More Companies Have Openings for Accounting and Finance Jobs

More companies are reporting an increased number of open accounting, finance and information technology positions, according to a new study.

The quarterly study, by the staffing and management resources firm Brilliant, found that 30 percent of companies surveyed this quarter reported vacant accounting and finance positions, up from 28 percent last quarter. In addition, 37 percent reported unfilled IT positions, up from 33 percent last quarter. The majority of companies reported one to three unfilled accounting and finance positions, while 14 percent said their IT staffs had at least four positions open.

The Brilliant Q1 2015 Accounting, Finance and IT Hiring Forecast is produced in conjunction with Dr. Richard Curtin of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and includes data collected between Nov. 11, 2014 and Nov. 25, 2014 from nearly 300 human resources professionals and hiring managers.

“While the majority of companies expected their hiring plans to remain unchanged in the coming year, most planned a constant (high) number of new hires,” Curtin said in a statement. “Given companies in recent years needed to replenish their staffs from the downsizing that occurred during the Great Recession, the fact that hiring has remained unchanged at that same higher rate, is good news.”

Twenty percent of the study participants reported their open positions were mainly in corporate accounting roles such as financial analysts, staff accountants and internal auditors. For unfilled IT positions, it was evenly split between database administration (13 percent) and network administration (13 percent).

Nearly half of the study participants (48 percent) indicated that the overall economic position of their company had improved during the past year, up from 36 percent at the same time last year. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) anticipated continued economic growth in the year ahead, significantly above 43 percent reported in the same quarter last year.

Fifteen percent of the study participants said their companies were planning to increase the number of temporary or contract accounting and finance professionals from what they were already using, while 18 percent planned to increase the hiring of temporary or contract employees for IT in the coming year.

“This signifies that many companies have the confidence and budgets to invest in projects,” said Brilliant CEO James Wong, a former CPA. “Overall, the data provides solid evidence that companies are expecting growth in the number of new hires during the year ahead.”

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