| City of London eyeing up Irish accountants |
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| Due to an upturn in financial services hiring in London the demand for skilled Irish accountants is up |
As financial institutions in London have started to rebuild their teams, the financial services sector has seen a significant increase in demand for the skills of qualified accountants compared to a year ago. This is to the extent that recruiters have actively been sourcing newly qualified accounting professionals from Ireland.
ACA qualified accountants are in greatest demand from financial institutions. Irish accountants with this certification have the advantage of qualifying sooner than their counterparts in the UK, which earlier this year, brought to the jobs market a number of professionals to help fill the increasing number of accounting roles in London. | | Susan Kelly |
During the downturn, many financial institutions froze hiring and/or made significant cutbacks. Now that hiring has started again, they are not only replacing roles vacated by redundancies but also increasing headcount. This is providing opportunities for finance professionals interested in a move to London’s Square Mile or Canary Wharf to gain experience in one of the world’s leading financial centres. In addition, many accounting professionals with experience in the Dublin financial services sector have funds audit experience, which is attractive to banking employers.
The opportunities for career progression and development, together with highly competitive compensation packages make London a popular career destination for accounting professionals after gaining their qualifications in Ireland. Particular areas of demand for accountants in financial services reflect the areas that have seen greater focus in hiring since the start of economic recovery, including: product control; financial control; treasury and liquidity; management information, decision support, financial planning and analysis; and regulatory.
As the Morgan McKinley London Employment Monitor has shown in 2010, job opportunities across financial services have grown significantly compared with 2009 with a particularly high volume of recruitment at the start of the year, including roles across the accountancy profession at all levels. The rate of hiring across financial services is expected to remain at a steadier level through the second half of 2010, however finance recruitment remains strong in the City.
Visibility of financial services hiring levels into 2011 is limited, although it is likely that there will be similar demand early next year for newly qualified accountants with relevant experience to enter the financial services market in London. One indication of the continued appetite to hire into accounting roles is that Morgan McKinley, part of Premier Group, has been appointed to work with a European investment bank to source newly qualified accountants in Ireland for the internal audit division of their investment banking arm.
Demand for qualified accountants has also increased internationally as global markets continue to improve. The best example of this is Australia, where government regulations have enabled the market to improve faster than in some other countries. The Australian employment market is favourable to Irish accountants as their skills and experience match up well with the needs of local organisations.
Despite recent fluctuations in the Irish professional jobs market, there are still good opportunities for newly qualified accountants. The buoyancy of the international accountancy jobs market proves that finance and accounting as a profession remains a vital function in any business, regardless of the economic climate. |
Susan Kelly is a manager at Premier Group.
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