The increase in the number of permanent Practice jobs suggests that accountancy firms have not slowed up on hiring plans in advance of April 2019. Confidence is high, with specialist teams recruiting heavily across the UK into Transfer Pricing and VAT.
Top 5 most frequent roles
- Audit Senior
- Accounts/Outsourcing Senior
- Audit Manager
- Accounts Manager
- Senior Manager
- Audit Director
Which sectors have been the most active in terms of hiring?
Both listed and independent firms have been actively hiring across Audit, Advisory and Tax, with this is expected to continue throughout 2018. As H1 closes, firms will be increasing their staff numbers through the intake of graduates as trainees and are likely to experience usual attrition at newly qualified level as employees finish their training contracts. Candidates with specialist industry skills like financial services, or technical skills like IFRS reporting, are particularly desirable.
A great year for General Practice jobs gives hope of a positive future
Outsourcing continued to show growth in Q1. Whilst qualified audit seniors with a General Practice background remained in high demand, we found that interview processes were becoming increasingly rigorous and challenging, hence we have noticed a slight downturn in the amount of General Practice Auditors moving between smaller firms in this particular quarter. We also saw more recruitment at senior level, and registered the most jobs at senior manager level and above that since early 2014.
The audit practice market remained buoyant throughout the second quarter of 2018. The Big Four and Top Ten firms hired into their audit teams, certainly in London and also many of their regional offices, with requirements across major UK cities.
The profession encourages the movement of staff across different countries both from a sponsorship point of view, as well as internal secondees. The UK remains an attractive location for work and large firms have benefited from the movement of talented staff from across the globe, and it is important that this continues.
Most Desirable Skills And Qualifications
The continuing rise in popularity of cloud computing softwares meant that those who are highly skilled, or ‘certified’, in any of these softwares found themselves in demand. In particular, knowledge of Xero, Quickbooks and Sage Business Cloud put any General Practice candidates at an advantage.
As well as the more conventional audit/compliance roles within these firms, there were opportunities for candidates to move into specialised teams if they have an interest in a particular industry, or move out of audit and into an advisory role.
Jobseeker And Hiring Manager Motivations
Candidates predominantly looked to secure a move into a larger firm for a greater opportunity to gain more General Practice experience. For the most part, General Practices always look to replace those who leave. Whilst firms do often hire due to their growth, they always have one eye on results season and are aware that people may look to move on once they have qualified.
The larger UK accountancy firms have highly established and successful sector specific teams, so candidates with existing sector expertise often have an initial advantage at the interview stage. This is especially true within the financial services sector where it can be difficult to break in without prior exposure.
Predictions For The Upcoming Quarter
From a recruitment perspective, it’s expected that the number of roles on the market will continue to be strong and steady for the remainder of 2018 across accountancy firms. From an audit perspective, Q3 will be dominated by the movement created by training contracts coming to an end, and newly qualifieds exploring job opportunities both in and out of the profession.
audit, tax and advisory professionals will continue to work closely with their clients to prepare them so that they can continue to flourish in a changing economic and political landscape.