By Jim Wong, CPA | March 22, 2017


Do you know the latest economic and hiring trends impacting your profession?

Spring officially sprung this week. The weather is warming up, business operations are in full effect and unemployment is at an all-time low. It’s a good time for many professionals, and considerably so for those in accounting, finance and information technology.

How long will this momentum continue?

The demand for accounting, finance and information technology professionals is projected to remain strong from Q2 2017 through the remainder of the year—and most likely thereafter.

According to a recent study conducted by Brilliant and Dr. Richard Curtin Director, Surveys of Consumers at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, there in an increase in the number of open roles reported in accounting, finance and information technology. Further, plans to hire for these open positions continue to be strong.

This information brings important insight into the future of the accounting, finance and information technology professions, and the overall climate of the labor market. That’s why I thought it would be helpful to share our findings with you. Take a look at the Top 3 Hiring Trends Affecting Accounting, Finance and Information Technology Professionals in Q2 2017 below.

1. Significant increase in open positions. 
Nearly half (46 percent) of the human resources professionals and hiring managers surveyed reported open positions in accounting and finance. This is a sizable increase over last quarter’s survey where only 29 percent indicated open roles. Additionally for information technology, 20 percent of survey takers reported open positions—an increase from 15 percent reported last quarter. This type of increase in unfilled roles signifies continued growth for businesses in the coming quarter.

2. The length of time roles remain unfilled varies. 
For open accounting and finance positions, the number of unfilled positions that have been unfilled for more than three months increased to 9 percent from 5 percent this same time last year. For accounting and finance roles that have been unfilled for less than a month, those increased to 21 percent from 13 percent last quarter. We believe this increase is due to strong demand for accounting and finance professionals as well as the declining availability of available accounting and finance professionals. In contrast, for information technology, all of the open roles reported have been unfilled for less than three months. This indicates that there has been a considerable amount of hiring for IT as the roles have not remained unfilled for very long.

3. Majority of open roles in Corporate Accounting and Software & Database Administration.
Most (28 percent) of the unfilled positions in accounting and finance were for corporate accounting roles. This includes financial analysis, tax, general accounting, internal auditing etc. For information technology, 20 percent of survey takers indicated open roles in software and database administration. This includes data analysis, data development, software engineering etc. Overall, the data show that the open roles are contained within core divisional teams and not leadership, or conversely, lower-skilled positions.

Overall, we remain optimistic that the increase in open positions and the strength in hiring plans indicates continued growth given the recent unpredictable performance of the economy.

Are you in need of any help hiring for your team? Call 312.582.1800 or email info@brilliantfs.com and mention this blog.

Do you know of any other hiring trends to look for in Q2 2017? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!


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