Robert Half's predictions for the Q1 and Q2 of 2013

 

Professional Hiring Index – January

 

UK CFOs and FDs predict an increase in the creation of new permanent roles in the first half of the year according to the latest Robert Half Financial Hiring Index.*

• 28% will add new finance & accounting jobs in first half of the year
• Only 6% predict job cuts between January and July 2013, compared to 19% in the same period in 2012
• 51% plan to recruit staff to fill vacated positions when they arise.

 

“What are your company's hiring plans for permanent professionals in the first half of 2013?” 

	UK	North & Scotland	Midlands	London & South East	South West & Wales
Expanding – adding new positions	28%	26%	23%	40%	20%
Maintaining – only filling vacated positions	51%	52%	54%	37%	62%
Freezing – not filling vacated positions and not creating new ones	16%	18%	19%	16%	9%
Reducing – eliminating positions	6%	4%	4%	7%	9%
	101%*	100%	100%	100%	100%

 *calculations don’t add up to 100% due to rounding.

 

To find your next Accountancy job, browse the latest opportunities from Robert Half on GAAPweb

What the finance team should know about google paid search advertising

By Paul Giuffredi

Paul Giuffredi is a Finance Director of entrepreneurial companies. He has been Finance Director of PE backed, family owned and AIM listed companies in a variety of business sectors. 

Company spend on paid search (pay per click or “PPC”) advertising has soared in the last few years. So much so that many modest sized B2C businesses are often seen to be spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on google, each year. 

What is is important is that this level of discretionary marketing spend should come under close scrutiny by the finance team. This is not always easy due to a lack of understanding of the relatively new jargon and metrics involved. Allowing the online marketing function free rein to come up with their own measurement systems can, in my experience, result in loss making online marketing campaigns going undetected. 

Demand for specialist finance skills on the rise, says Robert Half

By Phil Sheridan, Managing Director, Robert Half UK

September’s figures from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) and KPMG made for encouraging reading, showing a 3.1% rise in the number of job vacancies compared to the same period last year. However, a closer look at figures for London shows a drop in both permanent placements and temporary jobs in the region versus a moderate increase elsewhere in the UK.

There is also evidence of a twin speed economy in the UK jobs market, where highly skilled accounting and finance professionals remain in demand despite more stagnant general job growth. For example in London, organisations within the accounting and finance sector are finding it difficult to find candidates with expertise in the functional areas of finance (48% of respondents), compliance (16%), accounting (16%) and operational support (16%), according to recent research carried out by Robert Half among 200 UK CFOs/COOs.

So what are bosses looking for when seeking new finance professionals to join their team?

Canary Wharf set to overtake the City? Chris Daems provides an insight

By Chris Daems

Chris Daems is the director of Principal Financial Solutions, a small financial planning practice based in the city of London.  During his career, Chris worked for a number of large financial institutions before setting up his own business.  Chris’s experience is working with both medium sized businesses and high net worth individual clients.

A recent survey of the financial services market indicates that over the next two months Canary Wharf will overtake the city of London as the biggest employer of bankers in Europe. This is as a result of JP Morgan migrating many of their square mile sites to their new headquarters located within a stones throw of Canary Wharf station. 

Tips for finance department recruiting - and what to expect as a job seeker

By Paul Giuffredi

Paul Giuffredi is a Finance Director of entrepreneurial companies. He has been Finance Director of PE backed, family owned and AIM listed companies in a variety of business sectors.

Do you have difficulty recruiting good junior accounts staff? Are you looking for this type of roles but struggling to secure an offer? 

I work as finance director for a high transactional volume online / ecommerce retailer. My team has to deal with large volumes of receipts, payments, invoices and refunds and I’ve found that a traditional c.v. and interview process is not a good predictor of whether someone will be able to perform in the role. 

Access MBA creates window of opportunity for executives in London

The Access MBA Tour returns to London as Top International Business Schools Seek MBA Candidates in London…

....and you’re invited.

All you need to is register.

Venue: Le Meridien Piccadilly

Date: Wednesday 28^th March 2012

Time: 4:00pm – 6:30pm

 

The Access MBA Tour is an opportunity for experienced executives to meet top international business schools. Securing a place at a highly-ranked MBA program can be difficult but meeting the right business school will take you one step closer to the top.

As the demand for qualified and capable managers continues to rise, an MBA degree has become a recession-proof qualification for today's business executives. 

Access MBA Tour Brings Together Top International Business Schools and Qualified Candidates

Access MBA will be organising face-to-face meetings between experienced professionals and top global business schools (click here to view  top business school rankings). Participating schools include: HEC Paris, ESADE, Manchester Business School, SDA Bocconi, Vlerick Leuven Gent, IMD, IESE, Cass, London Business School, INSEAD, Hult International Business School, IE Business School, University of Chicago Booth, Duke, Kellogg WHU, RSM – Erasmus University.

To attend One-to-One meetings, Candidates must register here. Candidates will then be matched with schools that best meet their requirements, and invited for one-to-one meetings with the schools’ Admissions representatives at the event.

Access MBA consultants will also be available for one-to-one advice sessions with interested MBA candidates.  

There will be over 100 accredited and internationally ranked business schools participating and each of them will make a detailed presentation of their programmes to help candidatest identify which one supports their personal development goals best . This event is ideal for high-profile executives with 3 + years of professional experience and a higher education degree. 

How Business Schools are turning the tide to 'Possibilities'

There is a greater empahsis today, on the need for a thorough understanding of the forces in motion by business leaders and executives, many of whom turn to scholars and colleagues in top ranked business schools. Some identify new business opportunities and apply for an MBA degree to gain the specific knowledge required. Others aim to diversify their professional profile and gain a competitive advantage.

International MBA programs ensure that business executives understand the evolving global market and can adequately and sustainably lead their organizations towards long-term prosperity. Research shows that an MBA degree guarantees graduates a higher starting salary and greater opportunities to advance their careers.  

“74 percent of companies polled plan to hire MBAs in 2012, compared with just 57 percent of companies that had planned to hire MBAs in 2011” - GMAC 

About Access MBA

Christophe Coutat is Founder and CEO of Advent Group.

Founded in 2004, AdventGroup is a Paris-based media agency that coordinates educational and recruiting events throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.The Tour holds 55 MBA events annually in over 40 cities worldwide.Access MBA is a project of Advent Group, More information can be found at www.accessmba.com.

Cost saving opportunities for the new Finance Director

By Paul Giuffredi

Paul Giuffredi is a Finance Director of entrepreneurial companies. He has been Finance Director of PE backed, family owned and AIM listed companies in a variety of business sectors.

When you've just landed a new position there are a number of ways to make a good impression....

One that often gets overlooked is finding cost reductions in some of the less glamorous areas of company spend. This can be a good early win, especially if you're working for an owner managed or private equity backed business where cash flows are tight. 

Value adding analysis

By Neil Gaskell 

Neil Gaskell is the Commercial Financial Controller for Indesit Company UK Ltd. He is a CIMA qualified accountant and is responsible for commercial finance and credit management. He specialises in financial modelling in Excel and Access.

In the current climate many companies are tightening their belts and looking where to cut unnecessary overheads. Far too often the area that is overlooked is the one profit and loss line that can do more for the bottom line than any fixed cost.

A 5% increase in sales revenue will add more to the bottom line than a 5% cut in fixed costs ever will. Before proposing a blanket price increase to your sales director, a simple analysis can be done to identify areas to reduce discounting and where profitable customer behaviour is not being encouraged.

Finding the right Finance Director and CEO relationship

By Paul Giuffredi

Paul Giuffredi is a Finance Director of entrepreneurial companies. He has been Finance Director of PE backed, family owned and AIM listed companies in a variety of business sectors. 

Many of you will be aspiring or even experienced Finance Directors. In order to reach this career goal there is a lot of focus on professional qualifications and long hours of hard work in the office but when the opportunity finally beckons, how much of your success in such a role is down to your skills and how much to the personal relationship with the CEO? 

Chances are that you wouldn’t have been shortlisted for a Finance Director position without ticking all the skill and experience boxes. The competition is too fierce for headhunters not to come up with a healthy list of candidates who can do the job. Given this,  what then is the major factor in you getting the job? 

In my experience it is whether the CEO likes you and feels that they “can do business with you”. In order to pass this test you should probably be yourself but there are some pointers you should consider in the process... 

To Accept or Not to Accept: The Question of Counter Offers

The rejuvenation of the job market in the Finance and Accountancy sector has without doubt gathered pace in the last six to eight months.  One of the results has been an increase in job seekers willing to explore their options whereas before, many people were staying in positions in which they felt dissatisfied due to fears about the turbulent economic climate.

So, as an employee you have taken the plunge, explored your options, gone through the interview process and been offered an exciting new role.  This is always a slightly nerve wracking time and many understandably feel the process of resigning from their current position to be a stressful one.

Submitting Your Resignation
When you sit down with your line manager and submit your letter of resignation, there is a sense of relief and the excitement of starting a new role can be indulged.  However, what happens if the following day your employer presents you with a counter offer?  What do you do?

This is a difficult situation in which to find yourself.  On the surface, it appears to be in the employer’s interests to retain you; you are a valued employee.  They are able to retain you within the business rather than have to progress once again through the recruitment process, which can be time consuming.  You are in situ; you know the company and are an established member of the team whom they have already invested in.

It can be a tempting and very flattering offer.  You are within your comfort zone; you know the business and the people, and a pay rise is being offered.  At this stage, it is vitally important that you examine your reasons for leaving in the first place.  If your motivation is more than simply remuneration and is based around a desire for career progression, or a disillusionment with the company, ask yourself the question; is this going to change or, by accepting an offer, are you simply placing a band aid on the real issue?

A Long Term Solution?
Being counter offered with a pay rise or a promotion will not necessarily resolve the underlying reasons that first motivated you to search for an alternative.  In this instance we find that in many cases the employee will be once again be back on the job market within a few months, as the initial problem has not been resolved. In my own personal experience, I previously worked with a Management Accountant in a senior position who was very disillusioned with their working environment.  We secured them a new position with a pay increase, and when they subsequently submitted their resignation, their employer offered to double the pay increase to keep them.  They accepted the counter offer, however came back to me within five months looking for a new role, as the environment had not improved and the initial problem remained.

On the other hand, if your reason for leaving is purely motivated by remuneration and you feel that you are being undervalued either through the employer’s inability to offer an increase, or through a failure to recognise your worth, is it a good idea to accept a counter offer?  On the whole I would still suggest that it isn’t.  Using this process as means of forcing your employer’s hand should be avoided.  It almost always causes a breakdown in trust and leads the employer to question your loyalty and dedication to the company.  If they believe that you are capable of being disloyal it is doubtful that the previous levels of trust will ever be re-established, which can have implications for your long-term career in that company.

Communication is Key
If you do feel that a pay increase or promotion is justified I always recommend that you firstly have an open and honest conversation with your employer, laying out your justifications.  Through open channels of communication it is much more likely you will be able to come to mutually agreeable terms that have fewer potential repercussions later in your career.  If the employer is not able (and in the current economic climate many are not, through no fault of their own) or willing to negotiate in terms of remuneration then if you still wish to pursue the issue, consider your wider options and explore the market with a clear conscience.

John Richardson joined Alexander Lloyd in 2003, and as a Senior Manager within the organisation he currently leads the Accountancy and Finance divisions. He personally maintains a client database recruiting senior finance professionals on a permanent basis within the Accountancy and Finance sector and specialises with the recruitment of qualified level Financial Directors and Controllers for both blue chip and SME clients, and also recruits niche roles such as tax/treasury and corporate finance and audit.