Latest Accounting & Finance articles
Don’t get left behind
The role of the accountant is continually evolving as finance functions are under increasing pressure to show their commercial worth. In response many finance directors are implementing ‘internal client facing’ or ‘business partner’ roles, something highlighted in our recent workplace study The commercial challenge: Building accountants’ skills. Read more »
Who’s in demand – February 2010
Roles for accounting and finance professionals are on the up. It’s those that have the ability to manage costs more effectively without limiting growth potential who are in particular demand; such as business partners and commercial accountants. Read more »
Complacency threatens finance
According to our recent research, nearly half (45%) of accounting and finance professionals are not concerned about retaining their staff. Read more »
Prospects looking up for accountants
According to our recent research The commercial challenge: Building accountants’ skills, 40% of employers are planning to recruit new accounting and finance roles in 2010, while almost half anticipate giving pay rises to their staff. Read more »
Is the accounting profession heading for a polarisation?
With the growth of the commercially-minded accountant to engage more closely with non-finance colleagues, what does that mean for future structure of the finance department? Read more »
Who’s in demand? – November 2009
There’s positive news for those with experience in a wide range of sectors such as retail, FMCG, food manufacturing, technology, pharmaceutical and banking & financial services as employers begin to lift recruitment freezes. With countries such as the US and Germany now officially out of a recession, some of their companies’ UK subsidiaries are beginning to reap the rewards as sign off for recruitment gets easier. Read more »
Don’t price yourself out of the market
Difficulty in getting sign off, involving more stakeholders in the interview process or looking for a 100% skills match means we continue to see an increase in the length of time it’s taking some employers to make an offer. Read more »
Are you feeling the pressure?
The latest results from Badenoch & Clark’s Employment Study have unearthed some worrying trends among accounting and finance staff. Over 60% of workers are stressed, with a quarter of those surveyed citing job insecurity as the major cause. Read more »
Public sector specialist accountants in demand
Despite substantial budget cuts, redundancies and debates around pay freezes across the public sector, there is still a number of accounting and finance roles available as there is simply a deficit of the right skills available to do the job. We were expecting an influx of accountants to the interim market, however in many areas of the UK this hasn’t been the case. Read more »
Accountants play their part in the FMCG market
As a number of fast moving consumer good producers and retailers continue to report good profits, it’s not surprising that there are opportunities for accounting and finance professionals in the sector. It's those with financial planning experience who are the most in demand; a trend that is set to continue given the increasing need for finance to provide forward-looking information.
Marketing and sales teams’ product and consumer research will naturally shape future business decisions. However what’s invaluable to businesses in this economic climate is understanding the financial impact new and existing product lines could have on the business, making financial planning skills an essential. Read more »
Evolving the recruitment process
We are all aware that toughening economic conditions have led to a higher number of candidates flooding onto the accounting and finance market place. Many employers have responded to this by implementing significantly more rigorous and often lengthy recruitment processes. We look at some of the effects of this approach and ask with the first signs of green shoots and an impending upturn, are employers ready to attract and engage the best talent in their recruitment process?
At a time when resources are at a premium and attracting and retaining the right talent is more crucial than ever, many organisations have turned to a greater reliance on human resources departments and technical or psychometric testing processes in an attempt to ensure that the right candidate is hired first time every time. Read more »
Temporary workforce – a positive solution?
As pressure mounts for finance departments to provide forward-looking information and to work more closely with the business, while producing the daily, monthly and annual management information, it’s no wonder that many teams are working at capacity. More and more employers are using a temporary and more flexible workforce to help – from Year End accountants to interim change managers. Read more »
