THE BENEFITS OF OUTSOURCING RECRUITMENT

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!

Read article

There are many reasons why companies choose to engage a recruitment specialist when it comes to bring new talent into their organisation. We highlight some of the key advantages for clients when using a recruitment consultancy for their hiring requirements.

Time. Recruiting can be a time-consuming exercise; long before you sit down with potential candidates to interview them for the role there are a number of tasks which must be undertaken. From compiling job descriptions, placing adverts, sifting through CVs and arranging interviews right through to making someone an offer and negotiating terms. These all take time – valuable time that takes managers and business owners away from their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. A recruitment expert will not only take on these aspects of the process, but they will also add value by ensuring that when you come to the interview stage, you have a very clear idea of exactly what you are looking for in the shortlisted candidates.

Industry knowledge. A good recruitment partner will offer much more than just advice on hiring a new member of staff. They will assess your requirements in the context of the current marketplace and offer key insight into skills in demand, candidate shortages and a range of other factors which could affect your search.

Reaching further into the market. Not only will they be able to reach those candidates actively seeking new opportunities, but they will also be able to use their wealth of knowledge, experience and contacts to identify individuals who may not currently be active in the marketplace. Many have relationships spanning several years giving them an insight into the kind of opportunities that are most likely to appeal to the top talent that companies are looking to attract.

Negotiate salary packages. It is important that once the preferred candidate has been identified, you are in a position to make them a strong offer that will be accepted. It can be incredibly frustrating to invest huge amounts of time and energy into the recruitment process only for it to fall down in the final stages. As well as providing you with the most up-to-date benchmark salary levels, they will also offer guidance on which benefits hold most appeal and ensure that the renumeration package meets the expectations of candidates from the outset.

A different view point. It can be all too easy to look to recruit a like for like replacement for a departing member of staff, however a strong recruitment partner will ask probing questions to establish exactly what it is you are aiming to achieve from the process and establish the short, medium and long term business objectives in order to guide you into examining different skills, experience and knowledge which may bring a new dynamic to the role and contribute to achieving those goals.

Developing a strong interview shortlist. Having gained a thorough understanding of your requirements, an experienced recruitment partner will be able to conduct first stage interviews to ensure that those candidates that are put in front of a client absolutely meet the requirements of the role, resulting in the client being in a solid position to select their preferred candidate from a very strong field.

Solutions focused. As well as working with candidates on their recruitment needs, your consultant can offer alternative solutions to address immediate requirements such as an interim placement if the chosen candidate is on a long notice period or a role needs to be filled quickly due to illness or an unexpected period of absence.

Specialist knowledge. Not only should a consultant possess strong recruitment skills, but those which specialise in a particular area will have an in-depth of knowledge that enables them to offer strategic counsel and sector insight that will benefit your search.

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 US today to speak to a member of our team about your recruitment needs.