Growth in Asia may be dominating the headlines but there are still many opportunities for finance and accountancy and finance professionals in the UK. Karen Young, director at recruiting experts Hays Senior Finance, comments on the demand for CIMA members in the two regions.
There has been a lot of negative news around the UK economy, with reports focusing on the lack of jobs available in comparison to China, which maintains its position as one of the hottest markets for foreign investment. What does this mean for accountancy and finance professionals?
While there are lots of opportunities for growth in Asia, there is still a strong demand and lots of exciting opportunities for finance and accountancy and finance professionals in the UK. Recruitment across the accountancy sector in the UK has picked up since 2010 and there has been a real increase in the number of new roles available across all levels.
As companies became more proactive, there has been a new demand for management accountants. Activity in the practice market also picked up as the big four ramped up their practice and consulting arms with a huge rise in roles available since last year. Also in demand are interim workers and analysts, while at the top of the pyramid, activity at finance director and controller level has really increased.
On the whole there are lots of options for experienced CIMA qualified professionals. The qualification is well respected by organisations across the globe so as well as UK based roles there are also opportunities for experienced accountancy professionals to work overseas.
The rise of China
Gary Gong, consultant at Hays in China says, ‘There is a demand for qualified accounting professionals in China, particularly in Shanghai and Beijing. In fact, some large organisations are working closely with CIMA to develop their pipeline of leaders, introducing CIMA focused learning systems to their finance department.
‘There are a variety of roles, including finance planning and analysis managers and merger and acquisition managers. Organisations are looking for professionals with hands on experience, as well as an accounting qualification, and for the very senior roles within multinational organisations overseas work experience is highly sought after.’
Experienced UK CIMA qualified professionals are able to make the move to China but they need to be certificated and demonstrate a qualified knowledge base. It has also become extremely important to improve not just technical skills but management and people skills such as communication, coaching and leadership. Economic growth has seen companies expand rapidly so candidates who are adaptive and willing to work hard to help set up finance operations will often be rewarded financially.
Finance is seen as an integral part of business and gaining experience working abroad will give professionals the chance to see how overseas businesses work, which can be beneficial in terms of getting ahead in the future.
While the market is undoubtedly looking more positive, it is still competitive. Whether they are looking for a role in the UK or one in China, finance professionals need to demonstrate that they have strong technical skills, and an ability to deliver results and drive business change.
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