eFinancialCareers

Bankers are sitting on a profit of more than $25bn (€21bn) on their share options on the back of the meteoric rise in financial stock prices on both sides of the Atlantic over the past 12 months. The recovery in banking stocks has left staff at the biggest US and European banks with share options worth a total of almost $100bn at the start of this year. Figures compiled by Financial... Read more

Investment banks operating in Australia need financial controllers, management accountants, financial accountants, and people with Sarbanes-Oxley experience, and they are pulling out all the stops to get them. This is the verdict of recruiters active in the sector. “To say we need accountants here is an understatement,” says Elizabeth Warren, an associate director at Michael Page in Sydney, “We’ve had candidate shortages before in 2000, but this is definitely worse.” The lack... Read more

Australians and Kiwis have the highest pass rates globally for one of the financial services industry’s most challenging exams. Last year, a substantially higher proportion of candidates in Sydney and Auckland passed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams than anywhere else in the world. While the average global pass rate for the CFA Level One exam was 34%, pass rates in Sydney and Auckland were 43% and 47% respectively. A massive... Read more

Solicitors say UK government plans to introduce a new points-based immigration system will make it easier for non-EU financial services employees to work in the country. Julia Onslow Cole, a partner at law firm CMS Cameron McKenna, says in future most banking employees will be able to enter the UK without lining up a job in advance. Under the new system, migrants who amass more than 75 points after meeting a... Read more

A new survey suggests that finance and human resources staff in the UK, Australia and Ireland move overseas for the pure joy of travelling. By comparison, their counterparts in France and Germany tend to move abroad for career reasons. The survey, of 1,800 international finance and HR professionals by Robert Half International, found that 68% and 63% respectively of those surveyed in France and Germany cited a career move as the... Read more

Last week South Australian-based Funds SA appointed Hong Kong-based Lloyd George Management to manage an Asia ex-Japan equities mandate worth A$66 million. Launched last December, the Myer Family Office is also a seed investor in Lloyd George’s Asia-ex Japan fund. Moving with the times Not only are mandates leaving our shores - international banks are looking overseas to hire high-quality candidates. “In the past, the UK and the US have been... Read more

Demand is outstripping supply for accountants in Dublin’s booming financial services industry. As a result, many companies are casting their nets wider than the country’s borders and looking to the UK, New Zealand and Australia for experienced recruits. Carole Brown, director of CareerWise Recruitment in Dublin, says the rise of Dublin as a prominent offshore centre combined with the introduction of a more stringent regulatory environment and international accounting standards has... Read more

Whilst candidate supply is outpacing job opportunity demand within the IT audit industry, competition is only getting fiercer because of the increase in offshore applicants. According to Nicola Upham, divisional manager of the finance and accounting team at recruiter Olivier, there hasn’t been a notable increase in roles within the IT audit sector over the past year. This compares to the broader audit industry, which has seen a marginal increase in... Read more

The current shortage of candidates with product control skills has led to increased salaries as well as investment banks looking offshore for applicants. To be suitable, applicants will already have equity product accounting experience – and it doesn’t matter if firms have to search overseas for this skill set. In terms of entry level positions, appropriate candidates have sound accounting skills or come from a chartered accounting background. Moving up the... Read more

When it comes to having a few ‘mistruths’ on your resume, or ‘inflating’ your salary to a prospective employer, don’t even let it cross your mind. These days, it is common practice for a company to run a detailed background check on an applicant. In fact, gone are the days when all a company does is contact the referees that the candidate has nominated. Angus Price, a partner from search firm... Read more

As with other sectors within financial services, there’s a definite shortage of accounting and commerce candidates in the Australian market. This tightness in turn has raised pay and affected the sourcing of candidates. Katrina Bunting of Chandler Heath Recruitment says the shortage of domestic accounting professionals is not a new phenomenon - in fact, it’s been an issue for quite some time. When recruiting for positions, Bunting says it is not... Read more

With a historically low unemployment rate of about 5% in Australia, the financial services sector continues to boom ahead at a great speed. That’s good news for candidates but a tougher market for employers out recruiting as the talent pool is thinner on the ground. According to Angus Price, a partner from search firm Derwent Executive, it’s not just investment banks and fund managers that are actively hiring but also corporates growing... Read more

With the end of financial year fast approaching in Australia, the candidate crunch has spawned a re-think from employers looking for individuals with international accounting standards knowledge. Accountants can take heart from knowing the tight labour market has forced employers to adopt a more liberal attitude toward securing regulatory specialists in time for year-end reporting, says Lyndsay Steadman, manager at Michael Page Banking & Finance. “Two years ago they would have... Read more

An international shortage of financial services talent is creating a brain drain from smaller markets according to one recruiter. “Whenever conditions are strong in Asia, London, or New York, analyst and associate level bankers who are seeking a more international career make the most of the opportunity to move on,” says Victoria Biggs, a consultant at Sydney-based Jon Michel Executive Search. “We are seeing a real exodus at the junior level,”... Read more

Australia’s shortage of accounting staff could yet turn into a glut, according to one academic. Kevin McKenna, vice chancellor of Curtin University, told an audience at a Perth-based conference earlier this month that changes to Australia’s skilled migration system are in danger of encouraging a deluge of accountants to enter the country from overseas. McKenna predicted that recent changes to the immigration system, which have made it easier for foreign accountants to... Read more

Credit Suisse is gearing up in Asian prime services. The Swiss bank has appointed Jupiter Asset Management’s Kevin Meehan as director and head of Asian prime services coverage in Hong Kong, according to Finance Asia. The bank’s Hong Kong prime services team now numbers 10 and further hires are forecast as the bank seeks to grow the business in Hong Kong, as well as in Australia, Singapore and Tokyo.

The Australian job market is crying out for financial planners and paraplanners, with demand up nearly 100% according to some reports. Recruitment specialist eJobs noted 460 advertised roles for Sydney, Regional NSW and ACT in May, an 80% rise on last year, MoneyManagement.com reports. According to eJobs’ report, Australia is also short on candidates. This is bad news for employers, but good news for candidates, who can command higher salaries for their... Read more

National Australia Bank is building up its institutional markets and services division. The bank will spend an extra $10 million this financial year on diversifying resources and adding staff, the Australian Financial Review reports. National Australia Bank's restructuring of its institutional banking division will provide the next leg of growth. The bank is turning its attention to growth and the marketing of new products, and expects the restructuring of its globally focused... Read more