US
Antipodean accountants within financial services organisations in the City were always something of mainstay, but they left in large numbers when the crisis took hold in late-2008. Now, they’re flooding back again.
The job market for accountants in the City is relatively healthy with product control, financial control and management accountants all being offered plenty of opportunities. The supply of candidates on the ground here is failing to keep up with demand.
Accountants from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa can smell an opportunity. Recruiters Ambition polled 800 Australian financial services professionals and found that 75% were planning an overseas move in the next three years, with London the number one target.
Simon Lynch, managing director of Ambition UK, believes that the London job market is on the up, and that “there has been a significant skills gap in the City following the downturn and quality overseas candidates will help fill that gap”.
Recruiting product controllers has proven particularly troublesome for investment banks this year. Demand is high, and even starting salaries come in at 50k, plus a 15-20% bonus – some recruiters are suggesting 100k salaries are on offer.
Banks are keen to hear from antipodeans, says Neil Owen, director of Robert Half’s Financial Services Group.
“Newly-qualified accountants are always in demand in the City, so antipodeans are finding product control opportunities very quickly in the bulge bracket banks,” he says. “However, the smaller institutions are asking for London experience and exposure to products that many people from overseas are lacking.”
The stumbling block currently is the new UK visa rules, however. While qualified accountants are finding little trouble securing a restricted tier 2 skilled worker visa, part-qualified and accounting technicians are finding the path blocked, suggests Owen.
This is having a noticeable affect on the contract market, and candidates are in short supply.
I am sorry but I find it hard to believe that there is a shortage of accountants. if you told me that there was a shortage of engineers, doctors, nurses, scientists etc I would believe you. But accountants, lawyers, website designers no way. All you have to do is come down to my small provincial town where I can get you a large number of candidates to do your books for you.
AliDesai, tells us more about life in your small provincial town. Sounds like bliss to me!
Shortage of accountants ? Where ?
Anyone actually trying to hire a DECENT Chartered Accountant would agree with the article. I’m pleased to hear more Aussies are heading over – they’ll generally do the job for a bit less, and tend to be more ‘can do’ than ‘not in my job description’.
A lot of “anti-podean” accountants but the UK accountants who are not “white city boys” never get a look in.
Recruiters, why is that?
Senior chartered accountant wth kids living a few houses down has been out of work for over a year.
Dont believe that there’s a shortage of accountants in London.
I know quite a few unemployed accountants who have in excess of ten years practical experience, and in different specialised areas, yet have not been able to find the right work (I’m one of them).
What are these institutions looking for exactly? Its definitely not ‘experience’ and a positive attitude.
I remember that when part-qualified and looking for a role that suited my experience at the time, I used to lose out on quite a few opportunities and one piece of feedback that I got from a recuitment consultant then, was that the competition whom I would usually lose out to, were fully qualified accountants from Aus/NZ/SA, who were willing to come over and do a part qualified role with part-qualified pay but they would bring their fully qualified experience to the role.
I suppose that experience just showed how hungry, these guys are and will take roles that are even junior for them, as long as they get the chance to prove themselves.
Do you think that UK accountants would have the same outlook, if they were offered a role that was junior for them but would break an unemployment gap?
@Pranav – the reason an Aussie or a Kiwi would take a lesser role is becuase eh is on a round the world jolly, dossing on his mates floor and has little expense but is trying to see Europe. As for South Africans (if they are white), they would do anything to get out of SAFI for a little while. We seem to have an inordinate amount of them in my small provincial town.
Yes, I think I would rather go to AliDesai’s provincial town methinks. It sounds like a good place to hang out I reckon.
And as usual AliDesai, pretty much spot on with your replies. Happy days.
There are plenty of jobs for accountants, I have seen loads advertised and duly applied for them, too many banks though are looking for specific experience that 3 years ago they probably wouldn’t have been able to attract but but still paid the salaries for unqualified people just to get the job done. They now don’t want to pay real value for accountants without these specific traits but don’t have ability to dictate like the did 1 year ago. I qualified in Australia and have over 10+ years financial services but it took me 6 month to find work! There is currently a massive disparity between what accountants in general are willing to be paid and the expectations of the banks in general (be it antipodean or UK qualified), t has nothing to do with demand but more to do with a bidding war between employers and employees, someone has to succumb! With respect to accountants the financial services firms in the UK are on the cusp of the employee/employer supply and demand curve before the rest of the inustry with no one willing to budge until the economy tilts in a particular direction…. economic cycles have it that employers will bend first.
There are plenty of jobs for accountants, I have seen loads advertised and duly applied for them, too many banks though are looking for specific experience that 3 years ago they probably wouldn’t have been able to attract but but still paid the salaries for unqualified people just to get the job done. They now don’t want to pay real value for accountants without these specific traits but don’t have ability to dictate like the did 1.5 years ago. I qualified in Australia but it took me 6 months to find work! There is currently a massive disparity between what accountants in general are willing to be paid and the expectations of the banks in general (be it antipodean or UK qualified), it seems there is currently a bidding war going on between employers and employees, someone has to succumb! With respect to accountants the financial services firms in the UK currently employers are on the cusp of the employee/employer supply and demand curve before the rest of the industry with no one willing to budge until the economy tilts in a particular direction…. economic cycles have it that employers will bend first.
This article is rubbish, but there are some truths written in between the lines. If you fit the mould of what the big organisations are looking for then there are lots of jobs for you as the senior managers make one for you. If you dont fit the mould then your CV will be lost or applied for the wrong job or you are just not what they are looking for.
If you are white and privately educated you have no problems. There are lots of jobs out there, if you are not then even the recruitment consultants are saying there are lots of candidates and new employment is hard to come by.
The solution to your jobhunting is to be white, privately educated and preferably inbred.
Worked at many blue chip companies including a big four.