Due to the continued growth and advancement within the finance industry as a whole in Malta, the remaining part of 2021 and the early indications for 2022 are showing that there will be, yet again, very high demand for fully qualified accounting and finance professionals. For the majority of last year, there was a surplus of roles for the number of qualified accountants that had any interest in moving, resulting in the market becoming very candidate-driven.
This resulted in companies throughout the finance realm moving quickly and acting more effectively to secure the candidates they desired. This led to shorter time lapses between interviews and offers being presented. This high demand led to a steady increase in salaries throughout the finance sector.
The i-Gaming sector proves to be the most popular sector for candidates to consider moving into, due to typically higher average salaries and good work-life balance on offer. There was also a noticeable increase in accounting professionals looking to work within client-facing roles. While these roles were typically not in such demand in previous years, last year and into this year we are seeing an increased interest. This is because they offer exceptional 360 hands-on accounting experience, something the igaming world doesn’t typically offer, and the level of exposure both locally and internationally is incomparable, allowing an employee there to gain so much more experience and knowledge from the different industry exposures.
Some interesting areas of noticeable change are linked to the Insurance and FinTech industries. These two different sectors are now seemingly just as popular with candidates as the iGaming sector, primarily down to the fact they are currently offering strong average base salaries and great work-life balance opportunities with remote working options readily available.
With the insurance industry going through such changes to their legislation, the need for quality insurance accounting experts with excellent IFRS 17 experience has made them some of the most valuable accountants in the market. Within the FinTech industry, candidates continue to be drawn into this highly innovative industry that offers exceptional exposure, incredible brand recognition and highly attractive salaries.
From a financial analyst point of view, we have seen an increase in clients wishing to interview and hire external auditors. Their skills and training make them an excellent addition to their finance teams. This proved a great way for many external auditors looking to transition from a client-facing role into that of an in-house role.
The number of regulatory reporting roles increased quite dramatically over the past 6 months, in line with the new regulations being enforced in Malta. There seems to be an increased desire for external auditors which is resulting in a dramatic increase in the number of auditors moving in-house.
From an external audit point of view, the trend we noticed towards the end of last year was a huge increase in desire for quality audit professionals, once again mainly down to Corporate Service Providers (CSP’s) growing and the demand increasing for them as many moved inhouse. One main difference noted in the past 6 months is that clients are becoming more inclined to look to non-EU applicants. Given the demand and need, many companies are now focusing on recruiting expert audit professionals from around the world. Their preference is still the non-EU applicants that are already located and working in Malta as the work visa transfer is a lot easier however, many are even now actively recruiting globally.
In terms of qualifications in Malta, hiring managers look for either a masters in accountancy or an ACCA qualification. They are typically looking for quality applicants that are not only fully qualified in accounting, but also have a high level of experience with Excel. Many hiring managers comment on this as one of the main reasons why an applicant fails or isn’t considered to be taken forward. Other than that, typically hiring managers are always keen on management and leadership experience while extremely interested in problem solvers and those that can think outside the box.
In terms of what candidates are looking for, there is still a huge number of applicants looking for stable and financially secure companies. Job security is always a high priority and being allowed to grow both professionally and personally. The elusive work-life balance is still a major pull for candidates when they are considering new opportunities given the high number of applicants working increasingly long hours in their current roles.
In regards to benefits and incentives on offer on top of the average base salary, there has been little change. The typical health insurance, performance-based bonus and memberships being paid for are always on the table. Given the recent pandemic, many clients are now operating on a hybrid system meaning remote work is available to those that are interested. Flexi-time is something that is slowly a benefit which companies are using to secure the best Finance and Accounting talent, as companies are allowing staff members to start earlier and therefore finish earlier.