Today’s guest blogger is Liz Carey, network coordinator for NBN. NPAworldwide and NBN merged in September 2014, and our two networks are working toward a full integration effective January 1, 2016. We look forward to having Liz as a regular part of our blogging team.
The accounting industry is faced with change. Tighter financial regulations are causing both small and large firms to battle for talent. This competition for talent is leading to more – and better – opportunities for accounting and finance professionals.
Financial professionals are needed in various industries, from jobs in Big 4 firms to roles with professional services firms, hedge funds and banks. As the economy recovers, executive and senior level roles are opening up, and companies are having a hard time finding accounting talent for roles with the potential for advancement to become partner, director or CFO.
For example, on a recent networking conference call with nearly 20 of the top accounting and finance recruiters in the US, firm owners were seeking to fill hot job orders such as associate director of commercial contracting and government reporting, director of accounting and reporting, director of corporate compliance, international account executive, and VP, retail product manager.
There is a growing shortage of entry-level professionals with leadership skills as companies look to groom new hires for executive-level and partner roles. A recent survey of corporate executives, done by Competency Crisis and the American Productivity & Quality Center (APQC), found that leadership is the most needed – and least possessed – competency skill.
The problem isn’t finding a good accountant, companies say, it is finding an accountant who has the right interpersonal skills to develop into a manager in three to five years. Most are only in public accounting for three to five years, so it takes skill to find one that stands out.
The need for this accounting talent is pushing companies to “up the ante” to entice financial professionals into accounting jobs. Recruitment has been aggressive. Because of the demand, firms are offering better work/life balance, relocation considerations, additional training, competitive salaries and bonuses, and travel and work experience opportunities.
