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The Job Outlook Is Good for Accountants…But More Competitive

With one major deadline passed and two more coming up next week, some of you might be thinking about your employment options. It’s a common occurrence post-busy season to reflect on the past three-ish months, contact a recruiter and explore your options.

idea of what kinds of jobs might be attracting accountants in the year ahead so we got in touch with recruiter Adam Klitzke, Managing Partner of Emerson Search, LLC in Denver, Colorado.

Adam told us that he thinks that “2010 and…2011 are years where there is a “hot” background or skill set,” as opposed to a hot position (e.g. financial reporting, IFRS, or technical accounting). “[D]uring the previous 3 months, we haven’t seen the same job come up twice, but we have seen clients targeting the same type of candidate.“


So what does a hot “background or skill set” look like? Adam shared four primary characteristics that recruiters are currently looking for:

• 4-7 years of experience, the majority of which has been spent at a Big 4 firm.

• Experience with clients that comply with SEC regulation.

• Has experience supervising staff.

• Has obtained their CPA license.

“These candidates are not having any trouble landing interviews,” Adam told us. He added that in terms of your competition, there are far more bodies jockeying for a position, “in the current market we are seeing 5-10 candidates like this [with the ideal skill set] competing for the same job, whereas 3 years ago, a client would be lucky to see 2 candidates with this background.”

What if you don’t have the ideal skill set? Don’t worry, it’s not hopeless, “a second tier would look like someone with non-Big 4 public accounting experience coupled with industry experience (with a mid to large size public company – $200M+), supervisory experience, and a CPA license or an MBA,” Adam said.

Naturally, if your current background is lacking in these , it will be more difficult for a recruiter to help you land some interviews. Adam told us that while there are jobs out there for people with backgrounds that don’t fit the model above, those candidates typically find jobs without the services of a recruiter. If you’ve got bigger plans for yourself than that, it will be worth your time to pursue some or all of the points above.

The good news for those of you looking to make a move now is that you can expect to do well in terms of salary. As Adam told us, “Salary negotiations will be firm, but fair. Candidates will be able to negotiate an increase in pay and do NOT need to take a pay cut.”

Finally, another development he has seen has to do with the morale, “employee morale seems to be quite low and neither department heads or human resources are doing anything to combat that.” So, if you’re meeting with a recruiter it pays to be honest why your old employer didn’t give make you feel so good about yourself, “clients have asked us for ideas on how to improve morale and we have been able to help them as there are things a company can do other than increase salary to improve [that].”

Bottom line is that whatever your situation, it pays to be honest with recruiters about exactly what you are looking for. If you don’t like what you’re hearing from them, be honest and don’t settle for a position that you’re definitely not interested in pursuing. It may be a more competitive market but if you’ve got a strong background, you’ll have options.

Job of the Day: Genworth Needs a Financial Analyst

An analytical CPA/CFA/MBA is needed for a position located at the Genworth HQ in Richmond, Virginia. Qualified candidates need to have at least five years of Big 4/public accounting experience or experience in financial services or insurance.

Check the more details for this position after the jump.


Company: Genworth Financial U.S.

Title: Sr. Finance Analyst – Strategic Capital Planning

Location: Richmond, VA

Minimum Experience: 5 years

Description: Genworth Financial is looking for a highly experienced and analytical CPA, CFA or MBA to join the Genworth HQ Stat Financial Planning & Analysis team.

Responsibilities: Liaison with various functional areas of the business, including Treasury, Tax, HQ GAAP FP&A, Business Development, Controllership, and Segment Finance groups as needed to consolidate long-term enterprise-wide financial plans, including all key financial metrics; Maintain models for use in updating the consolidated financial plans as needed and to show the impacts of various “what-if” scenarios on all key financial metrics; Use this information and analysis to support strategic corporate planning, including communications to the Board of the Directors; Support the management of the Corporate and Executive Capital Committees, including maintaining committee calendar, minutes and follow-ups, organizing and distributing materials, and documenting project statuses and approvals; Support the Business Development team by providing regular financial inputs, and ad hoc data and analysis as required; Support Board of Director, Quarter Close, Planning, Rating Agency and Capital Committee presentations and analysis as needed

Qualifications: CPA, CFA, or MBA designation; 5-7 years Financial and/or Insurance Experience; Prior Big 4 or public accounting experience; Corporate Finance Experience;

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.

FEI Survey: Half of CFOs Don’t Plan to Replace Laid Off Positions

This story is republished from CFOZone, where you’ll find news, analysis and professional networking tools for finance executives.

This is not the news you hear when there is talk of “recovery.”

Plus, it’s bad news for President Obama. The morning after our leader joined the rest of Americans and finally acknowledged that jobs are the most important issue facing the country, chief financial officers signaled they don’t expect the employment picture to improve anytime soon.

Sure, 62 percent of the 371 corporate CFOs who participated in the latest quarterly survey conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business said they do not plan any layoffs for this year. Big deal. Most companies have already gotten around to this cost-cutting measure. In fact, 77 percent of those surveyed said they already cut rank and file during the economic downturn.


More significantly, nearly half of the CFOs that previously laid off people said they do not plan to replace those positions. Rather, they figure to deploy other strategies to increase production or output. For example, they plan to reinstate overtime for existing employees, turn to outside consultants, hire part-time employees, and/or make current part-time employees full time before rehiring new full-time employees.

Just 44 percent of the total surveyed said they anticipate an increase in hiring at their companies. On the other hand, about one-quarter of the finance execs expect to cut back on hiring. Not too encouraging, huh?

What’s more, non-cash payments seem to be high on the list of anticipated cutbacks. For example, executive perks were cited more than any other area for potential cutbacks (37.2 percent). Benefits in general ranked third (31.5 percent).

“As far as the new normal is concerned, efficiency is the name of the game,” Marie Hollein, CEO and President, Financial Executives International, said in a press release.

CFOs may become more confident later in the year, however. Virtually half of the respondents to the survey said they believe indicators such as bond yields, mortgage interest rates, U.S. unemployment rate and rising GDP will collectively improve and result in the start of a recovery in the U.S. economy in the second half of this year. Another 22 percent don’t expect these conditions to materialize until the first half of 2011.

In general, however, CFOs indicated they were more optimistic about the U.S. economy in the fourth quarter survey than they were three months earlier.

They are also more optimistic about their own company’s financial prospects than they were in the third-quarter survey.

Job of the Day: Citi Needs a Financial Accounting Analyst

If busy season is already kicking you in the teeth and nothing has been able to motivate you, then perhaps it’s time to try something new. Or perhaps you just woke up and you realized you’ve got to pull your life together.

Whichever applies, Citi is looking to fill a Financial Accounting Analyst position with a minimum of five years experience in New York. Get the rest of the details after the jump.


Company: Citi

Title: Financial Accounting Lead Analyst

Location: New York

Minimum experience: 5 years

Responsibilities: Participate in analyzing and advising on the regulatory capital implications of broad Corporate strategic initiatives (including, for instance, potential M&A activities); Partner with the Corporate Regulatory Reporting team in addressing regulatory capital and reporting issues of significance; Interface with Corporate staffs (e.g., Accounting Policy, Treasury, Corporate Reporting) regarding certain regulatory capital matters; Garner exposure to Clearing House discussions as well as those with the U.S. banking agencies (Fed and OCC) regarding complex and/or nuanced regulatory capital or other relevant regulatory matters of significance.

Skills: Bachelor of Science Degree – Accounting Major; CPA; 5 – 10 years professional experience, preferably a combination of public (ideally Big 4) and private within the financial services industry (commercial or investment bank); Preferably GAAP Accounting Policy or Regulatory Reporting or Advisory experience

See the entire description over at the GC Career Center and visit the main page for all your job search needs.