulatory environment has created a need for statutory reporting, audit and risk management skills. Management, financial and company accountants are also needed.
Payroll, credit control, accounts receivable and accounts payable candidates remain ongoing areas of demand, especially those that recover monies owing and can increase cash flow. In particular, those with five or more years credit control experience are quickly employed. However employers have become very selective in the personality fit and system or industry experience required for these roles. Often very specific skills relative to the individual company hiring are sought. For example, there may be many accounts payable candidates looking, but an employer might specify they want a candidate with manufacturing and two years SAP experience.
The need for temporary staff in these job functions has also risen. Employers are recognising that workloads have not decreased, and rather than pay overtime to existing employees they are utilising highly skilled temporary candidates to overcome backlogs.
In a cyclical trend, temporary financial and statutory accountants are also in demand as financial year-end approaches.
Impacting all hiring today is the trend from employers towards adding value. Employers want more value for their money as they drive profitability, and so expect candidates to be multi-talented. For example, a candidate could be expected to have financial accounting in addition to costing and stock inventory skills. Candidates also need to be commercially minded and have the ability to contribute immediately.
The coming quarter
Employers are looking more positively towards 2010 for their hiring activity. The 'wait and see approach' to recruitment is lifting, with many companies planning for additional headcount this quarter following previous cut backs. The new financial year with associated new recruitment budget will also allow for activity this quarter.
The temporary market remains very active. Temporary assignments remain a popular staffing solution for employers as a way of maintaining cost flexibility while ensuring workloads are achieved.
Executive recruitment
A small number of resignations have created churn in this market, although in general vacancy activity at the executive level has reduced. The exception is insurance companies which have been hiring financial controllers. The quality of executive candidates currently available is exceptional, although those who are not professionally qualified are finding it very difficult to find work.
Salaries
Permanent salaries are expected to remain steady. While overall candidate numbers are higher than recent levels, quality candidates remain in high demand and so salaries are not expected to fall despite the overall candidate surplus.
The majority of companies are not offering annual salary increases or bonuses.
Candidate trends
While candidates remain far more flexible in their location and role specifications, they are beginning to become frustrated by being overworked, or by their employer offering little career progression or salary review opportunities. Now that signs of market stabilisation are starting to emerge, there is less fear about redundancies and when the market does again pick up, we expect to see an increase in churn rate as candidates look for a new role.
