Finance has a spring in its step

Late 2008 was a dark time for finance professionals. As the sector came crashing to a halt, many wondered if the game was up for Wall Street and the City.

The road to recovery has been long, but the global economy is much healthier than it was. M&A activity – often seen as a barometer for the health of the financial services industry – is back on track and at Marks Sattin we’ve seen the number of vacancies grow as firms increase recruitment levels, looking for the best talent to take their organisations forward.

Finance professionals’ outlooks are also increasingly positive. We regularly track confidence in our salary survey series, and 71% of professionals questioned in 2015 expect to receive a salary increase in the next year and 84% are more or equally confident about the economic prospects of their company in the next 12 months, compared with the last 12 months. As bonuses increase (see our research here) three quarters expect a further salary increase over the next year.

With this renewed sense of optimism comes an increased openness to job moves, with only 28% of respondents willing to rule out moving into a new role before 2015 is up.

The recovery is ongoing, but the outlook for continued growth looks positive. Now is an excellent time for candidates feeling the itch to have a look at the growing number of opportunities on offer.

At the same time, companies will need to look at offering more desirable packages to retain top talent and contrary to the stereotype it’s not all about cold, hard cash. When we asked accountancy and finance professionals why they left their previous roles 32% identified career development as their primary motivation, compared to 30% pursuing a bigger remuneration package.