Finance & Accounting

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I think we can all agree on a less than fond farewell to 2020, and a warm, but cautionary welcome to 2021! While I’m not one to dwell on the past, I think it can be useful to reflect on the hiring trends of last year in order to understand and anticipate some factors that may impact the market this year. As we know, when the pandemic hit last year, everything went on pause - pretty much all hiring processes went on hold as we all tried to understand the economic impact - cue no hiring! As time went on and restrictions eased, this abated slightly, however it was only in Q4 2020 when employment opportunities began to return across finance, technology, project management and consultancy. A trend we are noticing now is that expectation levels on job fit have jumped considerably, clients are being more particular than usual. The consensus from clients is that unemployment is high, which is the case for some industries and demographic groups,  however, that has not translated drastically into the realm of professional job opportunities, where it’s business as usual to a large extent. January 2021 sees us still in a “full employment” market across the professional services landscape." I am pleased to report that our business has enjoyed a very strong start to the year with plenty of jobs and activity. Throughout Q1, we would expect to see investment return, projects to gear up once again, and digital transformation will restart, or start at pace.  Coupled with the above, pent up demand will likely see a sizeable increase in hiring levels from March/April onwards as the vaccine roll-out begins to take hold. An influx of professionals We are likely to see an influx of professionals returning to Irish shores throughout H1 this year. From speaking to candidates who are based abroad at the moment, the pandemic has given impetus to return home, perhaps a little faster than they originally planned. We are expecting to see a similar trend with candidates returning from the UK, driven by Brexit finally coming to fruition. EU regulators want certain business conducted in the EU, meaning Ireland’s financial services industry could have much to gain.  In summary, there will be a demonstrable increase in opportunities in the Irish professional jobs market which we believe will coincide with strong talent returning to the country from overseas, where they will have gained invaluable experience. These factors point to a busy period of business and economic growth as we begin to get back on track in 2021 and beyond. Professionals will have plenty of opportunity, and firms will need to be agile in their hiring practices to secure the talent that is required to deliver on ambitious plans.

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According to the Economic Survey of Ireland, released by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in Feb 2020:  The country is well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities presented by technological change, though there are various challenges that need to be carefully navigated. ” This outlook is positive, and my initial thought is we will certainly put the above to the test!While I appreciate that large swathes of the domestic market have been extremely challenged, I have been pleasantly surprised and impressed by how well the professional labour market has adapted to the changing workforce landscape in Ireland. Embracing working from home, increased productivity and looking for genuine growth opportunities are all the hallmarks of a functioning and performing economy.Since September 2020, there has been very encouraging signs across certain sectors here in Ireland, namely Tech, ICT, pharma and consulting, as well as the bellwethers of this pandemic – FMCG, logistics and online retail.  Our job opportunity statistics are indicating that there is pent up demand in terms of hiring strong finance, consulting and technology professionals, with companies keen to “get a move on”.There is however, a continued lack of available professionals, which is unusual in a recession or as David McWilliams of The Irish Times has coined it - “pandession”. With the above in mind, there is ample opportunity for those with specific skill sets across finance, consulting and technology in the Irish market, where there is the reluctance to move roles in the current economic climate, and understandably so.As the advent of Brexit draws ever closer, those across the British isles may find exactly what they are seeking in Ireland as the Irish Protocol predicts a rebounding economy in 2021/2022. Relocating or returning to Ireland is already proving an attractive option for international and UK professionals living in a post pandemic and post Brexit Britain!For further updates on the Irish market feel free to get in touch with myself, or visit the Marks Sattin Ireland homepage to browse opportunities in Ireland.

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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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View public practice & taxation salaries in Ireland. Download the full Ireland 2018 Market Insight Report here » PUBLIC PRACTICE & TAXATION  Job title Salary range  Trainee Accountant €18,000 - €25,000  Part Qualified Accountant €25,000 - €40,000  Audit Senior €40,000 - €50,000  Tax Senior €40,000 - €50,000  Assistant Manager €45,000 - €55,000  Manager  €55,000 - €60,000  Senior Manager  €70,000 - €90,000  Director  €90,000 - €120,000   View salaries in other sectors within Ireland »