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Public sector more attractive to accountants in lean times

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23rd Feb 2009
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As the economic downturn takes hold, an increasing number of UK accountants are looking for employment opportunities in the public sector. Gina Dyer reports

A recent poll by financial recruitment specialist WH Marks Sattin found that almost 20% more accountants would consider working in the public sector than this time last year. At present some 37% of contract accountants currently work outside of the private sector, according to research by contract services provider Giant Group. This number is up by three percentage points on last quarter and is set to continue.

In January the Treasury Select Committee warned the government against cutting back on accounting staff at HM Treasury. The MPs argued that more accounting manpower would be needed to cope with the financial crisis.

"We’ve already seen the Treasury almost doubling its finance team, largely with individuals from commerce, industry and banking, and we are also beginning to register interest in accountants with such backgrounds across areas as disparate as housing associations, charities and the Ministry of Justice," said Bharat Sarollia of WH Marks Sattin.

Salaries are typically lower, but the public sector offers better job security and employee benefits than private sector accountancy positions. These factors are increasingly important in the current climate, according to AccountingWEB member and public sector accountant Neil Eglintine.

"One of the advantages of working in the public sector can be job security, although it's not as secure as it once was," he said.

Eglintine spent 14 years in practice before becoming a business consultant for Newcastle City Council. "There may be fewer opportunities to move into the public sector as a result of budget pressures, but existing public sector accountants know they are well off and I expect that job turnover will be well down."

Many local government accountants qualify via CIPFA, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. But having a private sector background can be helpful, according to Eglintine: "Despite cultural the differences, private sector experience still counts. When I started I had a relatively steep learning curve with accounting practices that were still rooted in the public sector cash accounting culture. As the council started to move towards a more UK GAAP-oriented approach, my private sector training and experience was useful."

Even though some sectors such as the health service will be slower to recruit accountants from the commercial world, Sarollia said the last major recession in the early 1990s showed, "Even these areas will realise the need for the financial experience that private sector accountants can provide."

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