Interim Tax Jobs – Market Update – March 2009

Contract and Temporary Tax Jobs Market Update

Pure's Interim team made over one hundred temporary and contract placements during 2008. Of those placements, 61% were into the commercial sector, 31% of those were into Banks and Financial Services Institutions and 7% into Accounting and Law Firms.

2008 Interim Placements

• Head of Tax – 8%
• Deputy Head of Tax – 5%
• Senior Tax Manager – 7%
• International Tax Manager – 5%
• Tax Manager – 31%
• Tax Accountant – 22%
• VAT Professionals – 7%
• Transfer Pricing Professionals – 7%
• Private Client Professionals – 8% (Includes Employment & Expatriate Taxes)

During 2008, we saw an increase in demand for contractors across all sectors within commerce, particularly to assist over busy periods such as year end and to assist with the tax compliance process.  Specialist skills such as VAT and Transfer Pricing were also in strong demand, particularly during the latter part of the year, both within the commercial and banking sectors.Primarily in the latter part of 2008, a number of high calibre UK qualified tax candidates became available to consider contracting or temporary work as an alternative to permanent employment.  This was due to candidates either being made redundant or their previous employer falling victim to the ‘Credit Crunch’ and into receivership. 

Whilst this influx of candidates to the market could be seen as a wind fall for prospective employers looking to recruit in a traditionally candidate-short market, many of these candidates had specialist skillsets, predominantly within M & A and transaction teams within the accounting firms. 

There still remains a shortage of qualified candidates with broader tax experience with a particular bias on the compliance and reporting side.

2009 Tax Jobs Market Commentary and Possible Future Trends 

From our experience, we have identified the following broad trends:

• Recruitment freezes within the commercial and financial services sectors should result in more companies considering taking on contractors to assist with compliance and reporting needs or specific projects as an alternative to a hiring a permanent employee who will add to company head count. 
• Temporary recruitment has traditionally occurred at a relatively swift pace however current market conditions could slow the recruitment approval process for temporary and contract positions.  Also, the sense of urgency to act quickly or risk losing a good candidate will be less prominent as more candidates come to the market.
• An increased candidate pool could create stronger competition amongst candidates and potentially result in a reduction in hourly rates for temporary workers across the board. 
• Interim VAT professionals will continue to remain in high demand, as will other professionals such as Transfer Pricing or Employment Tax specialists as companies look to reduce costs and exposure to tax payable.
• Compliance and reporting will continue to be a key area of demand, particularly over busy periods of the year (January through to March and September through to December).
• Demand for candidates with specific skills such as M & A, transactions or structuring will decline due to the reduced number of corporate activity.

To discuss the market and how it could affect you and your specific skillset, please contact Kimberley Britt on +44(0)20 7429 4425.