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Accountancy recruitment - November 2009
Accountancy News |
10/11/2009
Accountancy is by its very nature a resilient sector. Although the City of London was hit hard by the credit crunch and the recession that followed, firms and employees alike have proven flexible enough to reinvent themselves in order to avert a potential crisis. A hint of the transformation the field has undergone was given when PricewaterhouseCoopers was named as the graduate employer of the year for financial services jobs, the first time it had landed the title. According to the firm, this was an indication that the recession had led people to look for finance careers outside of the more traditional destination of the banking sector.
Of course, other accountancy firms have also been quick to seize on the opportunities presented to them during the downturn, shifting their focus to ensure they can cope with issues like rising levels of fraud and growing numbers of business failures. This willingness to adapt during tough times seems to have served the sector well, with the Ashdown Group Job Index revealing that accountancy recruitment has been resilient throughout 2009.
The latest figures show a slight increase in the number of accountancy jobs available during October compared to September and John Lynes, director of the Ashdown Group, explained that this is a continuation of the broad trend seen in recent months.
He said: "The accountancy market has remained stable and has been less volatile than other sectors throughout the year, we have seen an increase of 2.87 per cent through the month."
Although the index revealed rises for HR and marketing recruitment of 11.28 per cent and 10.8 per cent respectively, this does not mean the accountancy sector is faring poorly. In fact, Bernard Brown, KPMG partner and head of business services, thinks the opposite might be true. He believes that the employment market is once again heading in the right direction and one area in particular stands out.
Mr Brown said: "Sectors like accounting and banking lead the recovery and we may well have reached the tipping point into growth, driven by returning confidence in the private sector."
Of course, a return to growth in the employment market could be something of a double edged sword for employers as staff who have stuck out the recession could be relishing the chance to move on to pastures new. It could be that firms which are rubbing their hands in anticipation of rising workloads as the recession finally limps into history could see their glee turn to despair if key workers do depart. The start of the recovery will present a chance for firms to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals, but only if they are able to cope with the demands that are placed on them. Perhaps business leaders should be asking themselves if they can afford to wait until growth returns and core employees have departed before they start recruiting again.
Posted by Jon Aspinell.
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