Accounting talent shortage eases slightly as new FY begins
Demand for talent across the accounting industry has slowed marginally coming into the new financial year but competition for top talent remains strong, according to a prominent recruiter.
The talent market across the accounting industry is now beginning to stabilise after a “rollercoaster three years”, says recruitment firm Robert Half.
Robert Half practice director Nicole Gorton said she is seeing a shift moving into the 2023-24 year with global mobility increasingly and accounting professionals getting their confidence back in terms of progressing their career and looking at opportunities outside their organisation.
Ms Gorton said the previous three financial years have been a period of rapid change for recruitment.
“In my 25 years in the industry we’ve had more change in the past three years than we’d had in the previous 20. Demand would be really high and then the next minute it would literally stop overnight. The economic trends were up and down all the time,” she said.
“It’s definitely becoming more stable now. Last financial year was still an anomaly with demand so high and talent running at zero. Companies were struggling to retain staff and people were existing the industry. Trying to hire was incredibly difficult when only 5 per cent were actually looking compared to the typical 50 per cent.”
Demand for talent is starting to slow slightly with companies beginning to weigh up adding to headcount against operating costs, she said.
“There is a little bit of uncertainty in the market at the moment but companies still need finance staff to help drive strategic business initiatives,” said Ms Gorton.
Competition for top finance and accounting talent still remains strong, however, with plenty of roles still around for business partners, management accountants and financial controllers.
“Companies are still prioritising hiring and retaining and employees, even though they're looking at how to focus on generating revenue faster, whilst they're lowering outgoings,” she said.
“So if they are going to hire, the type of people that they are going to be looking at are professionals with reporting and analytical skills, dashboarding skills and business intelligence skills who can make informed cost orientated decisions for the organisation.”
Ms Gorton said companies are looking for finance professionals who can read data and analyse information to drive opportunity.
“My key piece of advice to candidates at the moment is to upskill in their current job as much as possible n the types of skills that companies are currently looking for,” she said.
“Companies really are looking for finance talent who can demonstrate the key skills that are required to navigate uncertainty and also an increasingly digitised market.”
In terms of leadership positions, organisations are looking for people who can work well under pressure, build strong stakeholder relationships and can portray general leadership skills, collaborate and other competencies that complement those financial skills.
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