Expert view: Hiring trends for accountants

To give job seekers in the accounting field a snapshot of the latest hiring trends, CareerBuilder talked with Janette Marx, senior vice president at Accounting Principals, a finance and accounting staffing firm based in Jacksonville, Fla.

CareerBuilder: How did accountants fare during the recession, and how are they doing now that the economy is beginning to recover?

Janette Marx: All industries in the accounting sector fared relatively OK through the recession, though they were impacted. Accounting is a back-office function -- not revenue generating -- so those jobs were a place where companies could cut back.

Now that we're in a recovery, companies are hiring back into their accounting and finance departments. In the accounting sector 48,000 jobs were generated year to date in October -- which is a positive sign that accounting is coming back.

CB: Where is demand the strongest?

JM: One of the big things that we've been seeing of late is that demand is high for that five- to seven-year senior accountant, typically a CPA private/public mix. But the supply [of job seekers] tends to be either junior accountants just entering the industry or senior accountants with more experience.

CB: What can those accountants do to improve their chances of getting hired?

JM: If you have a good amount of experience and you're applying to jobs that only require, say, seven years of experience, make sure your resume is reflective of the job that you're applying to. You may have a number of skill sets, but if you overcrowd your resume you may look overqualified and be skipped past for even an interview. Of course, you also have to make sure the job is in line with what you want long term, so that you're taking the right next step in your career.

For less experienced accountants ... if you're in college right now, make sure you're doing internships. If you've done internships and you're still finding it hard to find that next position, you want to highlight what you did in those internships that set you apart. Make sure that your resume is really reflective of your accomplishments, so employers can see that even if you have limited experience, that experience is very meaningful.

CB: Is there demand in any other areas?

JM: One of the other things that we're seeing right now is a push for more accounts receivables and collections professionals, especially to get more cash in the door to close out this year. We've also been seeing a push for more tax and audit professionals. Tax is always in demand at the end of the year and in the first quarter. We could see collections continue to increase as companies are really focused on their cash management.

CB: What's your near-term prognosis for the health of the accounting sector?

JM: Accounting Principals conducted a survey of more than 500 accounting and finance professionals in October, and one of the interesting findings was that 67 percent of them believe their companies will win new or incremental business going into next year. And this came right off the heels of the middle of budget season. So these are the people who hold the purse strings of business, and they're doing their projections and completing their forecasts for next year. And that was an encouraging sign to see that they believe their businesses will grow.

CB: What's the longer-term outlook for accounting hiring, especially since students are enrolling in accounting programs in record numbers?

JM: Accounting is a great choice for a number of reasons. The accounting workforce has been aging, and the baby boomers are going to start retiring. Therefore there are going to be more people retiring than those replacing them. So this makes accounting an extremely attractive field for new entrants.

CB: Another interesting finding from your survey: "Accountants may be the most stress free in the industry as they are more likely than those in other finance jobs to state that no concerns keep them up at night (33 percent vs. 22 percent)."

JM: We've put a lot of financial regulation into place over the last number of years, and if accountants are following those regulations then there is no reason why they should be worried. They're doing their jobs.  Accountants like that transparency. That's what they do, and that's what they enjoy.