Upsurge in accounting salaries, skills needed in data visualization and SME insight analysis

As the AFR recently noted, we’re still seeing the war for Australian accounting talent is becoming increasingly fierce.

At the smaller end of the town, in the suburbs and the regional areas, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to compete with the larger salaries being offered by the bigger firms. One recent article mentioned “raids” of smaller firms by bigger companies, often enticing workers away with massive promises – massive pay rises and lucrative career progression.

So employers are offering a 10 per cent to 12 per cent salary increase across the board in order to keep pace with inflation and compete against the heightened demand for finance talent. So your firm should at least be considering a 10-12% increase in salary just to keep current workers from jumping out of compliance into other financial jobs.

There has been suggestion of a transfer fee or some compensation, for the smaller firm that has invested significant resources in hiring and training these accountants. As the article noted: Without staff, good trained staff, small to medium-sized accounting businesses cannot do their work.

The AFR mentioned across many finance and accounting roles, businesses are seeking professionals with a blend of strong data analysis and predictive analysis skills with commercial acumen. Software mentioned includes powerbi and tableau.

Digitisation, data, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) analytics are not only transforming the [finance] industry, and due to the unprecedented growth in technology there is an ever-increasing need for fintech specialists, with the source of fintech specialists logically coming from those with a financial background.

Also, at the same time, there is a significant demand for cyber security specialists, and the TPB has recently recognised the critical nature of this training as well as updating the insurance security guidelines to include PI insurance. There have been several mentions of cyber security in recent TPB videos, including this one on privacy and securing personal information.

The ongoing retention of Australian accounting staff should include the requirement to not only upskill in areas of data analysis, but also in cyber security. Unfortunately, with limited Australian accounting compliance resources in many firms, this increased spreading of resources into other areas can only mean less time spent on compliance work.

If you’d like to chat more about how Odyssey can assist with your compliance work please drop us a note.

All related articles

Share this article