New ACAs Are Hot Property in the City

Newly qualified accountants going into the City are once again enjoying high starting salaries, as investment banks and other institutions compete for the best talent available, figures to be published next month in Morgan McKinleyís ACA Career Handbook will show.

Growing demand for new ACAs has pushed up basic starting salaries across the board, for example by 10% on last year, in key business areas such as Product Control.

Richie Holliday, Associate Director of Morgan McKinley, says: ìRenewed demand from the City for qualified accountants is not only being driven by the recent and projected growth in business volumes but also because financial institutions are preparing for forthcoming regulatory changes, including the shift towards the International Accounting Standards (IAS), Sarbanes-Oxley compliance legislation and the ëTurnbull guidanceí on risk management and corporate governance.î

ìThis growth in demand is also creating pressure on supply as lower numbers of ACAs are entering the market due to intake freezes or reductions in some of the main accountancy firms during the downturn. Intensified demand for qualified people is inevitably moving salaries upwards. This also means that there are plenty of openings in the City for accountants to find challenging and rewarding careers.î

ìOpportunities are high not only in the traditional areas of product control, financial control and internal audit, but also in fields such as corporate finance and brokering, equity analysis, structured and project finance, risk and investment management.î