A survey by recruitment firm Robert Half has found that the finance sector is experiencing a major skills shortage as many companies moved too swiftly last year in sacking staff and are now having to pay top dollar to secure the right staff.
The survey of 404 finance and human resources managers across the country found that 60 percent believe there is a shortage of high-quality finance and accounting professionals available in Australia; and 35 percent are willing to negotiate higher compensation levels for a qualified candidate in these economic times.
Robert Half’s Australian director, Andrew Brushfield said firms were too quick to sack staff last year and are now having to deal with the consequences.
“Firms that let go of their staff because of uncertainty about the economy have found they haven’t been able to re-fill these positions with skilled staff when their needs have arisen.”
The talent shortage in the finance sector has also been compounded by the number of professionals set to retire over the next couple of years.
Nearly one third of companies (29 percent) are concerned about the possible retirement of professionals in their accounting and finance departments, with a further 51 percent concerned the next generation of leaders are not prepared to take their place.
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