Over the past year we have seen the emergence of a dual economy in a number of jobs markets, which has seen highly skilled accounting and finance professionals remain in demand despite a more stagnant job growth overall. In 2013 companies will continue to look for individuals who not only possess strong technical skills but also a strong sense of commerciality and business savvy to see where the accounting and finance team can add value to the organisation. The signs suggest this trend will escalate over the next 12 months. Phil Sheridan, managing director of Robert Half in the UK, says: ‘Trainee accountants with a strong balance sheet focus will be in demand. In addition, candidates with core skills in budgeting, forecasting and cash flow monitoring will see increased opportunity.’ Trainees with skills across technology and e-commerce will also be highly desired. Ellis King manages the temporary and contract commerce and industry team at Morgan McKinley and specialises in recruiting transactional and part-qualified accounting professionals across a variety of commerce sectors. He says: ‘Part‑qualified sales analysts and those holding skills relating to e-commerce and social media will be in demand from hiring managers. For example, those with experience in media insight and data packages such as Google Analytics are increasingly sought after.’ Conversely, there may be slightly less demand for those trainees
with higher-level education as their main attribute. Although it remains important in today’s market, experience is usually the preference for employers and that trend is expected to continue and grow. Nicholas Kirk, managing director at Page Personnel Finance, adds: ‘There is a short supply of high quality part-qualified accountants in the market, which will continue into 2013. ‘On the other hand, companies still have recruitment nerves from economic conditions. This means that there are more rigorous recruitment processes in place to ensure candidates tick all criteria boxes – hence, candidates will have to work harder to differentiate themselves. ‘Part-qualified accountants with strong commercial awareness and business acumen are very attractive, so trainees need to make sure their applied experience supports their level of qualifications.’ Jacky Cheung, senior consultant in accounting and finance, audit and taxation for Morgan McKinley in Hong Kong, says: ‘As of 2012, we began to witness the trend that it is getting more and more competitive for trainees to successfully get an offer due to high candidate competition for each opening and less opportunities available in the market. ‘Requirements for professional qualifications such as ACCA are more demanding than before and interview processes are getting longer as
‘PART-QUALIFIED ACCOUNTANTS WITH STRONG COMMERCIAL AWARENESS AND BUSINESS ACUMEN ARE VERY ATTRACTIVE’
employers are faced with ever increasing numbers of applications. My tip for 2013 is to make sure trainees gain relevant professional qualifications to progress.’ Chris Jay, operations director at Morgan McKinley in Singapore, adds: ‘There aren’t a lot of roles in banking now where hiring managers will look at part-qualified accountants generally – in Singapore or across the Asian region. ‘Most finance vacancies in banking (either product control, financial control or internal audit) express the need for experienced hires where they are looking for candidates with a minimum of one year of banking experience in finance, or Big Four-qualified auditors with a minimum of three years of experience specialising in financial services audits.’ Consistent with 2012, the next 12 months seem likely to produce levels of uncertainty around economic growth. As a result, temporary recruitment is likely to remain buoyant in 2013 – particularly the first half of the year, as many organisations will continue to operate under a cautious approach, unwilling to risk hiring the wrong permanent candidate. As a result, trainees looking to build up their professional experience should consider keeping an open mind in relation to taking on temping opportunities. Meanwhile social media platforms are becoming an increasingly used recruitment tool for both recruitment companies and employers alike. An increasing number of employers will advertise key jobs on platforms such as LinkedIn during the course of 2013. Therefore, making sure of a strong and up-to-date presence in these arenas – listing key skills and strengths – will be vital.
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