As lockdown restrictions are eased and we regain some element of normality to our daily routines we have been noticing more and more hiring trends begin to slowly emerge as the market begins to pick back up.
The finance function has always been an integral part of an organisation and now more than ever Business Owners, Shareholders and Directors are looking to their finance functions to help forecast, provide insight and re-evaluate their business models through these unprecedented times.
Most accountants and financial professionals have been able to easily transition to working from home. Accounting is rule-based, accounts payable requires timely resolutions, and payroll follows a strict schedule so that everyone is paid on time. The finance industry is extremely tactical and it is important to ensure your organisation is not burdened by crucial tasks that are still manual and time-consuming. In these times, it’s essential to adapt to a new way of working to save time and scale with limited resources - even though any additional investments right now seem unnecessary as we all look to drive savings wherever possible.
While some finance teams have scaled down, many finance teams have also been retained in full. With more candidates on the market we see more and more clients looking for highly skilled Financial professionals with a wealth of experience in their specific industries.
Moreover we have seen the impact of Covid vary greatly across different industries. While it is clear industries like Hospitality, Retail and Events have been some of the worst affected. However many FinTech, Renewable Energy and Pharmaceutical organisations have continued to run business as usual. In Between we see industries such as the property and housing sector gradually begin to recover, more so following recent government announcements around stamp duty.
Overall we can see the impact on Finance and Accounting teams has varied sector to sector. However we have begun to see the clients look to bring on a range of contractors or back fill roles previously put on hold and with many strong candidates unfortunately back on the market it is key to highlight your skills and expertise that make you stand out from the crowd!