What is currently happening in the labour market for accountants?
Yacht is monitoring the labour market for professionals continuously. We hereby make use of Jobfeed, giving us insight on the developments concerning online vacancies. In addition, we use the occupations and labour survey (Beroepen en Arbeidsmarkt Survey). This is a continuous online research on the Dutch labour force from the ages of 15 to 65.The main goal of this research is getting insight in the behaviour of the labour market concerning several aspects of work. The total annual amount of participants in the research is approximately 10,000. The demand for higher educated finance professionals has risen since 2013. Finance and Accountancy employees are nowadays placed second as personnel hardest to recruit. The demand for Accountants and Auditors is high, so high that we can speak of a shortage. The demand for Finance managers and Business controllers is also sizable.
Where did this shortage come from?
A few years ago, several big accounting firms took cost saving actions when total revenue came under pressure. The credo was ‘ Higher performance with less employees’. Secondary working conditions retrenched and the inflow of recent graduates was limited. As soon as the firms recovered, the cost saving actions led to a new problem. This problem was also fuelled by the legal requirement of customer rotation. This requirement led to lower capacity, especially on medior level. New customers means new workflows, filing and communication. Accounting firms are screaming for new employees these days. According to our labour market research, the demand for accountants continues to soar.
And they do not exist?
Not enough. The accountancy profession was dealing with image damage the last few years; leading to a lower inflow of students. Another reason is the fear of students that the profession might disappear in the future due to digitalisation. The business world is also trying to get more and more financials. Many experienced accountants are changing from auditing to consultancy. The business world often offers a tempting package full of perks and career opportunities. The old logical path of graduating and becoming an RA at an accounting firm is not that logical anymore. The firms have to do their very best for new graduates. That is exactly what they did wrong the years before. This year, nearly all firms increased their recruitment targets, having direct influence on the supply and demand.
What kind of employees are the firms looking for?
Accounting firms are mainly interested in assistant accountants and management personnel. Employees with three to ten years of experience, often inflows from other accounting firms, are the most sought-after. Besides this group, more inflow from starters is needed. In the group, professional accountants with three to ten years of experience currently stand at 5,800 employees.. Annually, around 700 students graduate from their Accountancy master. This is not sufficient to meet the demand.
How did your firm respond?
For the last five years, we have an Accountancy Flexpool. Professionals from the pool are used during the ‘ busy season’ by several accounting firms. The rest of the year they are working in a different financial area. During ‘ busy season’ the professional can work many hours for an attractive remuneration. All hours are reimbursed. The professional is gaining valuable experience at different top companies in varying sectors. This might be a nice impulse on their career and leads to work variety. It is an opportunity to develop themselves in auditing as well as controlling. Yacht facilitates their professionals with up to date knowledge and the latest laws and regulations. You can also obtain your RA in the Flexpool. There is more and more attention for earning points in the business world, also supported by the NBA.
What impact does this all have on current Accountancy students?
There is a high demand for well-educated students, and this demand will increase further in the coming years. However, it is a smart decision to widen your bearings. Previously the career path for accountants was predictable, the only uncertainty was: Should I pick a small or big accounting firm? Nowadays, there are many more options. Now you can also chose for a non-accounting firm or the Flexpool in which you can combine controlling and auditing. It is still recommended to invest in competences such as consulting skills and project management. Because automatic systems take over more and more work from accountants, the functions are shifting slowly towards consultancy. The added value of an accountant remains, but the focus changes. If you respond well, the labour market is very promising.
