Is banking really still an option for newly qualified ACAs in Ireland?

Ireland’s banks have traditionally been big recruiters of newly qualified accountants from Big Four firms and elsewhere. Does this still hold true? To some extent, yes.

Sloggers

Banks like accountants’ work ethic, says Eoin Blake, from Lincoln Search and Selection: “Candidates from Accountancy practices are used to putting in long hours, which is a bonus when morale is low”.

Shared services centres are popular

One new development area where newly qualified ACAs are popular is the “Financial Shared Service Centre”, according to Ken Harbourne, from Wallace Myers International.

“This is a form of stream-lining where all the accounting people in one firm are pooled into one area,” he says. “It is often on a European Basis, and they cover Banking, Leasing and Insurance. These centres are easy for people coming from the Big Four to fit into, as they are process-driven and a good match for the Service Centre environment”.

What if you’re not from the Big Four?

What if you’re newly qualified, but aren’t coming from Deloitte, KPMG, E&Y or PWC?

There are still options, say recruiters.

“Newly qualified ACAs from the top 10 -15 accountancy firms in Ireland are now very popular recruits with banks” says Harbourne. “These candidates, in the top 5 to 10 firms, tend to have more personality and soft skills, as well as technical skills. These are important as accountancy jobs are becoming broader.

Blake concurs. “Recruitment is going right down to small two-partner practices,” he says.

Especially popular are newly qualified accountants who know about restructuring. Blake says Irish banks’ restructuring units are understaffed and under-resourced. Accountants are popular if they can: “understand distressed portfolios and quickly get to grips with cash flow forecasts and spreadsheets.

“They can assess the viability of companies based on accounts and not assets,” Blake adds.

It helps if you’re a financial services auditor

The department in which you did your ACA training is important too. Elaine Liston, from Hudson, says that “Candidates that have trained in the financial services department of accounting firms have a distinct advantage when moving into careers in banking.”

The starting salary for Newly Qualified ACAs in Ireland is around €45,000, depending on background and training.