Scotland's draw increasing

Glasgow and Edinburgh are increasingly attractive to City accountants - and even Aussies and Kiwis are making Scotland their first port of call.

Fidelity's recent announcement that it was to build an equity portfolio management team in Edinburgh is the latest example of jobs that were traditionally the preserve of London shifting to Scotland.

Elaine Peacock of recruitment firm Joslin Rowe says accountants looking for meatier financial services careers no longer have to turn south to find satisfaction: "Jobs that are newer to the Scottish scene, such as within hedge funds or offshore funds, are becoming more common - and candidates realise they can enjoy a healthy work/life balance while still acquiring skills that are transferable should they move in the future."

Scotland's emerging reputation as a financial services centre has reached distant shores. "Over the last 18 months, we've seen more Antipodeans coming to Scotland first on their working holidays," says Brian Cameron, managing consultant for Hudson in Glasgow. "They know they can take experience from investment banks up here down to London and be taken more seriously; it puts them in a stronger position than if they'd just arrived from a Big Four firm in Sydney."

And he anticipates a continuing trend: "A number of financial crime and compliance vacancies in wealth management were recently created - and it looks like there will be more soon. There's a buzz about that in the market, with interest from candidates all over the country, as well as from Scots who left for the City but are considering returning."