Brisbane:
Brisbane is the fastest growing city in Australia. Booming industries include Resources & Mining, Property, Construction & Engineering as well as FMCG and Manufacturing. While there is increasing talk of clients expanding their selection criteria, our experience shows that clients are continuing to hire candidates with relevant industry experience. The market is buoyant at the $60k - $120k mark with a large number of roles and a shortage of talent. There is a demand for candidates with professional qualifications such as CA, CPA and CIMA and specific areas of need are technical reporting roles. There remains a steady supply of senior level roles in various companies across all sectors. Melbourne:
The Melbourne market is not unlike the Sydney market and there is a shortage of good quality candidates in the market, with candidates having multiple opportunities presented at any one time. The newly qualified level is a main area of skills shortage therefore CA, CPA or CIMA qualified Australian returnees are highly sought after. Superannuation and Insurance are booming areas at present and due to the subprime issues risk and Anti-money laundering are areas of growth. Melbourne adopts a slower paced CBD than Sydney and London therefore is an ideal city to experience the work/life balance. You can expect to have an affordable lifestyle and Melbourne is home to many top 100 companies. Sydney:
The Sydney market is buoyant in terms of businesses and opportunity. We are seeing increasing volumes from the Financial Services market and whilst clients are being more thorough and selective with their recruitment process they are still hiring. There is currently a lean towards more technical based roles such as audit and risk, tax accountants and technical accounting experts and business with our key clients including Deutsche Bank, Macquarie Bank and National Australia Bank remain strong. Within the commercial sector we continue to see a demand in the newly qualified and qualified space and respective contract roles. Senior Commercial Analysts and candidates with up to 4 years post qualified experience particularly in the Chartered Accounting field are highly sought after. The market is currently reliant on backpackers to fill skill shortages. There are indications of a tightening market; however we have been maintaining a strong volume of business from our key clients/multinationals such as Westfield, Stockland and Qantas as well as developing new business from a range of SMEs. Western Sydney was historically considered a remote, industrialized region quite separate both commercially and culturally from Sydney CBD. All this has changed over the last 5 years due to a number of factors: a vastly improved transport infrastructure, major commercial and residential construction projects, favourable property prices relative to the CBD, and the ongoing exodus of major organisations to the West. Western Sydney, which accounts for 10% of the entire Australian population, is now considered a genuine lifestyle option for many, including first time buyers and those with families looking for a stronger work/life balance. Business parks in Rhodes, Norwest and Horsley Park are all attracting regional head offices for clients such as Nestle, Unisys, LG, Woolworths, McDonalds, Commonwealth Bank, Eli Lilly, Campbell Arnotts, Hanson, so high calibre candidates are no longer needing to be close to the CBD to secure positions in 'world-class' organisations. Constant pressure for newly and recently qualified candidates is a direct result of the above growth, as is a need for more technical individuals with head office skills. As always there is also the continued demand for traditional, manufacturing based skills and strong commercial management. Hong Kong:
The start of 2008 has been an interesting time for the Hong Kong market. We are quite reliant on large investment banks and have therefore noticed a slow-down in recruiting in these institutions. However this has not stopped and general sentiment is cautious but relatively positive. Other financial services organisations appear not to be hindered by the US credit crisis and recruitment continues as growth across the region increases. There are talent shortages across many areas and any exposure to the banking and financial services market continues to be highly sought after. Commercial and industrial companies have not really been impacted by US issues and growth continues in Asia. Recruitment levels are generally high as is confidence, however, this is laced with more conservatism than we experienced through 2007. Across accounting and finance and sales and marketing roles businesses continue to hire and the focus on China remains as strong as ever. Money still talks in Hong Kong and whilst we expect the average salary increase to decline this year as compared to 2007, this figure is not likely to dip by much. Singapore:
Singapore’s economy remains extremely buoyant. The government has taken a very aggressive stance on population growth and this, combined with significant expansion of back office functions by major financial institutions, means the demand for accountants is at an historic high. Product control, financial and management reporting and internal audit are arguably the areas in greatest demand but, unfortunately, demand outstrips supply by some significant margin and the local market has been unable to keep pace. As a result, many of our clients look to overseas markets to hire the right talent. Australia and the UK in particular due to its size of financial market, are popular hunting grounds but Hong Kong and Dubai are also potential sources. For financial institutions, language skills are not a prerequisite nor is prior Asia experience. It is more about the nature of your working experience and the quality of the financial institution you have worked for. Within finance recruitment for the commerce & industry sector, it is more common for organisations to look for prior Asia experience and, depending on the geographic focus of the role, languages may be required, notably Mandarin with the increasing focus of organisations on the China market. There are of course examples of certain specialist positions in particular segments requiring us to search overseas and this might include financial planning and analysis and internal audit roles within the technology, oil & gas and pharmaceutical sectors. Salaries continue to climb in Singapore as does the cost of living with housing rentals climbing significantly. Favourable tax rates offset this, of course, especially when compared to the UK and Australia. Singapore also remains a very popular choice for families and those who place lifestyle high up on their list of priorities. London:
While the majority of the Financial press in the UK continue to speculate about the possibility of a further economic downturn, we turn to the Banks and large Commercial businesses for some good news. Throughout the last few months, while redundancies have been announced in some of the Front Office teams in the Financial Services sector, the number of accounting & finance jobs being advertised by our FTSE star performers continues to rise. With some of the biggest names in the UK market announcing recruitment drives in the financial press, this is excellent news for accountants looking to enter the market at this time. As ever, accountants from the Southern Hemisphere are highly valued for their skills and training, and have the pick of both permanent and contracting job opportunities. The skill sets in particularly high demand include regulatory reporting, product control, financial reporting, audit and management accounting. We have also seen an increase in the number of roles in the risk & compliance space – and this continues to be one of the areas where skills are most in short supply. Most reassuringly, the Big 4 have also commented that they have no plans to reduce their graduate accountant intake in the coming year – something that highlights the lessons learned from the last economic downturn in 2001. So what is the knock-on effect of the current economic instability, for accountants planning to enter the market in the next few months? - Better salaries for those with skills in demand and relevant sector experience.
- The opportunity to turn short-term contracting roles into permanent job offers (depending on your visa) - employers know how difficult it is to replace good people when they leave, in such a skill-short market.
- More flexibility in employers’ hiring criteria – opening up opportunities to non-traditional skill sets, with the added bonus of more ‘on-the-job’ training.
Back to top |