Soaring demand for technical accounting skills

A fair value is that at which the buyer and seller will trade. But with no buyers, how are banks' derivative products to be valued?

It's a question that's been exercising the Big Four accounting firms, which are being forced to make some difficult decisions. "Present market conditions have reduced the amount of information available to make valuations," says Caroline Britton, a partner in Deloitte's City financial services team. "People have to rely more on making considered judgements and challenging clients on figures - you can't just plug numbers into a spreadsheet when the numbers aren't available."

Demand for technical types in financial services teams has risen, observes Clare Keniry of Hays Accountancy & Finance in Glasgow: "Firms want people who can grasp and apply theory in a market context, and make a reasoned argument for their valuations," she says. "The numbers are huge - getting it wrong could have severe consequences, so they'll pay to get the best people. CAs with several years post-qualified experience may earn 50k to 60k in a technical valuations role in Scotland."

A sizeable proportion of valuations teams have corporate treasury backgrounds - sometimes from banks, but mostly from commerce and industry. "A good mix of audit skills and treasury management knowledge is what clients value," says Britton.