Banks still seek accountants
A report by the recruitment firm Robert Walters suggests this is the case in investment banking. Despite the downturn, Robert Walters said investment banks' need for accountants has remained steady and there have been few redundancies.
Current job adverts show that vacancies are indeed out there. Accountancy openings in banking include: a senior product controller in a hedge fund; a financial controller for a major division of an investment bank; and a senior financial controller based in Luxembourg.
Accountants' roles in investment banks fall into two main categories - financial control and product control. Financial controllers provide the figures required by regulators and senior management. These include the data included in quarterly and annual reports, as well as monthly management accounts, budgeting, and forecasting.
Product controllers work alongside product specialists to keep a close eye on the performance of each division. Most product controllers are based in the sales and trading area, where they provide a daily record of profit and loss.
Dan Ensor, a consultant at Robert Walters, said there was a steady influx of people into both types of position. 'Control becomes more important in a downturn. There is a need for quality controllers.'
James Mackenzie, a director of the search firm Alexander Mann Global Markets, agreed that financial and product controllers were still sought: 'People with cost cutting expertise are in demand. Redundancies in this area have been far less savage than elsewhere.'
He said banks' demand for financial controllers was being boosted by the proposed new Basel capital adequacy rules, and the need for public companies in Europe to adopt the new International Accounting Standards (IAS) by 2005.
Junior staff were needed to fill IAS-related roles, said Mackenzie; people who had just finished ACA training were more up to date.
Product control generally pays more than financial control, Robert Walters' figures indicate. A financial controller in London with two years experience earns a salary of 45,000 to 50,000, while a product controller at the same level earns 50,000 to 55,000.
The discrepancy narrows proportionately in more senior positions. While a financial controller with five years' post qualification experience can earn 65,000 plus, a product controller can be on 70,000 plus, said Robert Walters.
Most jobs in the control area require an accountancy qualification. Employers have traditionally preferred ACA-qualified chartered accountants, who have trained with one of the big four accountancy firms.
However, Robert Walters says there is increasing acceptance of staff with the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) or the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualifications.
