Demand for accountants has been hit by the recession, but there are signs that the worst could be over.

This is in line with the Monster Employment Index for April, which showed a 1% increase in the sector, although year-on-year there was a 34% decline.

However, while some recruiters have noticed signs of the market picking up, overall a surfeit of good candidates means that employers remain in the box seat.

James Girdling, a consultant at Grainger West, told Recruiter there were fewer jobs around than last year. “Clients are holding out for the exact type of candidate they want - whether that be a specific skill set, or that they lived in a particular location,” said Girling.

However, new opportunities are emerging, particularly in the public sector, where the introduction of the International Financial Reporting Standard is boosting demand.

Girling said the market for contract staff had not picked up during the recession as he had anticipated. “Some clients are finding it difficult to get the budget for contract staff, and would rather hold on to the quality staff they have got.”

Richard Morgan, manager of Northern Recruitment Group’s finance division, told Recruiter that while the number of vacancies in the North East had declined, the quality had improved. “The organisations which are in a position to recruit are the best organisations, which are looking for the best people to lead their growth,” said Morgan. Sectors still recruiting strongly for accountants in the North East were public sector, defence, scientific, pharmaceutical, and oil & gas.

Morgan said uncertainty in the market had changed candidates’ priorities. “A year ago the first priority was salary, now the first priority is job security,” he said.

Roy Duncan, of RG Duncan Accountancy Recruitment, told Recruiter: “Because of redundancies, we are finding that we have more high quality candidates on our database. It is taking longer for them to find a suitable position and as a result they are often more flexible in their salary requirements.”

Mark Hamilton, a spokesperson at professional services firm KPMG, said the recruitment of experienced accountants had picked up significantly since the beginning of 2008, though it was still lower than pre-credit crunch levels. “The business needs to be able to show a clear business and strategic reason to recruit that person,” he added.

Alex Callister, a director of Trial Balance Consulting, based in Cornwall, told Recruiter: “Generally it is business as usual,” with a noticeable pick-up in demand for accountants in both the commercial and practice side of the business. “This is especially in the manufacturing and service sectors which had seen the biggest problems,” he added.

Gareth Davage, managing director of Michael Page Finance - London and North, told Recruiter that businesses with a turnover of between £10m and £300m were looking to up-skill staff at the top of their organisations. “In some cases they are prepared to pay 10% more to up-skill their finance director, group director, finance director,” said Davage.

Tony Osude, head of professional development at the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) said employers were doing their best to hold onto staff because they wanted to avoid the cost of rehiring when the market picks up. This was especially the case for the top 10% performers, added Davage.

In the longer term, global demand for qualified accountants looks set to rise. According to research by ACCA, two thirds of chief financial officers, partners and senior accountants expected demand to increase over the next five years

While recruitment of accountants has undoubtedly been hit by the downturn, there are signs that the market has stabilised. And in the longer term, the market looks set expand.