finance salary survey 2013

of 31PSD Finance Salary Survey 2013

PSD Overview

Sector Overview

Market Sentiment

Salary Information

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Welcome to the 2013 PSD Finance Salary Survey which focuses on the current trends for salaries, benefits and employment for finance professionals across the UK. We have talked to significant numbers of employers and employees in considerable depth and hope that we have produced a body of work which you will find interesting and helpful. We intend to discuss the findings with you and look forward to doing so shortly.

PSD Finance 2013

Finance Salary Survey


PSD Overview

Sector Overview

Market Sentiment

Salary Information

Office Locations

PSD is an international recruitment consultancy with over 300 employees operating from 7 offices worldwide. In the UK we work from our London, Haywards Heath and Manchester sites covering a range of functions and sectors. PSD has been established since 1992 and is one of the longest standing executive recruitment consultancies focusing on the market space between newly qualified and managing director level. Half our work is done by contingency recruitment and the balance through targeted executive search.Our main differentiators are our specialist approach, the level of experience of many of our staff and therefore the teams that they work in, our attendant track record and finally, our flexibility of service.

Most importantly you are likely to deal with a consultant with several years recruitment experience gained at PSD.

Recruitment Services

Our reputation has been built upon our ability to deliver highly effective recruitment solutions to our client companies. Each consultant is fully trained in file search, advertised selection, executive search and contracting & interim solutions, ensuring that we are in the strongest position to recommend solutions that are appropriate to the individual needs of our clients. The skills and experience of our consultants and the resources and capability of the PSD group enable us to handle a wide variety of recruitment requirements, from single key appointments to large-scale recruitment projects, in both international corporations and small private businesses.

PSD Finance

Of the 300 staff employed by PSD, some 40 of those are specialist finance recruitment consultants whose expertise covers accountancy, tax, treasury, audit and advisory positions from newly qualified up to group finance director level positions. Our consultants also focus on a particular sector so that the clients and candidates know that they are dealing with an individual who has the innate knowledge of their specialist field.

We split our teams into those consultants working on permanent positions and contracting and interim services. Clients have the option of using one or both of the consultants in their respective sectors depending upon what solution they are seeking. There is a single, international database that provides candidates from all round the world, as well as a state of the art research facility which tracks the careers of finance professionals.

The established and settled nature of the PSD Finance team means that clients benefit from consistency of service at all levels.

PSD Overview

Finance Salary Survey

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PSD Overview

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PSD Finance Salary Survey 2013

The opportunity for Internal Audit has never been greater, but requires the solving of the age-old problem of doing more with less. With financial reporting control processes generally well established and stabilised, broadening internal audit’s mandate would appear to be the next logical step.

Whilst corporate profitability has recovered, companies outside of the financial services sector, where regulatory pressures are not being brought to bare, are sharply focused on restraining costs.

Businesses have become much more specific in their recruitment and now tend to be absolute in their requirements for product knowledge and depth of appreciation of controls. While we now see more IA candidates on the market, the roles are still very specialist and are placing greater emphasis on sector experience. These internal auditors tend to be coveted not only by more than one potential employer but frequently by their existing employer too.

Demand for Senior Auditors and Internal Audit Managers remain high, as many Head’s of Internal Audit look to restructure their teams by way of adding another layer of management so that they are more able to be involved with the business strategically.

Whilst the current economic climate provides a challenging environment, today’s complex corporate business’s provide a real opportunity for the Internal Audit profession.

Within the Financial Services sector, there has still been a steady demand for high quality Internal Auditors during 2012 although not to the levels seen in 2011. As highlighted above trying to identify good talent which meets the clients exacting demands means the pool of talent becomes quite finite. This has resulted in us having to be much more pro-active to identify and attract key talent and speaking to people who are not actively looking for new roles. This has also created wage inflation for the audit market again which naturally creates challenges for banks as they try to be much more cost conscious

Sajid AhmedConsultant International Audit [email protected] 234 0351

Sector Overview - Audit

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Banking and Financial Services2011 did not unfold in the way it had been hoped within the banking sector or the wider economy. The economy failed to grow meaningfully with GDP up by just 0.8%. The forecast for 2012 was held at a similar level reinforcing the view that challenging times remained ahead. Amidst this backdrop banks continued to streamline operations focusing on core business lines for both strategic and regulatory reasons.

The requirement for certain banks to increase capital to meet liquidity requirements has had a knock on impact on activities including lending to businesses and consumers despite low interest rates. Banks generally have experienced increased regulatory pressures and increasingly intrusive supervision, a feature that we expect to see continue beyond 2012. Banks have also faced increased competition from each other as well as new entrants looking to carve out market share.

We have witnessed a strong emphasis on cost management with banks seeking to redeploy internal staff at risk as a priority for new roles. Additionally outsourced recruitment providers and internal HR teams have more aggressively adopted a direct sourcing model to adapt to the lower finance recruitment volumes. From a finance recruitment perspective the majority of the hires we have been involved in are related to finding replacements rather than growth in new areas. A particular area were we have seen demand is for commercially minded finance business partners with ability to provide decision support in relation to controlling business costs or driving revenue. As well as technical skills clients are increasingly seeking candidates with the ability to communicate effectively with non-finance stakeholders.

Time to hire has increased in line with the higher levels of sign off required and the increase in the number of interview rounds. Additionally we have noticed candidates in employment becoming more selective and cautious about the opportunities they will consider due to concerns around job security. These factors have meant we are working harder to generate and maintain traction across extended interview processes.

Kofi KyeiSenior ConsultantPermanent [email protected] 970 9621

Kristina BattyConsultant Permanent & Interim [email protected] 234 0381

Amardeep ParmarConsultantPayments [email protected] 970 9614

Sector Overview - Banking & Financial Services

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Julian MiddletonSenior Consultant Interim [email protected] 970 9761

Banking and Financial Services continued

Our research has shown that meaningful annual pay rises for existing finance staff have proved more challenging to obtain. Subsequently candidates moving externally are seeking to improve their packages significantly. This requires effective offer management on our part to ensure win-win outcomes for the successful applicant and client.

With our focus on developing and maintaining relationships within the sector underpinned by excellent service we remain well positioned to offer recruitment support in this challenging market.

PaymentsDuring Q1 and Q2 demand was in line with the slow end to 2011 and slow to recover from the Euro-zone crisis. Even those companies that were experiencing good growth were exercising caution. The Queens’ Jubilee and London Olympics held the market back over in to Q3, however as we have moved into Q4 we have seen a significant improvement in the market with an increased number of new requirements, with higher demand in the contract and interim market than permanent hires.

The payment services sector has continued to expand, consistently outperforming growth in most other sectors during 2012. Whilst there is still growth within some of the major card schemes, the pace of growth has been much higher SME companies in merchants services, foreign exchange and currency transfer. There has been particularly strong growth in pre-paid and pre-paid currency card businesses.

The key finance skills in demand have been centred around commercial finance. Our key clients have been strengthening their decision support teams with the result that candidates who have worked directly within the business development, sales or relationship management functions have been in demand and not necessarily easy to source, with competition from many other sectors for the same skill set. Typically clients are looking to see candidates from the payments sector, telecommunications or IT services.

Simon DudleyPrincipal Consultant Interim [email protected] 970 9681


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Payments continued

Demand for traditional finance candidates in financial accounting, reporting and controllership has been more stable. Permanent candidates have been less inclined to move and few companies have been expanding their teams in this area. A small number of emerging high growth businesses have been hiring in this area as they start to build up their finance teams. Typically clients recruiting for these roles are seeking candidates who have had the regulatory exposure from a payments business, or else the broader financial services sector.

PSD has added a number of key large accounts to our portfolio from the payment services sector, further widening our coverage to include the majority of the key larger brands, whilst at the same time continuing to develop close relationships with many of the emerging SME businesses that are so characteristic of this exciting and dynamic sector. Feedback from our clients indicates that PSD is a valued supplier with a high level of expertise and knowledge in this sector, with consultants who are dedicated to the payments space.



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Business Services

2012 was a relatively stable year within the business services sector. A number of businesses went through fairly major reorganisation projects with significant headcount taken out of finance teams, as companies looked to cut costs, in the face of a tough economic climate. Some businesses fared better than others in this climate, with those able to provide innovative and bespoke solutions, with a focus on cost reduction, having the most success.

Contracts and projects within the private sector remained steady with business leaders appreciating the benefits of strategic outsourcing as a tool to lower costs and improve efficiency.

The public sector remained relatively slow for the first six months of the year with the emphasis on cost cutting remaining strong. The second half of the year was more positive with a sharp increase in the number of projects being put out to tender although the procurement processes for these projects have become increasingly complex and drawn out. The desire for high quality services at lower costs remains with the goal very much being more for less.

Recruitment within the sector remained slow with companies only looking to recruit where there was a pressing need to do so and a cast iron business requirement.

Candidates continued to put role security before career advancement and personal progression with the prevalent view being, “I’d rather be secure in a role that I’m not necessarily happy doing, than take the risk of doing something new that might lack longevity or security”.

The latter half of the year saw an increase in bid and tender focused recruitment with clients looking for strong candidates with experience in financial modelling and financial bid management. This bodes well for the start of 2013, as this usually leads to an increase in operationally focused finance recruitment, in a relatively short space of time.

Ben ArdernAssociate Director Permanent [email protected] 234 0366

James AshcroftAssociate Director Interim [email protected] 970 9750

Sector Overview - Business Services

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FMCG

The FMCG sector has remained fairly resilient through 2012 compared to other industry sectors, with FMCG products such as food and drink being staple products amongst consumers, sales continue despite monetary constraints. The shift to own label products and discount retailers has however had a knock on effect to suppliers with the continual pressure on price resulting in a focus on cost reduction.

The sector has seen further consolidation with high profile takeovers/ mergers continuing in a race to minimise overheads and focus on volume growth. Whilst this has resulted in headcount reduction, high calibre individuals with industry experience remain in high demand and companies have fought to cling on to performing individuals.

Whilst the demand for organic produce seems to have eased off over the last few years with consumers focussing more and more on cost, food miles and origin remain key to the sector and new labelling legislation will put more and more pressure on the Manufacturers.

Salaries have remained flat across the sector. The challenge is to find Commercial Finance candidates who have excellent operational experience in addition to technical financial reporting skills to enable best performance and maximise profits.

Andrew VartyAssociate Director Permanent & Interim [email protected] 234 0356

Sector Overview - FMCG

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Defence and Aerospace

Across the Aerospace and Defence sector as a whole, cash conservation and margin protection are driving short-term cost cutting and a renewed focus on enterprise-wide efficiency. Organisations who can react quickly can achieve significant improvements in earnings, market share and competitive position. The key is technology-enabled change, delivered efficiently and with respect for the culture and history of the industry.

In civil aerospace, the downturn means that despite the long-term growth trend of passenger numbers, airlines are now faced with excess capacity just when they are having to deal with unstable financing and fuel prices. There are knock-on implications for manufacturers and other suppliers, who need to juggle these problems alongside the traditional efficiency drivers of capital intensive industries. The civil aerospace market is also responding to economic challenges by creating shareholder value in MRO and aftermarket activities.

Transport

In what was meant to be one of the most busy periods of rail franchising history we have seen the unexpected happen. With Virgin Trains challenging the award of the West Coast Bid to First Group - the underlying frailties of the actual franchising process were left brutally exposed. With all future franchising temporarily suspended this has meant a lot of resource is left on the ‘bench’. Recruitment within the sector has remained steady through 2012 with a premium put on those individuals with rail sector experience, especially within franchising. With everyone eagerly awaiting to see what the new framework for all future rail franchising will look like in 2013 it will certainly be an interesting year.

Sajid AhmedConsultant Transport, Permanent [email protected] 234 0351

Andrew VartyAssociate Director Defence & Aerospace, Permanent & Interim [email protected] 234 0356

Section Overview - Industry








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Energy & Utilities

So far this year there has been considerable press relating to our electricity and gas and to a lesser extent our water companies. This has mainly been due to the profits being generated by the key players whilst the consumer faces rising prices which has led to the regulator seeking greater transparency in prices and a change to pricing. The government are also keen to be involved which creates challenging times for the suppliers.

There is still the drive to develop low carbon technologies that are sustainable and with an estimated 2.9 trillion of capital required in Europe up to 2020 to fund low carbon technologies this creates lots of challenges for companies and governments.

Oil and Gas

The upstream sector is vital to the economy in many ways and there have been a lot of challenges within this market so far this year. Examples being the Syria conflict and threats to shipping through the Straight of Hormuz. Even though there has been a decline in crude prices overall market capitalisation of upstream businesses have increased. Companies with exploration activities in Africa have seen some good discoveries and continue to grow and there has been some acquisition activities this year as an example Premier Oil acquiring Encore Oil. There has been a steady demand for experienced finance staff this year so far both on the contract and permanent side with ongoing projects being a key driver for recruitment from a contract perspective.


Steve MaleyAssociate Director Oil & Gas and Energy & Utilities, Permanent [email protected] 970 9718

Sector Overview - Industry




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Insurance - Overview 2012

In light of a deepening global recession, the insurance industry faced its fair share of challenges in 2012 as increasing regulatory demands, low interest rates and a real slowdown of growth in emerging markets kept investors and consumers uneasy. Insurers faring considerably better were those who were reactive in their existing modelling practices whilst sourcing progressive distribution channels to align themselves to a wholly unpredictable market where needs are still rapidly changing. Overall, substantial growth in the European market has been difficult to obtain in the face of possible sovereign defaults but whilst extreme catastrophe losses in 2011 weakened non-life profits, strengthened reinsurance and casualty rates kept general performance stable for 2012. Life insurers enjoyed a modest performance in 2012, encouraged by intensive operational measures to satisfy more stringent capital requirements.

Trends

As a result, we saw a moderate increase in roles within the Insurance regulatory reporting and change space compared to 2011 but by no means was this enough to stave off the general decline of mid-senior appointments within the wider financial services arena. Placements made at the sub £50k mark were appointments largely in financial accounting, analysis and reporting, with senior accounting and business partner roles seeing a moderate occurrence in the market, offering salaries of <£50k to £85k. Effectively, movement at the £100k+ level remained intermittent with top drawer candidates becoming increasingly averse to risk, particularly after a heavy year of losses accumulated from a succession of natural disasters in 2011, which claimed a few senior scalps in the London market.

Outlook for 2013

The industry breathed a collective sigh of relief thanks to a non-eventual 10 month period across 2012 until Hurricane Sandy made headlines, ravaging the Caribbean and east coast of the US in late October. So far, reported “early estimates have pegged damage from Sandy between $10 billion and $20 billion. In comparison, Irene, which hit in August 2011, did about $4 billion in damage on the East Coast alone, and Connecticut insurers paid out $240 million in claims for damage”, according to the State Insurance Department.

Sector Overview - Insurance


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Outlook for 2013 continued

Analysts predict that eventual payouts in the aftermath will drive up insurance premiums considerably going far into 2013, although the comparatively robust and well-capitalised US primary insurers appear to have weathered most of the costs, softening the exposure for the core Lloyd’s of London players. Whilst of course it remains too early to calculate exact costs to the industry in the UK and its true impact on the finance and accountancy employment market, we can already expect a flat start to 2013 as a consequence of significant restructuring programmes across many of the European bancassurance giants in bids to shed costs.


Simon DudleyPrincipal Consultant Interim [email protected] 970 9681

Irene TsangConsultant Permanent [email protected] 970 9737

Sector Overview - Insurance






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UK Hospitality and Leisure Market

The UK and other western economies are going through a prolonged period of structural adjustment and relatively low growth and volatility is likely to persist. Against this disappointing backdrop, the London market has demonstrated remarkable resilience. This has been helped by one-off events such as the Olympics, but it also reveals a more fundamental strength that London’s status as one of leading global cities means it can attract people from all around the world, including those from emerging markets whose economies continue to prosper.

The sector will remain challenging in 2013, as the inevitable Olympic hangover kicks in.

In the UK regions, the picture is different. Here growth is more dependent on the domestic economy, which has been squeezed by high inflation and the aftermath of the financial crisis. Businesses have been unable to pass price increases through the market.

This two-speed economy – with a healthy London market but much weaker demand in the UK regions – looks set to persist in the “new normal” world.

Media

Media is a sector which employs circa 600,000 people according to one report which was published this year. We anticipate that this figure will have increased significantly coming to the close of 2012 with the sheer volume of recruitment that has been observed throughout 2012. Media is an ever changing and morphing sector undoubtedly driven by today’s latest technological advancements.

These technological advancements combined with the increased usage of smart phones has allowed traditional media organisations such as the BBC & ITV to branch out in new areas such as mobile and digitalisation in the form of apps and e-books for example.

Julian MiddletonSenior Consultant Interim [email protected] 970 9761

Amardeep ParmarConsultant Permanent [email protected] 970 9614

Sector Overview - Leisure, Media, Retail & Travel








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Media continued

The continued success and demand for products alongside these such as I-Player and On Demand has continued to provide opportunity in these new exciting areas of development in terms of employment.

We have also noted an increase of SME organisations supporting the sector especially in the areas of big data, analytics and informatics. With the sector moving into a new digital era the amount of information processed by organisations is actually harbouring a wealth of commercial and insightful information waiting to be deciphered by such organisations. The emergence of this type of company has proved healthy for employment within the sector and promotes the demand for highly analytical accountants.

Salaries within the media sector have maintained a healthy stance from 2011 figures and have seen slight increases too especially within commercially orientated roles. While a lack of opportunity at the top of the hierarchy has been noted across all sectors recruitment remains healthy in the mid-senior levels with strong prospects for 2013.

UK Retail Market

2012, in general, has been no different from the previous 4 years with the status quo being exceptionally challenging across the retail market. With some key brands facing some particularly difficult periods, such as Clinton Cards, JJB Sports and more recently Comet, the question has been raised on numerous occasions about what the future will hold for UK retailers.

Undoubtedly this is the age of the multi channel retailer and with E-commerce being one of the fastest growing markets in Europe this is a key focus for most businesses. However, the High Street is by no means lost and consumers do still seem to enjoy the tangible feel of browsing through stores seeing products they can touch, play with or try on, and there seems to be a trend developing where experiential marketing is coming to the forefront and visiting the shops is becoming a great deal more than just looking at the products on show.


Andrew HallamAssociate Director Hotels, Permanent [email protected] 970 9796





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UK Retail Market continued

Food is an area that continues to grow, with the trend continuing to be to dine at home rather than to eat out, which has seen an increase in grocery sales across the board. Consumers are looking to make savings wherever possible and the true winners are the low cost brands who are seeing their market share continue to grow.

Overall the sector has seen a challenging year where there have been some casualties, however there have definitely been some brands that have gone from strength to strength. The Summer events of the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games unfortunately don’t seem to have had the impact that was originally predicted which could, in part, be attributed to the unusually wet summer months.

Moving into the next year the prospects would appear to be more of the same, with retailers needing to remain flexible and to look at different strategies that can heighten the shopping experience as well as further developing their online presence. With H1 looking to continue to prove difficult, the general consensus is that things will begin to lift towards the backend of the year as the wider economy starts to stabilise and consumer confidence begins to lift.



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Not-for-Profit / Public Sector

Many finance functions across the wider Public and Not for profit sectors have spent the past few years supporting cost reduction programmes and driving through operational efficiencies with new finance models resulting in a subdued recruitment market. The second half of 2012 has seen a slight increase in activity as Finance Leaders see the opportunity to renew their focus on how to add value to their organisation by becoming more effective strategic partners.

PSD has seen the Public Sector increasing its capability in finance business partnering to provide a better support and decision making function enabling organisations to achieve challenging future objectives. The government sector will continue to see more Shared Service Centre being established undertaking the more routine and transactional tasks freeing up space for more Commercial focused individuals. Outsourcing to the private sector will be key and PSD has already seen an increasing demand for Commercial Finance and Bid Modellers in the BPO sector as the Public Sector increases its tendering activity.

Recruitment into the sector will remain relatively slow throughout 2013 as Finance Leaders manage the transition process. The wider sector will continue to see further redundancies and limited prospects for salary increases which in turn will make attracting commercial candidates to the sector challenging.

Peter HardyManaging Director Permanent [email protected] 970 9701


Daniel BoltonAssociate Director Permanent & Interim [email protected] 234 0364

Sector Overview - Not-for-Profit & Public Sector

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Professional Services

The outlook for a lot of organisations within the Professional Services sector during 2012 has been overall a positive one mixed with changing strategy to adapt to new revenue streams and changing regulations.

Within the legal market there has been structural change as deregulation encourages new entrants to the market and this has led to greater competition between firms as clients have a greater choice. The legal services act has introduced opportunities for capital raising which will result in business model change and law firm mergers and acquisitions as UK / Western firms seek to increase their scale and global coverage with buoyant activity in Asia.

Within the global consulting industry revenues have been good this year as demand remains strong for external assistance to help organisations through it seems continual business change. Firms appear happy to sign off for consulting fees if they can see the benefits of their services and adding value to their bottom line whether it be by cost reduction exercises, restructuring, or, helping develop strategy to take advantage of high potential revenue streams. Revenue from M&A activity though remains weak with the uncertain economic trading conditions within the UK and Eurozone still with us.

Accountancy firms have generally had a positive year with the big 4 firms enjoying good trading conditions especially in the first half of 2012 and there has been continued expansion of staff across these businesses within the UK despite weaker demand from the financial services sector. Within finance functions, there seems to have been an appetite for candidates with good commercial finance skills where they can have a visible impact on supporting the business strategy.

The major firms also still face uncertainty with the Competition Commission to publish their findings on UK audit market concentration with suggestions of the big firms having to mandatorily rotate audits and separate their consulting and audit businesses.

Steve MaleyAssociate Director Permanent [email protected] 970 9718

Julian Middleton Senior Consultant Interim [email protected] 970 9761


Sector Overview - Professional Services











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Commercial Development & Real Estate Fund & Investment Management

2012 has once again proved challenging for the commercial property sector. There have continued to be some high profile development projects completed and the launch of the Shard of Glass in London was greeted well by the public at large as an example of what can be achieved even in these tricky economic times. However many companies have reported difficult trading conditions, not least those involved in the retail sector, where the demise of several high street names has caused issues with occupancy levels and therefore, overall returns.

Nonetheless commercial developers have, in the main, strong balance sheets and the will to develop further schemes across office, business space and retail continues to be strong. Those with the right funding in place continue to show innovation and the resulting schemes are often extremely effective. Commercial developers continue to diversify and the bigger businesses such as British Land and Land Securities are focusing increasing resources onto residential and mixed use schemes. This partially driven by planning implications, but also by the continued demand for city and town centre dwelling. There are some fascinating mixed use projects that will hopefully start seeing the light of day in the next 12 months notably Battersea Power Station. The emphasis for commercial developers still remains London and the South East.

It has been a tougher year for the real estate fund management businesses. They have continued to do deals but on a limited scale, caused in the main by the obvious difficulty of raising money. However student housing schemes have been popular and there have been several other major transactions created by what is always an innovative and creative sector. The sheer number of real estate fund & investment management businesses is impressive and they continue to raise funds through private equity and institutional investment. There has been a trend for businesses to look at debt funds as a potential new revenue stream but so far there has been more talk than action, not surprisingly given the difficulty in raising this type of finance.

Peter HardyManaging Director [email protected] 0207 970 9701

Daniel Bolton Associate Director Permanent [email protected] 234 0364

David Howard-JonesSenior ConsultantInterim [email protected] 970 9650

Sector Overview - Property & Construction







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Commercial Development & Real Estate Fund & Investment Management continued

2013 looks as though a quiet improvement will occur in the market sentiment but the main threats remain a further meltdown in the Eurozone and the potential flooding of the market by banks eager to reduce the number of toxic assets that they hold.

Main Contracting

2012 has proved to be another flat year for the construction sector with many organisations reporting a further fall in workloads. Q2 2012 saw total volume fall by almost 4% against Q1 2012 and almost 10% against the same period in 2011(ONS). New work has also fallen by over 12% against 2011 figures (ONS).

Total output forecast for the sector in 2012 is predicted to decline by 5.9% (Leading Edge July 2012). Whilst output has improved recently, the figures have been blighted by very poor output in January and February 2012 following on from a poor December 2011. Over the next two years, construction output is forecast to grow, albeit, slowly mainly due to further public spending cuts. There is still concern for many construction companies with regards to forward order books and those that are at greater exposure across Europe and the US. Margins have remained pretty constant across construction and services and look set to do so going into 2013. The government is looking to grow the construction sector with the Government Funded Construction Pipeline including £40bn of projects and programmes over the next 4 years but the outlook is pessimistic across the sector and many are fearful of another bleak year.

Unemployment in the main has remained stable and there appears to be no real sign of growth . Outlook over the next 12 months is that unemployment will rise across the sector as the spending cuts implemented and to be implemented take hold. There have been fewer opportunities across the sector in 2012, as was to be expected, as companies are working hard to retain key staff and skills.

Sector Overview - Property & Construction


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Residential Development

With many organisations having chartered their way through the difficult waters of recent years, 2012 has seen some improved sentiment towards the sector. Many of the leading residential developers have posted an increase in completions, reservations and cancellations have remained the same or reduced.

Whilst house prices outside of London have remained flat or shown a decrease, many organisations have managed to raise margins through further cutting costs or improving the specification to raise the average selling price.

Businesses have had to adapt and many have sought a haven in the capital with London continuing to provide growth within the sector. Much of this is backed by foreign investment which has seen over 70% of sales in Q3 2012 bought as cash purchases.

The cost of buying in and around the city has also led to a rise in rental yield, with many professionals unable to afford to purchase a home in the capital. This is leading to a greater shift towards the build-to-let market to capitalise on those unable to afford to buy their home.

There has been some success reported through the government’s first buy, new buy and shared ownership schemes which have helped to bridge the gap and entice buyers to market. The new buy scheme, whilst having mixed reviews, has recently passed the 2000 reservations mark and is clearly a much needed scheme.

Many housebuilders have started to replenish and increase their land banks and with The National Planning Policy Framework introduced earlier in the year, it may help to cut through some of the difficulties previously faced around planning. There are, as ever, issues surrounding this but if approached sensibly there is every chance it could be a success.

Lending is, as ever, one of the key issues holding back the sector. Smaller housebuilders have really felt the pinch and have seen their market share reduce considerably. Larger housebuilders or mixed-use developers have in the main experienced the opposite and grown their market share. With demand for homes still high, it is critical that finance is made available to build new schemes and improve lending to homebuyers to enable them to make their purchase and help stimulate the sector.

Sector Overview - Residential Development


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Residential Development continued

Salaries within the sector remain constant although bonuses have started to be paid out again. There is a realisation amongst accountants within the sector that they were well rewarded when the market was buoyant and are more realistic about their current value in this climate. Candidates are starting to move again although recruitment has been quite flat across the sector in 2013.

Market sentiment across the sector is certainly more positive than this time last year and housebuilders in general are cautiously going about expanding their businesses again, albeit primarily in the South.

David Howard-JonesSenior Consultant Interim [email protected] 970 9650

Daniel BoltonAssociate Director Permanent [email protected] 234 0364

Sector Overview - Residential Development








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Technology and IT Services

There have been a number of major changes in the world of Technology and IT services in the past couple of years during what has obviously been an extremely turbulent time for the economy. While 2011 was a step back in the right direction in terms of the volume and level of opportunity on offer 2012 has seen more challenging circumstances return . PSD has noticed the number of opportunities at the mid level (£40-70k) has remained strong while at the senior level the market has been quieter. Whilst certain clients have been adding head count over the course of the year there are organisations which have not been in a position to recruit. Another observation is that the length of time that it is taking for decisions to be made has been longer with clients being more demanding around the blend of skills required to fill positions.

Many clients have undergone or continue to undergo major restructures of both their businesses and finance teams. Finance recruitment has perhaps suffered more than certain areas as it is not seen as a revenue generating area in the way that certain other functions are and thus it appears that it is not always straightforward to get sign off or budget approval for these roles. Many finance directors have commented that workloads have increased, with business heads requiring more Management Information and there has been a strong focus to ensure financial controls are tight. One area that seems to be slightly busier that others is the F P & A function as businesses tentatively return to look at the planning and analysis cycle that would have been in progress before the economy and businesses started to suffer.

Despite the lower volume of opportunities there is actually a strong network of quality candidates readily available in both operational and commercial functions. We are finding that headhunting and search work is the best way to locate the most relevant candidates in the market and are completing more of this activity to meet client demands. As a result our candidate networking and relationship building is still a key focus and will become increasingly important as our clients retain and win new business.

We expect hiring levels to increase throughout the year as organisations slowly recover confidence in the market and the act of spend on recruitment is approached with less caution. Salary levels have broadly remained the same and we do not expect this to change markedly in 2013.

Telecommunications

There have been a number of major changes in the world of telecommunications in the past couple of years during what has obviously been an extremely turbulent time for the economy. While 2011 was a step back in the right direction in terms of the volume and level of opportunity on offer 2012 has seen more challenging circumstances return.

Sector Overview - Technology & Communication


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Telecommunications continued

PSD has noticed the number of opportunities at the mid level (£40-70k) has remained strong while at the senior level the market has been quieter. Whilst certain clients in the telecommunications space have been adding head count over the course of the year there are organisations which have not been in a position to recruit. Another observation is that the length of time that it is taking for decisions to be made has been longer with clients being more demanding around the blend of skills required to fill positions.

Many clients have undergone or continue to undergo major restructures of both their businesses and finance teams. Finance recruitment has perhaps suffered more than certain areas as it is not seen as a revenue generating area in the way that certain other functions are and thus it appears that it is not always straightforward to get sign off or budget approval for these roles. Many finance directors have commented that workloads have increased, with business heads requiring more Management Information and there has been a strong focus to ensure financial controls are tight. One area that seems to be slightly busier that others is the F P & A function as businesses tentatively return to look at the planning and analysis cycle that would have been in progress before the economy and businesses started to suffer.

Despite the lower volume of opportunities there is actually a strong network of quality candidates readily available in both operational and commercial functions. We are finding that headhunting and search work is the best way to locate the most relevant candidates in the market and are completing more of this activity to meet client demands. As a result our candidate networking and relationship building is still a key focus and will become increasingly important as our clients retain and win new business.

We expect hiring levels to increase throughout the year as organisations slowly recover confidence in the market and the act of spend on recruitment is approached with less caution. Salary levels have broadly remained the same and we do not expect this to change markedly in 2013.

Jolyon O’Reilly Consultant Interim [email protected] 970 9607

Matthew DallatSenior Consultant Permanent [email protected] 970 9752

Sector Overview - Technology & Communication

mailto:jolyon.oreilly%40psdgroup.com?subject=Response%20from%20Salary%20Survey



mailto:matthew.dallat%40psdgroup.com?subject=Response%20from%20Salary%20Survey




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PSD surveyed over 4000 Finance Directors across all sectors. The responses provided the following results.

Question 1: In 2013 do you envisage your company to:

Question 2: What do you expect your headcount plans to be in 2013?

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Question 3: What do you feel will be the biggest challenges you will encounter in 2013?

Question 4: What do you feel most attracts employees to your business?

The results provide a positive outlook. Not surprisingly, macro economics is the biggest concern across the UK for 2013. 55.6% of those surveyed are expecting their business to grow in 2013 and as a result headcount is also anticipated to rise. Compared with the 2012 survey 62.9% of those surveyed are looking to in-crease headcount or recruit to replace, compared with 47% in 2012. Only 18.5% are looking to reduce headcount in 2013 compared with 28% in 2012. No clients predict a recruitment freeze, whereas 12% expected this to be the case in 2012.

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The salary range is a guide across all sectors. There will be anomalies that would result in working outside of the bandings provided. For in-depth bespoke salary advice, it is recommended that you contact the specialist consultant for your sector.

London Newly Qualified 2-5 years PQE 6 years+ PQE Contract/Interim

Group Finance Director/CFO N/A N/A £110-350k £750-2000

Finance Director N/A N/A £78-190k £500-1000

Financial Controller/Head of Finance N/A £50-80k £65-120k £350-800

FP&A Manager N/A £50-75k £62-93k £300-500

Finance Manager N/A £47-65k £55-71k £250-400

Project/Systems Accountant £40-48k £45-65k £55-65k £250-400

Financial/Business Analyst £40-48k £45-63k £55-65k £250-400

Management/Financial Accountant £40-48k £45-55k £55-62k £250-350

Head of Audit N/A N/A £90-200k £500-1400

Manager N/A £52-65k £55-74k £300-450

IT Audit Manager N/A £54-70k £62-82k £300-450

IT Auditor N/A £50-60k £60-70k £275-450

Auditor £40-50k £45-60k £50-65k £250-350

The South Newly Qualified 2-5 years PQE 6 years+ PQE Contract/Interim




FP&A Manager N/A £50-67k £60-85k £300-500

Finance Manager £40-45k £45-60k £50-65k £250-350





Manager N/A £50-62k £54-71k £300-400


IT Auditor N/A £45-56k £60-70k £275-400

Auditor £38-46k £45-56k £50-62k £250-325

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North & Midlands Newly Qualified 2-5 years PQE 6 years+ PQE Contract/Interim




FP&A Manager N/A £50-63k £60-72k £300-450

Finance Manager £35-45k £40-50k £45-55k £250-300





Manager N/A £45-60k £55-67k £275-350


IT Auditor N/A £40-50k £50-60k £250-325

Auditor £35-45k £40-50k £50-55k £250-275

Question: How much has your basic salary increased in the last twelve months?

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Question: Do you expect your salary to increase over the next twelve months?

Question: What was your last bonus as a % of basic salary?


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Question: How much has your daily rate increased over the past twelve months?

Question: Do you expect your daily rate to increase over the next twelve months?


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Question: How positive do you feel about employment prospects should you decide to move?

Question: Are you considering a move at the moment?

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PSD Overview

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UNITED KINGDOM

London Manchester Haywards Heath

28 Essex Street 2nd Floor, Abbey House 21 Perrymount RoadLondon 74 Mosley Street Haywards HeathWC2R 3AT Manchester M2 3LW West Sussex RH16 3TP

+ 44 (0)207 970 9700 +44 (0)161 234 0300 +44 (0)1293 802 000

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

GERMANY

Frankfurt Munich PSD Group GmbH PSD Group GmbHGoetheplatz 4 Sendlinger Straße 7 60311 Frankfurt 80331 München

+ 49 (0)69 1381 360 + 49 (0)89 189 8570

[email protected] [email protected]

ASIA

Hong Kong Shanghai 5107,Central Plaza 27F, Room 2718-20No.18 Harbour Road 381 Huai Hai Middle Road Wanchai Shanghai Central PlazaHong Kong Shanghai 200020 China

+ 852 2531 2200 +86 21 6391 6060

[email protected] [email protected]

Office Locations

We operate from seven locations in the UK, Europe and Asia.