SALARY SURVEY 2013 - Robert Walters Singapore

NETHERLANDSNETHERLANDSACCOUNTING&FINANCENETHERLANDSACCOUNTING&FINANCEACCOUNTING&FINANCERobertWaltersGlobalSalarySurvey2013119Withmorethan20years’experienceintheDutchmarket,ouraccounting&financedivisionhasestablishedastrongreputationforplacinghigh-calibrefinanceprofessionalsfromourofficesinAmsterdam,EindhovenandRotterdaminavarietyofcommerceandindustrybusinesses.Wespecialiseintherecruitmentofcandidateswithaprofessionalqualificationand/oracademicdegreeandmorethanoneyear'srelevantexperienceatalllevelsinfinancialmanagement,financialand/orbusinesscontrol,riskmanagement,auditand/oraccounting.MarketOverviewAmsterdamTherecruitmentmarketforfinanceprofessionalsstablein2012,withjoblevelsremainedsimilarto2011.DuetoeconomicuncertaintyacrossEurope,themajorityofrecruitmentwasreplacement-hiringratherthannewly-createdpositions.Theoneexceptiontothiswaswithinfinancialsharedservicecentresduetogrowthinthesefunctions.Themainmotivationforcandidatesmovingjobswastherelativelylongperiodtheyhadremainedintheirexistingpositions.Asin2011,professionalsweregenerallyofferedhorizontalratherthanverticalmoves.Organisationscontinuedtobeextremelycost-consciousandhesitanttomeetcandidaterequirementswhile,atthesametime,notbeingpreparedtocompromiseontheskillstheywereseeking.Whenrecruitingfinancestaff,companiespreferredprofessionalswithspecificsectorexperience.Astreamlinedrecruitmentprocessprovedhighlybeneficialtosuccessfullyrecruitingthebestindividuals.‘Big4’candidatesremainedindemandthroughout2012.Thenumberofthesecandidateswillingtomovejobsgrewduringtheyear.Thedeteriorationofwork-lifebalancewithinaccountingfirmswasthemainreasonbehindthisdesire.However,thesalarypackagesofferedinpracticeweregenerallyhigher,whichfurthercomplicatedtherecruitmentprocessfromboththecandidateandemployerperspective.Also,organisationssoughttorecruit‘Big4’professionalsininternalaudit,financialcontroland/or(corporate)reportingandconsolidationpositions.However,thesecandidatestypicallypreferredbusinesscontrol/analysisandfinancemanagementpositions.Thisparadoxcomplicatestherecruitmentprocessfor‘Big4’candidates.EindhovenTheEindhovenregionremainedthethirdlargesteconomicareaoftheNetherlands,withinvestmentintoresearchanddevelopmentandinnovationwithinthehightechIndustriescontinuing.Withinthemajorityofothersectors,however,wesawreducedhiringactivity,profitandturnover.Inkeepingwiththistrend,employers’becamelessoptimisticfromquartertwoonwards.Someevenmaderedundanciesand/oroutsourcedsharedservicerolestolowercostcountries.Duetotheincreasedvaluetheycouldadd,midcareerfinancialprofessionals(i.e.thosewith3-7years’experience)wereabletosecuresalaryincreaseswhenmovingroles.However,moreseniorcandidatessometimeswererequiredtotakeapaycutinordertosecurepositionsduetoashortageofvacancies.RotterdamAsoneofthelargestportsintheworld,RotterdamhasbeenahubofinternationaltradeandcommerceforcenturieswithitsuniqueaccesstocontinentalEuropeviatheMaasRiver.Althoughtheregionwasimpactedbytheglobalfinancialcrisisatthestartof2012,wesawsloweconomicgrowthduringtheremainderoftheyear.ThiswasreflectedincargovolumesthroughputthePortofRotterdamincreasingby1.7%duringthefirstninemonthsof2012.Consequently,wesawrelativelyhighfinancejoblevelsinthemanufacturingandproductionandchemicalsectors.Whileemploymentprospectswithinservicesbusinessesremainedrelativelypositive,however,overallrecruitmentvolumesfellmodestly.Similarly,thenumberofaccountingprofessionalsemployedinthepublicsectorcontinuedtodecrease.However,salarylevels-excludingbonusesremainedstable.Outlookfor2013Weanticipatethattheaccountancyandfinancejobsmarketwillremainconsistentin2012andthemarketwillcontinuetobeimpactedbyeconomicuncertaintyacrosstheEurozone.Shouldgovernmentsintheregionbeabletocreatemoretrustinthefirsthalfof2013,wecouldseeincreasedrecruitmentactivitytowardstheendoftheyear.Ascompaniestendedtohirefewerjuniorfinancestaffin2012,weanticipateanincreaseindemandforprofessionalsatthislevelin2013.IntheSouthEastregion,recruitingcandidateswiththreetosevenyears’experienceisincreasinglydifficult,atrendweexpecttocontinueinto2013andbeyondastheseprofessionalsremainindemand.Withlittleactivityoccurringattheseniorlevelin2012,weexpectthistoremainthecasein2013.Duetochallengingmarketconditions,salarylevelsareexpectedtoremainstable.Forsimilarreasons,weexpectemployerstofocusonhiringstaffonatemporaryratherthanpermanentbasis.