by Jared Heng
Almost a third of Singapore’s financial leaders plan to increase hiring of financial professionals in the first half of 2012 despite ongoing uncertainties in the global economy.
This was according to the latest Financial Employment Report from specialist finance and accounting recruitment firm, Robert Half. It was based on a survey of 300 financial leaders in Singapore conducted between December last year and last month.
The survey showed that 31 per cent of CFOs and finance directors plan to add finance, accounting and banking staff in this year’s January-to-June period. In contrast, only 3 per cent of financial leaders plan to decrease permanent headcount.
Confidence levels are also strong among Singapore’s financial leaders.
According to the survey, 82 per cent of respondents is confident about Singapore’s economic growth prospects in 2012, while 89 per cent is optimistic about their own company’s growth prospects for the year.
In particular, the biggest drivers for increased hiring levels are business growth (54 per cent) and rising workloads (30 per cent), underscoring the confidence in the expansion of Singapore’s economy this year.
Stella Tang, Associate Director of Robert Half Singapore, said: “Contrary to much of the gloom surrounding the global economy, Singapore’s senior business leaders are clearly confident about the year ahead and therefore need to acquire talented financial professionals to enable their companies’ growth prospects. We have seen strong demand for accounting and finance hiring during the first month of 2012 amid a continued talent shortage in the sector.”
The talent shortage was reflected in the survey, which showed that 74 per cent of respondents said it is challenging to find skilled financial professionals today.
Skilled candidates were reportedly hardest to find for accounting (29 per cent) and finance (28 per cent), followed by operational support (13 per cent) and audit (11 per cent).
In addition, the majority of respondents expressed concern about losing top financial performers to other job opportunities.
Tang added: “The Singapore financial talent shortage that we saw in 2011 has continued into 2012. Senior financial leaders need to ensure that their remuneration levels are competitive and that they are focused on retention, providing staff with a clear career path, regular performance reviews and a healthy work-life balance. As the fight for talent wages on, the process of hiring can take time. Those expecting headcount additions should begin discussing their hiring plans now.”
