eFinancialCareers

Scotland, quite simply, can’t get enough accountants, and is looking to more and more exotic locales to attract talent.

Poland, which has long been touted as the answer to the UK’s employee shortfall, is predictably on the list. However, Scottish firms are also turning to Australia, New Zealand, Russia, mainland Europe and Africa.

Chiene + Tait, an Edinburgh-based accountancy firm, says it’s been forced to look overseas for candidates in some hard-to-fill areas, like risk advisory or business support.

“Every appointment we make is on merit when seeking the best person for the job, whatever their nationality,” says Kenny McDowell, a partner in the firm. “We have found, however, that going further afield has helped us to recruit the best people where there is a shortage in a particular skill area at home.”

Liz Jackson, HR director at Scottish accountancy firm Henderson Loggie, has reached the same conclusion: “Most employers are finding that the war for talent is getting harder every year. To ensure that we continue to attract the best candidates with the right skill set, we decided to look further afield.”

Scotland’s Fresh Talent initiative has an important part to play in this scenario. It aims to position Scotland as an attractive destination for foreign talent, and has so far succeeded in attracting a number of qualified accountants from the Asian sub-continent, reckons Steve Shields, manager financial services, at recruiters Badenoch & Clark.