How did that happen? Where did the last 6 months go? It seems like only a moment ago that I was writing the update for the start of 2017 and now we are at the half way point of the year.
As you can probably guess from the above, it’s been a busy time at Austin Rose. We have been delighted to see how well our Advisory team has been received by the market and our Practice and Tax teams have been flat out as always!
There has been a softening of the audit market at the larger firms and this has had an impact on the needs of the mid-tier firms within this market. That said, there are still more vacancies than there are candidates to fill them, so good quality candidates are still receiving multiple offers in a short space of time.
The Accounts / Business Services market is still extremely busy, particularly at the Manager level. A significant number of firms are seeking Managers to take responsibility for a portfolio of clients (usually called Portfolio Manager or Client Manager) and we have also seen an increase in demand for Accounts Production Managers, whose role is to oversee the management of a team of Seniors and Semi-Seniors in managing the compliance function of a firm.
The media market remains strong, again with a great demand at Manager level, and there continues to be significant appetite for candidates with strong Business Management and Tour Accounting experience within the music industry.
There is no let-up in the demand for Outsourcing staff, particularly those willing to present to clients on the use of Xero as well as those with the ability to migrate clients to new systems. Making Tax Digital (MTD) has seen another large increase in candidate demand over the past couple of months as firms roll out their small company offerings to support the new regulatory demands.
The demand within Corporate Finance has seen a significant jump in recent months both within the Accountancy Firms as well as the CF Boutiques. The demand within the mid-tier Accountancy Firms is mostly at Manager and Senior Manager level whilst the boutiques also have a strong appetite at the Executive level and with more specialist areas such as financial modelling.
Disputes Managers within the Forensic market are in high demand, and particularly those who are proven business winners. The insurance and business interruption market has been less buoyant and seen a mix of firms hiring and some trimming their headcount.
Insolvency is beginning to see an increase in opportunities for the first time since the early stages of the recession. Following a lower intake of junior level staff in previous years, teams are now struggling to fill roles at the Administrator and Senior Administrator levels as they look to bulk out the more junior end of their teams.
Forensic Technology has been incredibly busy. Continued consolidation amongst litigation support houses coupled with a deliberate upscaling of in-house legal functions has created a wealth of interesting opportunities within this sector. Demand outstrips supply, particularly at manager level and above, and there is huge competition for talent
As you can see, there is no rest for the team at Austin Rose and long may this continue.
We are always grateful for the support of both our candidates and clients and look forward to catching up with you in the second half of the year. In the meantime, if you need any assistance from us at all, please call on 0203 225 5060 or email info@austinrose.co.uk
