Finance & Accounting

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Not something someone wants to see coming from the PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority), however, this is the letter that went out to the CEOs of banking institutions in the UK recently. In essence, whilst it wasn’t targeting specific banks, it was more of a general piece to inform banks that the PRA are investing pretty heavily on technology, meaning that they plan to make it easier to look at data at a more granular level. In the future this could mean that they rely less on submissions and more on their own teams to analyse and interpret the true status of the banks’ liquidity and capital positions. Some organisations took this with a pinch of salt, while others have used it as a catalyst to recruit – and we’ve definitely seen an increase in recruitment within regulatory reporting. Organisations are pulling the trigger to recruit as a way to safeguard themselves against potential PRA action, particularly if the business is understaffed, or could do with an extra experienced head to ensure there are adequate controls and processes in place. Let’s take a look back to 2019? The last couple of years saw the market tighten, in particular to lower remuneration packages being offered to candidates compared to 2015 and 2016. Since the introduction of CoRep, the only other change was PRA110, but rather than paying over-the-odds salaries for specialists, the implementation was largely done taken in house. At the start of the year we saw an over-supply of contractors in the market, the majority working in narrow roles, for example only on RWA. With organisations looking for accountants that could complete the full suite of returns, contractors subsequently found themselves out of the market for a while, being asked to lower their rates, and clients not proceeding and wanting to hold out. Those in permanent roles were in a better position, however in some cases there wasn’t enough of a salary increase to warrant a move, creating a situation where roles were being advertised for a long time, and clients were then forced to compromise on what they sought from the beginning.  What should your recruitment strategy be for 2020? In the summer of 2018 we predicted that regulatory accountants with skills like VBA and SQL (and now Python) would become even more valuable in future for both organisations and talent. Even though the RegTech market is dominated by the likes of Vermeg (formerly Lombard Risk), Axiom, Wolters Kluwer and K-Helix, a lot of organisations we work with are still heavily reliant on Excel and producing these returns manually. We feel our predictions are coming true, with regulatory accountants who have excellent working knowledge of SQL/VBA/Python will soon find themselves in a stronger position (irrespective of their qualifications), as they are able to automate and streamline the whole process for producing and submitting regulatory returns. Where the PRA will apply pressure on banks to reduce their reliance on Excel, bringing in these candidates can better bridge the gap between the RegTech products and their in-house systems.  They can potentially safeguard the Bank from being a served S.166. We also cannot ignore the value of recruiting newly qualified ACAs from the Top 6 firms, as they understand the importance of controls and processes, and we know that’s what the PRA will also look at. Candidates with the full breadth of experience producing and submitting the full suite of CoRep returns are already in short supply, so the question is, do you continue to hang around for that perfect candidate to do a BAU role or do you accept that the landscape is changing and you’ll need to start future-proofing yourselves from potential PRA action? For more about our current roles, visit our jobs page.

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On Wednesday Marks Sattin collaborated with Charlotte Tilbury in Covent Garden to host a networking event for senior finance professionals within the financial services market. The night was a huge success, with emails pouring in from clients complimenting us on our event. The evening was planned around a master class which was hosted by two of Charlotte’s top make-up artists, using one of our clients as a model. They showed all ladies how to create a glam evening look while taking them through the full range of new and existing products on offer. All whist we sipped on prosecco and nibbled delicious treats. After the masterclass the ladies were treated to a personalised mini lesson where they could choose from a lip, eye or skin tutorial using the best products for their skin type. It was great to watch all of our clients get pampered whilst trying out new looks.To end the evening we gave each lady a voucher to redeem on Charlotte Tilbury products, the team took great care of them and walked them around the shop floor to find their preferred products. This event was a great opportunity for us to catch up with some of our hiring managers in a relaxed environment. We learnt about potential new business coming up, current contractor extensions as well as general market information. It was also a great opportunity to network with some future senior finance professionals that we will be working with. We would like to thank everyone that took the time out of their busy schedules to attend, the evening was a huge success and we hope to see you again at another event during the year!

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We recently held a networking event for our senior finance clients at Charlotte Tilbury in Covent Garden. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed this small intimate event and we received an overwhelming number of responses and positive feedback. The evening started with a masterclass from their top makeup artists who have worked alongside Charlotte Tilbury herself! This was followed by a makeup demonstration where one of our lucky clients got the chance to be the model, showing off a range of new and exciting products in day and evening looks. The evening ended with everyone networking over prosecco, cake and a personalised mini master class where our clients were treated to a voucher they could spend on any products they liked from the evening! We would like to thank everyone who attended and we look forward to the next one! If you are interested in attending our next event then please get in contact with either Joanne.Leake@markssattin.com, Ella.Solomon@markssattin.com or Hannah.Spears@markssattin.com. The Commerce and Industry team cover all finance roles ranging from part qualified up to executive level within specific industries such as retail, FMCG, hospitality and media and technology. Visit our jobs page to view current vacancies within Commerce and Industry.

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View Part Qualified & Transactional market salaries within financial services. Download the full London Financial Services market commentary and salary insights here » PART-QUALIFIED & TRANSACTIONAL  Job Title    Salary Range   Day rate   Graduate / Entry Level | Up to 12 months experience £25,000 - £27,000 £80 - £100  Accountants Assistant | More than 12 months experience £27,000 - £30,000 £130 - £150  AP / AR / Transactional £25,000 - £30,000 £100 - £130  Assistant Accountant £30,000 - £35,000 £160 - £190  Assistant Financial Accountant £35,000 - £40,000  £150 - £180  Assistant Management Accountant £35,000 - £40,000 £150 - £180  Finance Analyst £32,000 - £40,000 £150 - £200  Part-Qualified Regulatory Accountant £40,000 - £55,000  £200 - £250 Junior Fund Administrator / Accountant £30,000 - £35,000  £150 - £180 Senior Fund Administrator / Accountant £35,000 - £40,000  £180 - £210   View salaries in other sectors within London Financial Services »

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Although it has been suggested in the past that professionals services workers such as accountants are lagging behind when it comes to the adoption of social media, a new report has cast doubt on this premise. The latest Wolters Kluwer Social Media Survey, which sampled the views of 1,100 accountants at the end of 2013, found 77 per cent of respondents to be utilising some form of social platform in their professional life. This is a small increase compared to 2012, but a jump of ten per cent from the survey carried out in 2011. Over a third of respondents visited social media sites at least once a day, while 27 per cent did so several times. One factor in this could be the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets - two-thirds of accountants had accessed Twitter or Facebook via their phone over the course of the year. CCH Software managing director Simon Crompton said: "Social media is now an established part of the business landscape. You may not use it extensively in either your private or professional lives - in fact you may not currently use it at all - but a lot of people do, including probably many clients and potential clients of accountants." Sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter are proving increasingly important in the B2B and B2C landscape, with some consumers perceiving social media as more trustworthy than traditional marketing channels. However, this depends to some extent on which platform is used - according to Wolters Kluwer, LinkedIn remains the most popular in the professional services sector, with over 13 million UK users. Some 67 per cent of social media users in accountancy admitted to using the platform as part of their professional life. On the other hand, only ten per cent of respondents ever made use of blogs, while Google+ - still a relatively new site - is ignored by 74 per cent of accountants.

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Cloud computing has been one of the major technology trends of the last few years, with analysts pointing to its potential for improving business technology and allowing smaller firms to compete with their larger rivals. However, the UK accountancy industry has been one of the slower adopters of the new trend, despite being aware of the many of the benefits it could potentially offer. According to the findings of the IT in Practice Survey from Thomson Reuters, firms are planning to use cloud services in the future to support remote working and the use of mobile devices, even if this is not yet viable. The survey, which polled 1,300 UK accountancy firms, found that only 11 per cent are currently using cloud services as part of their practice. However, more promising news was contained within the statistic that 23 per cent of companies are planning to move some or all of their IT infrastructure online in the next 12 months. Thomson Reuters managing director Andrew Flanagan said: "The main reason practices are looking to move to cloud-based solutions is to allow employees to work remotely; for example, from client's premises and to enable use of new mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets." Pockets of resistance are still springing up to the concept of cloud computing, with not everyone in the industry convinced of its efficacy or security. A quarter of respondents said they saw no advantage in moving to the cloud from their existing hosting solutions, while 22 per cent admitted that it remains difficult to quantify the benefits of the cloud despite its good reputation. Other concerns raised by accountants included worries over broadband services, uncertainty about system reliability and data security issues that could arise. Christophe Letellier, chief executive officer of Sage, recently suggested in an Accountancy Age article that choosing the right IT system is crucial for accountancy firms in the UK aiming for success.