Accounting & finance recruitment update 2017

The first six months of 2017 saw strong market growth for both jobseekers and employers within accounting & finance. This was primarily due to external macro-economic factors, both locally and internationally that resulted in business expansion. This, coupled with natural attrition, has meant that recruitment became a top priority for Irish firms as demand outstripped supply in a number of areas.

There was an extremely high demand for the newly-qualified to three years’ PQE level in the first half of 2017, with preference still being shown to chartered accountants coming from ‘Big 4’ firms.

Within financial services, ‘Brexit’ has featured heavily  with a number of financial service companies in the UK making public statements about moving to Dublin. This has led to a significant increase in the need for qualified accountants experienced in financial reporting, regulatory reporting and internal governance.

Several organisations are also ramping up their local internal audit functions as business transitions across from the UK to satisfy the regulators demands, resulting in a number of hires in this space though the first half of the year.

Local and international banks, insurance and reinsurance firms have been hiring at a steady pace for the first half of the year as a result of increased business demands and staff attrition.

Aircraft leasing continues to be a strong sector in the market, with new job opportunities created on the back of Asian investment which has resulted in a number of new joint ventures and start up ventures.

The sector is also more accessible for candidates with no prior leasing experience as the appetite to hire strong technical accountants continues.

Within Commerce finance, we saw a stark rise in the demand for commercial accountants / financial analysts at all levels as employers soughts to improve efficiencies and reduce cost. FMCG and Pharmaceutical sectors continue to grow with a number of start-up companies establishing themselves in Dublin.

As competition to attract and retain top talent in the market rose sharply, there was a corresponding increase in counter offers when candidates commenced the resignation process.

The sharp rise in counter offers is indicative of the challenges firms face when replacing personnel. As a result, there have been substantial salary increases, as well as newly created roles/promotions given to certain key individuals.

Permanent recruitment dominates the majority of recruitment in the market, with fixed term and temporary contracts being reserved to cover specific projects or leavers. At present, companies are willing to invest in strong personnel through growth and expansion, with salaries have increasing by 10% in the past year. Using the Newly Qualified as a benchmark, some are demanding salaries of €55K compared to €50K twelve months ago.

Contact us

To discuss any of your recruitment needs, please contact one of our experienced consultants on dublin@robertwalters.com or 01 633 4111.