4 in 10 Accountancy and Finance professionals in Asia open to new career opportunities
Malaysia, 5 June 2024 - Hays, the global leader in workforce solutions and specialist recruitment investigated the latest trends driving accountancy and finance professionals today.
The 2024 Hays Asia Salary Guide which surveyed 8,525 skilled professionals and 3,089 employers throughout Asia revealed that 35% of accountancy and finance professionals were seeking a change of organisation while remaining within the same role or industry. 31% of respondents sought a promotion or a change of role within their current company, while 43% were open to new opportunities.
Natasha Ishak, Regional Director at Hays Malaysia, commented: “Our research into employee motivations showed that a desire to seek new challenges was the main reason professionals were looking for new opportunities.
With the availability of roles and qualified talent currently balanced within the Malaysian market, candidates have the opportunity to grow beyond their current roles. Be sure to stay abreast of current trends affecting your industries, as they may provide indicators as to where efforts for improvement may best bear fruit, especially when it comes to the acquisition of new skills.”
- Managing data today is a crucial skill. As the need for accurate analysis grows more pertinent, more candidates are expected to be familiar with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.
- Workplace transformations brought about by the introduction of new technology will require talented change managers to ensure smooth transitions as businesses look to move away from legacy processes.
- Foreign language roles are in high demand, especially for Thai and Vietnamese speakers capable of facilitating communications between stakeholders across language barriers.
2024's Most In-Demand Accountancy and Finance Roles in Malaysia
With the economy returning to normal after the pandemic, businesses are more optimistic in hiring senior finance leaders to assist in growing the business, shifting the mindset from survival mode to thriving in the industry. As a senior leader in finance teams, this role oversees the financial activities and operations of an organisation.
This role spearheads initiatives to enhance and optimise shared service operations within an organisation. Responsibilities typically include analysing existing Shared Service Centre (SSC) processes, identifying opportunities for improvement and standardization, and implementing changes to streamline operations and increase efficiency.
Due to cost, more SSC are being setup in Malaysia to support other regions, with demands for foreign language speakers with combined technical skill requirements. Examples of roles include Engineers fluent in Japanese, Internal Control fluent in Japanese and Supply Chain Executives fluent in Korean.
Talent with Mergers & Acquisition experience are in demand as more organisations are buying and selling their businesses. Especially after the pandemic, companies are picking up from where they left.
Talent with Mergers & Acquisition experience are in demand as more organisations are buying and selling their businesses. Especially after the pandemic, companies are picking up from where they left.
As companies focus on strategy and growth, the role of an FP&A Manager has been supercharged to become a support function for businesses looking beyond basic finance functions to act as a Finance Business Partner.
Increase in demand for Treasury Managers, particularly Regional Treasury Managers in Malaysia are due to the widening of function coverage in SSC finance teams and expanding presence of local MNCs. This role manages financial assets, liabilities, and liquidity of an organisation.
The main backbone of a business operation. Their presence helps to ensure the quality and clarity of the financial reporting as well as effective operation. These skilled professionals can navigate complexities, ensuring the quality and clarity of financial reporting as well as effective operations.
With business focusing more on the commercial and strategy aspects of finance, finance leaders are setting up FP&A divisions within their teams which contributes towards the growth of FP&A talent. This role analyses financial data, trends, and performance metrics to provide insights and recommendations to support decision-making within an organisation.
Finance Managers play a critical role in a finance team especially in being able to manage the day-to-day operations to ensure smooth functioning of a finance function within an organisation. This includes overseeing financial planning, analysis, and reporting, as well as evaluating investment opportunities and capital allocation decisions.
More details regarding accountancy and finance trends and associated in-demand jobs in Malaysia can be found in The Inside Story of Accountancy & Finance 2024. Download your copy here.
Hays Malaysia Marketing Team
T: +603 7890 6234
E: Marketing@hays.com.my
About Hays Malaysia
Agensi Pekerjaan Hays (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd ("Hays Malaysia") is one of the leading specialist recruitment companies in Malaysia in recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people across a wide range of industries and professions. We provide mid to senior level recruitment services across both finance and commerce industries. We have become known as the experts in sourcing regional and global candidates, as well as returning Malaysians.
Hays has been in Malaysia since 2012 and boasts a track record of success and growth, with two operating offices located in KLCC and Sunway. At Hays in Malaysia, we operate across the private and public sector, dealing in permanent positions, and workforce solutions such as recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) in the following specialisms: Accountancy & Finance, Banking & Financial Services, Construction, Engineering, Human Resources, Insurance, Legal, Life Sciences, Marketing & Digital, Procurement, Supply Chain, Sales and Technology. We continue to strengthen our position in Asia with the world-leading ISO 9001:2015 certification in all our operational markets including Malaysia, China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Singapore, and Thailand.
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As at 31 December 2023, the Group employed over 12,300 staff operating from 249 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2023:
– the Group reported net fees of £1,294.6 million and operating profit of £197.0 million;
– the Group placed around 76,800 candidates into permanent jobs and around 245,000 people into temporary roles;
– 15% of Group net fees were generated in Australia & New Zealand, 30% in Germany, 21% in United Kingdom & Ireland and 34% in Rest of World (RoW);
– the temporary placement business represented 57% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 43% of net fees;
– Technology is the Group’s largest division, with 26% of net fees, while Accountancy & Finance (15%) and Engineering (10%), are the next largest
– Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, the UK and the USA
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