As the impact of the recession begins to affect government funding levels, it’s no surprise that public sector employers are focusing purely on critical deliverables and as a result, critical hires.
This cautiousness over recruitment spend means that we have yet to see the demand for accounting and finance professionals we would expect at this time of year across much of the UK. For those recruiting many are creating additional measures to ensure they recruit the right person. We’ve seen organisations implement more stringent sign off processes to help control spend and ensure the role cannot be covered by existing employees, while a number are using a broader range of interviewers from across the organisation and possibly a range of tests.
…employers are being much more demanding in their selection process.
Added to this the continued need for accountants with strong commercial and communications skills, employers are being much more demanding in their selection process.
We are seeing that NHS organisations, as a result of the commissioning / provider arms split, require accountants who can demonstrate strong negotiation skills to secure the best price for services; something that for many experienced NHS finance people is a skill they are having to develop. This is in addition to financial modelling and experience of educating line managers on basic accounting practices.
While in central government there are some early tell tale signs of the impact of the public sector efficiency drives. Some candidates are being asked to reduce their rates, and the kind of projects being recruited for are increasingly the ones that drive further efficiencies into the public sector.
It’s those accountants with a flair for efficiency and a keen commercial understanding will be the ones in greatest demand – for them, the spending reviews may well end up being an opportunity rather than a challenge.
For local government, the trends are very similar. However, there are pockets of organisations across the UK, East Midlands for example, where the demand continues to be buoyant and the need for IFRS compliance drives the need for strong technical accounting skills.
