Executive General Manager of Lloyd Morgan, Kym Quick, said that as the economy continued to recover, growing business activity would strengthen the demand for Accountants and Auditors.
“The growth of the Banking industry and increased business confidence among the wider corporate sector has seen an active level of recruitment of Accountants in recent months, with those from the big four firms being a particular target.
“In addition, we are seeing a move back to the days where Australian Accountants were enticed by well paying positions overseas, particularly in Great Britain.
“As the GFC struck deeper into the European economy many returned reluctantly to Australia. However the higher wages there and a gradual pick-up in the business community appears to be enticing them back.
“On top of that we expect that tougher regulatory requirements, increased business focus on risk management and the imminent introduction of an emissions program, will underpin healthy growth in the demand for Accountants and particularly Auditors.”
Ms Quick said the various demand pressures have the potential to push the index above 100 over the next few quarters.
“Now that confidence is returning, people are moving from one organisation to another. So the demand from clients is really due to the need to replace senior roles lost through this seat hopping, not due to growth in the sector. As such, staff retention is a key concern in this industry over the next 12 months.
“In accounting in particular, employers will need to be willing to be more flexible with wage payments to attract and retain key employees particularly at the more senior levels to stop them from shifting jobs”.