Summary

What should we expect from our current market, and what is the future for roles in professional services? In times of crisis, the accountancy industry tends to thrive. But will the profession still be a stable career choice in the months and years to come post-Covid19? New research would suggest a resounding yes! The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) shows that the accountancy and finance sector is seen as the third most stable profession, behind health and pharmaceuticals and teaching, which is good news indeed. " A downturn will, at some stage, lead to an upturn in the market. The 2008 recession is testament to that. Accountants found themselves in demand to help companies restructure, identify unnecessary expenditures and navigate complex – and possibly advantageous – tax laws. With this in mind, what are the prospects of securing a new job in accountancy over the coming year?Prospects over the next 12 months“Finance is recession-proof,” says my colleague Karen Chilton who adds her insight on the recruitment landscape for an article in the AAT.“Accountancy isn’t a luxury for business: it’s important.”In the immediate future, accountants will be busy, as companies dealing with the financial havoc caused by the coronavirus, and certain sectors will profit. Karen continues: “we have seen an increase in vacancies for insolvency practitioners; something that’ll become increasingly important over the next few years.”The surge in insolvency/restructuring experts is perhaps no surprise given that the revenue streams of many firms have been decimated by coronavirus, meaning they’ll be looking to cut costs and consolidate resources.Prospects over two to five yearsWhen the financial crisis triggered by Covid-19 subsides businesses will want to future-proof themselves, if this happens again, to make sure that all staff are upskilled and able to work across multiple sectors. Also, data analysis will be key, and an accountant with this knowledge will be in demand. The skill set will be someone with good accountancy skills, with the ability to interpret data to highlight where opportunities might be within a business, or new markets they can access, or even make businesses more lean.Accountancy practice prospects going forwardThere could well be more openings within the accountancy practices due to clients needing increased help/advice when dealing with the economic chaos unleashed by Covid-19. This presents a good market for young job-seekers.Coupled with the government’s furloughing scheme complicating payroll runs for many companies, smaller practices will need to take on people to perform these tasks. A payroll assistant, and software packages that they use, may become a sought after commodity.Audit opportunities in the futureDue to changes in audit regulations, second-tier firms will find audit assignments pushed out to them, rather than the big four, so there could be opportunities within these firms. These second-tier firms will be good places for accountants to find work, because they will be getting busier, and will want to find quality candidates.Please visit our dedicated professional services page for more content, opportunities, and advice. 

Summary

As a manager in the audit, accounts and tax team at Marks Sattin, I take an interest in anything audit related. In fact, my favourite time of the year is the end of October, when the yearly top 100 Accountancy Age list is published! Having worked in this industry since 2012, I have seen the trends, and the changes, particularly in what is needed by the modern day auditor, and how this is constantly changing in line with market trends and general turbulent times. With fierce competition, and the increase in the number of service lines that firms offer, the modern day auditor needs to have it all! Auditors need to feel comfortable in many different areas such as accounts, tax and outsourcing, when servicing customers. There is also a huge focus on the softer skills like communication, influencing and negotiation. This is now a bonus to being able to technically complete the job, with an exam qualification tied in. This is one of the major changes that I have noticed in the professional services industry over the past five years. The other change we’ve noticed is within the Big 4, where there have been a number of high profile audits at firms such as KPMG with Carillion, PWC with BHS, Deloitte with Serco, EY with Thomas Cook, which have not portrayed the firms in a favourable light for a number of reasons. We have seen these audits result in fairly significant fines, as well as uncalculated damages to credibility. This has been affirmed by suggestions made within the professional services related press. It would seem as if the industry in general has had enough, and is looking to a higher power to rectify this situation. This may well be about to happen with the UK Government weighing up a proposal from the competition watchdog that would force all large listed businesses to appoint one Big 4, and one non Big 4 firm, to conduct joint audits. David Herbinet, global head of Mazars, echoed the change or shift towards non Big 4 firms having a seemingly unbreakable monopoly by saying, “We’ve had more invitations to tender for audits in the FTSE 350 market in the last six months than we have in the last ten years”. Scott Knight, BDO’s head of audit, supported this trend by saying that he had seen an “unprecedented” rise in demand. It has also been reported that FTSE 100 insurer, Prudential, and house builder, Taylor Wimpey, which are audited by KPMG and Deloitte respectively, have held early-stage conversations with “challenger” firms, including BDO and Mazars about switching their auditor. Fiona Baldwin, Head of Audit at GT, said that although it was “too early to tell” if attitudes amongst FTSE 350 audit committees were changing, she noted “we’re still being invited to tender, which is a positive sign”. Over the next couple of years, we expect the role of the auditor to continue changing, and the rise of challenger firms to steady. The insistence on Big 4 firms to complete an audit to a high standard represents a change for the better, which is good news for everyone. Non Big 4 or challenger firms will take a bigger slice of the “audit pie”, resulting in Big 4 firms not being so stretched for time and being able to complete a higher standard audit. It will be interesting to see these shifts happen, and be part of the process, as a recruitment partner to both Big 4 firms and non Big 4 firms. If you’re interested in learning more about our live roles, or would like to learn more about how we can help you with your recruitment strategy, please contact us for a confidential discussion.