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The demand for finance professionals remained strong across all sectors last year

The demand for finance professionals remained strong across all sectors last year. Recruitment agency Robert Walters says that it experienced a marked increase in salaries right across the board in accountancy, from entry level through to senior positions.

According to managing director Louise Walters: "From a skills perspective, we saw continued demand for regulatory and compliance temporary contractors primarily with risk, IFRS and anti-money laundering experience. Having already recruited heavily over the past two years to fill the skills gap, the demand for Sarbanes-Oxley specialists tapered off and contractors in this area moved into operational risk projects."

Walters added: "Within the area of accounting and finance, qualified accountants remain in high demand, particularly newly qualified or those with one year post qualification experience (PQE). Salaries at this level have risen by over 25% since 2006, largely due to the economic forces of supply and demand. Strategic structural changes in leading banks and financial institutions fuelled this increase with systems implementation, compliance and audit skills remaining most sought-after. Another key area of growth was for interim managers, primarily for start-ups, companies looking to expand their Irish operation, or for mergers and acquisitions."

The latest annual salary survey by the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants and The Accountants Panel found that the average annual remuneration package for a chartered accountant working in the industrial and commercial sector and who qualified in 2002 is €110,500. The survey also found that chartered accountants working in the financial services sector tend to be paid more than their counterparts in industry and commerce. Their fringe benefits also tend to be better.

For instance, the average salary of a Head of Finance in industry and commerce is €140,800 per annum, while on average a Head of Finance in the financial services sector receives a wage of €190,400 per annum. In addition, 65% of Heads of Finance in industry and commerce get health insurance as a fringe benefit, compared to 83% of Heads of Finance in financial services.

Both the financial services and commerce sectors pay better than practice, according to the report. In the Big Four accountancy firms, audit managers are paid an average salary of €105,100, while audit seniors receive €59,900. Outside of the top four, managers are paid on average €78,600, while seniors receive €51,000.

In previous years, contractor salaries have been comparable to permanent salaries and often did not compensate for the benefits associated with permanent positions. However, Walters said this changed last year. "We have seen a sharp increase in contractor salaries with employers often offering higher salaries as well as sign on and competition bonuses as a means of attracting the top tier candidates. We expect this trend to continue into 2008, as the contract market further establishes and distinguishes itself from the permanent market."

At the newly qualified level, systems and procedure implementation experience remained in demand in both restructuring and growing finance departments. Consequently, Roberts Walters says that newly qualified candidates frequently enjoyed multiple offers from both commerce and industry and financial services organisations, a trend which continued to fuel overall remuneration packages. Other skills in demand included internal audit and management accountancy at the two-year PQE level.

When it comes to candidates deciding where they want to work, Walters said: "Once again, a deciding factor for candidates is culture, career progression as well as overall remuneration. Big Four experience (PwC, KPMG, Ernst & Young, Deloitte) still commands a premium. However a continuing dearth of accountants in the financial services market as a whole has meant organisations are increasingly considering candidates from more varied backgrounds."

While recruitment firms are reporting big falls in the number of vacancies in virtually all sectors over recent months, Lisa Holt, managing director of Careers Register, said accountancy is holding up well. "Accountancy is probably the one area that we haven't noticed any difference," she said. "It's still very, very busy. We still have a lot of SMEs and financial services institutions looking for accountants. The practice area is very busy too.

"The newly qualified people would be most preferred. There's also a big demand for part-qualified accountants who would be supporting the financial controller. Now people are looking for a go-getter as well as the qualification. The option for an accountant who leaves a practice is generally for them to go into a financial control role. We would place around ten accountants in jobs every month. There's always a demand for a very good accountant and there will always be an ability on the recruiter's part to attract an accountant with a really nice job."

According to Roberts Walters, the average salary for an internal auditor with one to three years' PQE is between €45,000 - €60,000 per annum. This was also the average pay for a management accountant or a financial accountant with the same amount of experience. Annual remuneration for a payroll assistant with one to three years PQE is €30,000 to €35,000, while €26,000 to €32,000 is the average for an accounts assistant with under three years PQE.

A recent survey by Sigmar Recruitment also found that demand for accountancy professionals remains high. The study found that there was a strong demand for both part qualified and newly qualified accountants, with demand remaining high in the opening months of this year.

According to Malwina Koperwas, team executive at Sigmar. "So far this year we are finding that demand is still growing, with numerous opportunities across all sectors of the economy but especially in shared services, financial services, construction and ICT."

According to Sigmar, a project accountant with one to two years experience could expect an annual salary of between €60,000

Basic salaries exclusive of bonuses/benefits. PQE means post qualification experience.

Content Courtesy of Business Plus magazine.

See www.bizplus.ie