It is a basic movement. Companies increasingly need accountants. They are increasingly calling on accounting firms and this has consequences for employment. In 2000, 117,000 people worked in the branch. Twenty years later, in 2020, there were 155,000. They will be 165,000 in just three years, in 2025. By this date, the profession should have found 30,000 new employees. Because if there are retirements, of course, there are also job creations: the sector will create 13,000 new jobs by 2025, according to the latest figures released this morning by the Observatory professions of accountancy, (Omeca) statutory auditors and audit(Omeca).
These professions have trouble attracting candidates, especially young people. In question a bad image, antiquated, of these trades, whereas they are on the contrary in full evolution. One would have thought that digitization would have caused job losses in this sector. It’s quite the opposite, explains Corinne Barrez, the president of Omeca. If accountants do less data entry and filing, they focus on analysis, and do jobs with higher added value.
As a result, we fight over the candidates. Corinne Barrez told us that in her firm, employees were called every day by recruiters. All accounting firms are in the recruitment phase, she says. The competition is fierce. There is, she says, a real turmoil in the market. Mobility is very easy: the labor market in these professions is clearly in favor of candidates.
The lack of attractiveness is not due to wages because last year they were revalued by 2.9% and this year, the negotiation has just been concluded, by 4.5%. The profession also relies, to attract candidates, on working conditions, with teleworking offered very widely by firms. The profession also trains its employees. And for good reason: there is an increasing need for specialist accountants in a given area of activity, who do more and more business consulting and analysis, and less administration.