Trends and analysis
2008 and the challenge ahead for the accounting and finance sector
At the end of 2007 Badenoch & Clark surveyed over 2,000 accounting and finance professionals. The research covered employees as well as line managers across a broad range of businesses and levels of seniority throughout the UK. The objective was to map trends in the recruitment market, to understand the motivations of accounting and finance professionals, as well as provide a definitive study of salaries, benefits and trends within the sector.
Report highlights
- The demand for accounting and finance professionals is strong with over a third of employers surveyed finding it hard to attract talent; making it very much a jobseeker’s market.
- Retention has emerged as the new front in the war for talent: only 39% of employers felt their retention strategy was ‘very effective’. Over three quarters (80%) of qualified accountants told us that they anticipate changing roles within the next 12 months.
- Flexible working remains an issue. Although employers have embraced the concept since our 2007 survey, much work remains to be done.
Retention – 2008 and the challenge ahead
While attracting the right calibre of accounting and finance staff remains a pressing issue for some, our research for Finance connections 2008 unearthed a much bigger threat: a significant number of accounting and finance staff felt that their futures lay outside their current employers.
One of the main reasons for this was the feeling that employers do not currently offer a sufficiently attractive career path. For more experienced accounting staff, the desire for more challenging work was cited as a primary reason to look elsewhere.
There are a number of factors at play. Some might best be described as hygiene factors: the ability to offer pay scales at what employees perceive to be the ‘going rate’, being a prime example. Other factors are far less tangible; they relate to how employers are perceived to treat their employees and the degree to which they feel engaged with their employer.
For a straightforward guide on how to address the situation contact Neill Emmett for a copy of Finance connections 2008 and follow our 8 point plan.
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