LATEST QUARTERLY MARKET UPDATE

Sharp Consultancy's Salary Survey 2025/26: Resetting the Landscape: Strategic Shifts in Finance Recruitment

It would be remiss not to start by addressing the elephant in the room — 2024 was a challenging year.While there were many reasons for this and numerous industries were affected, recruitment likely bore the brunt of it, particularly in the 6 months post-election(s).Whilst key roles and critical hires remained unaffected, certain head counts and processes were scrutinised and investment paused with internal restructures and automation utilised to reduce costs, in some instances, at the expense of employees. We subsequently saw an increase in candidate activity, with the talent pool strengthening. As those pressures eased in Quarter 4, recruitment processes saw improvement and green shoots have emerged. Optimism is on the rise in key hiring processes, albeit with a caveat. The cloud of additional cost increases in April, which is still dissipating. The senior finance and C-Suite market remains relatively unaffected, both regarding opportunities and candidates, it is the levels below that we have seen more change. In the evolving landscape of working dynamics, the volume of hybrid working is gradually waning despite sustained interest from candidates, presenting fewer job opportunities. While the blend of office and remote work remains desirable, it is no longer the predominant factor, indicating a notable shift in priorities for clients and candidates’ acceptance alike. Conversations with candidates underscore a growing desire around the importance of having a supportive mentor or manager and many professionals are increasingly open to a full-time return to the office if it guarantees enhanced guidance and avenues for professional advancement. "The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region."Throughout the professional practice market, some similar trends have been observed but there have been noticeable differences in the past year. Salaries across the range of candidates in professional practice, from AAT to fully Qualified (ACA/ACCA) individuals are still rising and those firm’s able to offer competitive salaries alongside stronger training contracts are beating out the competition in a candidate market with a growing focus on study support packages and career advancement opportunities for Part-Qualified candidates, indicating an increase in demand from employers and the volume of available job seekers. The salaries throughout transactional finance have stabilised across the region, in what feels like the longest period of stability seen since Q4 2020 and we expect transactional finance salaries to remain stable throughout 2025/26, with anticipated salary increments to be moderate compared to the significant increases observed throughout the last 2 years. AI & Systems (process automation) continues to impact accountancy and finance, in particular, across larger functions but this has increased the need for wider interim support to assist with the transition and implementation especially with large, automated processes. Whilst 2025-26 will not be the same marketplace for recruitment as seen in previous years, there is certainly a growing level of optimism and whilst a more settled market may be seen as a negative in some areas, for those that have weathered the peaks and troughs over a longer period of time, it will feel very normal and a strong setting for both employees and employers to take advantage and thrive, with an increasing emphasis on growth and development.Download the full Salary Survey here!

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The jobs market is widely accepted as being one of the most obvious economic indicators. Unsurprisingly, the many hundreds of people that we have spoken to since COVID19 and lockdown began all ask what the market is like.

Whilst we can offer a longer and more articulate answer, during the initial weeks of lockdown it would be fair to say that ‘rubbish’ would have covered it quite succinctly. There are now, however, glimmers of hope emerging. By any normal measure it would hardly be described as buoyant but there are initial signs it has most definitely improved.

As we start to emerge from full-scale lockdown measures, here are some insights which we have seen over recent weeks:

1) Some companies began to get themselves in gear to re-open or extend opening even before the very slight reduction in lockdown restrictions were announced. Presumably they were confident that lockdown was going to be eased but either way, there was a palpable eagerness to get started.

2) Some roles that were on hold or suspended were released. With the majority of qualified accountants on three months’ notice, anyone hired within September or October would most likely not
actually join their new employer until the end of 2020 or early 2021. This time delay appears to have given some companies the confidence to go ahead with their plans.

3) The flow of brand new vacancies has increased which we can assume is for the same reason as point 2) above.

4) Unusually there is optimism and ‘talking the recovery up’. Typically, recovery from recessions are characterised by an ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ attitude. Not now though.

5) Putting aside some sectors which very obviously will suffer more and for longer than most, there is a belief that there will be some considerable mid to longer term market opportunities if you get ready to exploit them.

6) The term ‘New normal’ is now often quoted and while ‘new normal’ does not mean we will be better in every way than the ‘old normal’, it seems to indicate a fresh start. ‘New normal’
keeps getting mentioned, not in a fearful way, rather in a new opportunity kind of way. Whilst this can seem a little strange as forced change is usually very off-putting, for so many, any expected improvement – even if it is in a different form to the past – is something that we can start to get very excited by.

All in all, a noticeable improvement and, on the basis that the jobs market is an economic indicator, surely is good news for all of us.

Sharp Consultancy specialises in the recruitment of temporary, interim and permanent finance professionals. With offices in Leeds and Sheffield our highly experienced team of consultants recruit for positions throughout Yorkshire and beyond CONTACT UStoday to discuss your recruitment needs with a member of our team.