Changes in accounting and finance recruiting

Learn how to tackle 3 key challenges in accounting and finance recruiting!

Accounting and finance recruiting is is a term used for finding and hiring the right job candidates in the accounting and finance industry sector.

Accounting and finance sector has been going through some major changes lately.

If you want to be successful in recruiting accounting and finance professionals, you have to stay up to date on accounting and finance employment trends and challenges.

3 key challenges in retail recruiting (and how to tackle them)

Recruiting the right people for an accounting and finance jobs can be a challenging task. However, if you leverage the latest innovations in recruiting, you can recruit finance and accounting professionals much easier and faster.

Here are the 3 key challenges in accounting and finance recruiting:

Accounting and finance recruiting challenge #1: Talent shortage

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for accounting and financial sector at 2.2%, which is even lower than the overall national unemployment rate of 4.9 percent.

As a result, many studies (such as a recent survey by Accounting Today or another by Robert Half) report on difficulties with finding accounting and recruiting candidates. According to recruitment consultants Hays, 76% of accountancy and finance employers said their top challenge is a shortage of suitable applicants.

How to tackle this challenge?

Differentiate your employer brand in order to stand out among your competitors and attract the attention of the scarce talent. Don’t be afraid to be different and even break the rules! Change the stereotypes of the finance and accounting sector and boring and conservative.

Take a look at the example of a The Motley Fool, a financial services firm who decided to break free from the buttoned-up image of its industry. This company’s “foolish” culture became their recruiting powerhouse - even in a time of talent shortage!

Accounting and finance recruiting challenge #2: Attracting candidates with the right skills

Advances in technology are changing the accounting and financial job positions and its requirements. As a result, companies are requiring accounting and financial candidates who can do more than just crunch numbers. They want people with technology and people skills in order to have the ability to change and evolve with the times.

Research by recruitment firm Robert Half has indicated that 89% of chief financial officers in Australia struggle to find skilled finance staff, primarily due to a lack of professionals with the required niche and technical skillset.

How to tackle this challenge?

Write great job descriptions for accounting and finance positions you need to fill. Make sure you highlight the technical and niche skills and experience you are looking for in your ideal accounting and finance employees!
During the interview, ask the best interview questions to assess candidates personality and culture fit.

A good way to assess candidates knowledge and skills is to present them with a work sample test. Give your candidates a short task similar to the one they would perform at the job.

Accounting and finance recruiting challenge #3: Attracting millennial employees

The salient challenge in accounting and finance recruiting is attracting younger members of the workforce.

A recent survey by the Institute of Management Accountants found that 62% of senior finance professionals believe that recruiting millennials is the biggest challenge for their business!

According to Upskilled report, accounting and financial professionals under 25 years make up for only only 8% of total accounting and finance employees!

How to tackle this challenge?

Set up an employee referral program and ask their existing employees to recommend suitable finance and accounting professionals that would make great candidates. According to the Institute of Management Accountants survey, the recruiting practice that has been most successful in recruiting millennials for finance jobs is employee referrals!

Another way to reach millennials is to advertise your open job positions on social media! Instead of posting a classical job description with a list of duties, provide a candidate with a glimpse into your company culture. Here is a great example of Twitter job post published by UK accounting firm My Accountancy Place.