As has been the case in recent years, the demand for accountants, both qualified and part-qualified, isn’t changing anytime soon.
Naturally, each year we see a fluctuation in those doing all the hiring; this varies depending on the economy and what people see as the industries likely to show progression.
Brexit may have halted some of the high-volume recruitment but there’s certainly another big year of hiring expected in 2020 and the demand for qualified, part qualified and post qualification experience really is constant.
Industry Accounting Jobs & In-Demand Skills
The big movers in terms of the industry are technology, (cloud software and communications companies in particular), the pharmaceutical industry, public sector, financial services, professional services and SMEs.
All those industries have been very active in hiring accountants and finance professionals and we expect to see more of this throughout 2020.
Looking at jobs and skillsets that are becoming more prevalent we’re seeing more payroll positions or payroll experience requirements, stretches from Irish to EMEA and end-to-end processing. There’s also been a shift towards reporting experience, in particular under IFRS/Local & US GAAP, coupled with commercial acumen. We’ve also seen an increase in the number of specialised regulatory and statutory reporting roles.
As has been the case in recent years, there’s also still a continual need for positions like accounts payable, AR analysts, credit controllers, accounts assistants and finance analysts.
Increasing Demand for Accounting Professionals with Language Skills
Without looming on Brexit, a language preference has become a gravitating factor for some companies when recruiting new talent. This isn’t to say a second language is a necessity unless dealing with specific markets or regions, but the trend at the minute is still leaning with desirability toward a second language.
Global companies who are based in Ireland are investing in recruitment campaigns to attract those with the right language skills to Ireland and it is now common to offer competitive salaries and benefits to the right candidates. The most in-demand languages (other than English) are German, Dutch and French.
What Benefits can Accounting Professionals Expect in 2020?
The benefits that we are seeing for permanent positions are largely linked to giving employees a better work/life balance. Flexibility and work-life balance is becoming very relevant with potential talent, with many companies now offering flexitime or work from home options.
Other common benefits include health and dental, subsidised canteens, wellness programs, annual leave packages and internal training programs.
Another significant change in the accounting opportunities coming into 2020 is the popularity of temporary and contract positions. It can be tricky when top companies are looking for short, medium or long-term contracts rather than permanent, but there is always a method behind this.
A short or medium-term contract with a view to going permanent is essentially the ‘carrot on a stick’ method for companies. Companies want to see the best from their employees and often these contracts are used as a motivation tool.
It can be difficult to see it from this point of view but people in hiring positions understand the value of keeping competent, well-trained workers, especially if they already fit and work well with the team. In short, it can be a great way to get in the door of larger companies or a great option if you’re looking to broaden your experience.
Overall, as Ireland moves closer toward full employment, Cpl Finance is anticipating a variety of accounting roles as more multinational companies move their finance teams to Ireland for their finance HUBs.