MARKET INSIGHTS – THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR ACCOUNTANTS

Today’s market: The demand that we saw in 2017 for Finance Business Partners, Commercial Accountants and Finance Planning Analysts continued in Q1, as companies looked for strong support across commercial functions when it comes to decision-making. This increased emphasis on cross-functional business partnering and decision support reflects the ever-increasing involvement of finance in all aspects of organisational development across businesses of all sizes. Linked to this focus on commercial accounting, through Q4 2017 and Q1 2018 we have also seen a significant demand for candidates with strong internal audit, control and compliance skill sets all driven by digital transformation and ongoing regulatory changes.

As we move towards Q2 we are already seeing increased buy back activity from companies keen to keep hold of key staff who are actively seeking a move. Further to this, we are increasingly being asked to support our clients with recruitment planning so we can advise on market trends, benchmarking and pool relevant talent in advance so our clients future hiring needs are met.

As well as being aware that salary is now just one of a number of important considerations for many professionals seeking a new challenge, businesses need to ensure the best possible user experience for candidates during the recruitment process.The process itself also needs to be streamlined to ensure organisations can move quickly to secure the people they need, as the best candidates with in-demand skills will often have alternative offers on the table. Businesses will need to devote time and resources to developing effective staff retention strategies and, looking further ahead, to increase investment in training and development programmes to enable them to become more self-sufficient in the key skills they require in the future.

HIRING IN 2018?

Skills Shortage Remains – Productivity and growth are today’s premium business mantras and the growing skills shortage is one of the key challenges for any organisation to overcome. Research shows that a significant majority of hiring managers say it is challenging to find skilled professionals today. Competition for the best candidates is increasing and putting more pressure on salary expectations, which means that it’s even more difficult to secure new hires and even more important to act quickly and decisively.

Time To Hire Can Have An Impact – In this candidate short market, there is a need to hire with pace when you consider that more than half of hiring managers have lost a qualified candidate to another opportunity due to an elongated in-house hiring process. While it is important to maintain thorough hiring practices to avoid making a bad hire, drawing out the hiring process isn’t the best solution.

Retention Needs To Be A Priority – Employee retention is the top concern of many of our clients with the current skills shortage impacting roles within recruitment. Research shows that more than 80% CFOs and FDs stated that they are very or somewhat concerned about losing their top performers to other job opportunities this year. While offering a competitive remuneration package is one way to attract employees to stay, it is not the only way to keep your employees happy. Increasingly, employees are looking for alternative benefits, including better work life balance and a clearer career path.

An example of some recent search engagements include:

What does the modern day “Accountant” need to be aware of?

Speaking with our community over the last few weeks it’s apparent that that “technology” is a hot topic. About 90% seemed to believe that an understanding of technology is now as important as knowledge of the trade itself. The majority  of people that i spoke with believe that the extent of change will be so great that they will need to leave the sector if they don’t adapt to modern methods by the end of this decade, so it’s clear accountants are recognising the pace. However, the group discussed that this was only half the battle and more needs to be done to invest as much as possible in skilling up their teams and preparing for the future. It’s comforting that the pace of progress is recognised, but quite clearly more needs to be done to prepare for the future.

Communication, Communication and Communication

One of you team members is technically brilliant accountant who can crunch numbers and recall complex tax laws with their eyes closed. Yet for some reason, they are not achieving the results you expect. Does this sound familiar?

If it does, it is likely that they are lacking vital soft skills that are essential to perform well in the world of modern accounting. An accountant can be as technically capable as anyone, but if they are unable to communicate effectively with clients, think on their feet, juggle tasks, or come up with a solution to a client’s complex problem, they will not have the same impact as a less technical, but more rounded accountant.

So what soft skills do you need your team to possess?

Problem Solving – Accountants have an increasing focus on advisory services and businesses are experiencing increasingly complex and unique problems, all accountants must be equipped to navigate unexpected challenges. It is the accountants that can think and act on their feet that will be of most benefit and who will become indispensable to the business.

Developing problem solvers – whenever one of your employees comes across a problem, make it a requirement that they always come to you with a potential solution, never just the problem on its own. Even if their solution is ineffective and you don’t put into action, making this a requirement will give them no choice but to begin thinking critically and on their feet.

Time Management – Endless lists of tasks, strict deadlines, commitments and never enough time. This is just a normal day for an accountant, so if one of your team members are unable to manage their time effectively, their output will be poor. It is that simple!

Developing time management amongst your team – everyone is different when it comes to managing their time. This skill takes time to develop and each individual needs to find what works best for them. For those members of your team who struggle most with managing their time, encourage them to list and prioritise their tasks each day. Itemise and set due dates for each granular action, and use reminders if they need to.

Written Communication – As a leader the way you communicate sets the tone with how everyone around you perceives you. With email still being the most common way accountants speak, it should come as no surprise that written communication is seen as an integral skill.

Oral Communication – Just as important as the way they write, everyone on your team should be able to express information and ideas verbally. Mastering what to say and how to say it is one of the biggest steps an accountant can take toward ensuring their stakeholder relationships are successful. Furthermore, teams that can effectively communicate together will always be more productive and achieve more.

Developing oral communication amongst your staff – just like written communication, better verbal communication will only come through practice. Give every member of your team the chance to speak to their peers at internal meetings – if you hold staff meetings, rotate who chairs them, or who reports on the latest developments.

Teamwork – A team’s success is rarely dependent on one team member doing something all by themselves. Success is the result of your entire team working toward a common goal — whether it is a process such as payroll that relies on input from multiple staff members; or increasing your monthly recurring revenue, which relies on each and every team member doing their part. Those who are able to work well with others around them by collaborating and helping others out when needed are highly sought after. And that is before taking into account the positive effect team players will have on your company culture.

Developing teamwork amongst your staff – do not let signs of great teamwork go unnoticed. If you see a member of staff lend a hand to a colleague who is snowed under or cover for someone who is on holiday, remember to recognise them. It may sound obvious, but positive reinforcement still goes a long way for accountants of all ages and levels of experience.

When you are hiring you must look for candidates who possess the most important of these soft skills, not only candidates who are technically great.

As for your current team, despite what many say and believe, soft skills can be developed. Just as your team once learned to read a financial statement or lodge a tax return, they can also learn these other skills that are critical if they, and your business, are to grow. So it’s important that you invest the time in developing soft skills as well as technical skills.

If you can build your team to include accountants who are well-versed in each of these areas, your business will grow from strength to strength.

To wrap this Viewpoint up I will remind all hiring managers that most candidates remain passive in their approach so with that there is a need for innovative sourcing strategies to ensure the right talent is found. We anticipate that the increased demand for top talent will drive salary levels up across certain parts of the market and many companies will have to work with their recruitment partners to ensure their proposition and message to market is very clear in attracting potential candidates. Other attraction and retention benefits are increasingly important to employees, such as  flexible working and these need to be taken into account in order to retain existing key staff and attracting new talent. It looks like the year ahead is set for continued economic growth, which means organisations will have to navigate a rapidly changing, increasingly competitive business environment while retaining their focus on achieving commercial goals. There are a significant number of challenges to address, from fast-moving, international economic headwinds to regional political and business change. So if you are looking to hire this year, it’s important to have a clear view of the current recruitment trends to Acquire the best Talent.