Accountancy suffering from lack of recruits despite record entries

Signs for situations vacant have become commonplace in the Republic's shops and restaurants. But it is not just low-skilled, low-pay jobs that are suffering from a supply shortage. The Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) may have just taken on its record intake of trainees, but it is still not enough to fulfill the appetites of rapidly growing accountancy firms.

In the past students would accept low training salaries in order to have the security and opportunity of becoming a chartered account when there was a lack of career alternatives. These days, the ICAI receives daily calls from firms looking for more students, and is unable to oblige.

"Ten years ago accountancy firms had their own way in terms of recruiting the cream of Irish business graduates," says Geoffrey Perrin head of personnel at KPMG. This year KPMG has recruited 163 trainees, and whilst he says it hasn't got more difficult, he concedes that it is getting harder to recruit the "quality 5 or 10 per cent".

Boomtime in Ireland has meant a surge in the salaries being offered to graduates. The average starting salary for a business graduate is about £15,000, with those holding a post-graduate qualification able to get over £17,000. For the talented student starting salaries of over £25,000 are not unheard of on some floors of the IFSC.

All this has made the rates offered to accountancy trainees look less attractive. UCD careers officer Mr Colm Tobin has been lobbying accountancy firms over the past few years to increase their salaries, and warns that unless it happens firms will find students voting with their feet and taking their talents elsewhere. A recent survey by Finance magazine showing that fee income amongst the top 25 firms has risen by £330 million in the past year suggests these are increases firms could easily afford.

Over the last year many firms have started to take these warnings on board. The big five now offer trainees about £10,000, with at least one firm offering over £12,000 to the better qualified applicants. They argue that the fact recruits have their exam and teaching fees paid by the firms and receive study leave on top of that, means they are receiving a good deal.

Ms Eileen Ryan director of human resources at PricewaterhouseCoopers, who plans to recruit over 130 accountancy trainees this year, says "there is a danger of people seeing the starting salary as uncompetitive, but you can't compare it because of the significant periods of study leave and the fact that you receive a professional qualification".

An interesting comparison can be made with the situation in London, where the same five firms start their trainees on at least £18,000 with similar study leave and fees paid. These high figures are due to pressure from investment banks and management consultancies on graduate salaries. As Dublin living costs continue to rise and firms continue to face pressure from other graduate-hungry businesses, there is every likelihood that similar figures will soon be seen here.

Whilst the big firms are still able to fill their growing quotas for trainees, their huge appetite for recruiting staff has made it more difficult for small and medium sized firms. Mr Niall O'Neill of Howarth Bastow Charleton says that they have had problems getting people. Last year they recruited 14 trainees, and this year were looking for 16 - so far they have only been able to find 10 of a suitable calibre, and this is despite raising their training salary by 25 per cent.

In response to the problem the ICAI has reopened the option to start training for an accountancy qualification on leaving school. The scheme allows school leavers with at least 360 points to enter into a five-year training contract with a firm, which would allow them to qualify a year quicker than they would if they had gone to college and then started training.

Mr Fergal McCormack of Dundalk and Newry practice FPM has already recruited a trainee in this way. Far from being a college no-hoper this student gained 3 A grades at A-level and had every chance of going to university. Mr McCormack started as a one-man practice in 1991 and now employs 22 people.

"Graduates have a far greater choice if they want to pursue a career in business these days, and we have to fight for our share," says Mr Brian Walsh chief executive of the ICAI. "What we really have to do is get the message across that in the long term chartered accountancy is the best business qualification, but it is sometimes difficult to do when there are these short term attractions."