More of a third of British companies hiring staff are facing difficulties finding suitably trained senior finance and accountancy executives, survey finds.

More of a third of British companies hiring staff are facing difficulties finding suitably trained senior finance and accountancy executives, survey finds.

The survey by recruiter Poolia, which contacted 70 UK businesses of a range of sizes, finds that of the 30 per cent who plan to increase headcount next year, many say they are struggling to fill vacancies because of a lack of experienced candidates.

In a sign companies are feeling more positive about the economic climate, the survey shows that 57 per cent expect revenue growth next year.

But in companies which are recruiting, finding a trained transactional clerk is proving the most difficult, with 40 per cent saying they are having difficulties, while 38 per cent find it hard to hire suitably qualified mangers.

Part-qualified accountants are the next toughest role to fill followed by qualified accounts.

Less than 5 per cent of surveyed companies rate finance and accountancy job candidates a nine or a ten, where ten is ‘very high quality’, and almost a quarter find the majority of interviewees a four or five.

Despite the staff shortage, finance and accounting workers face more lay-offs next year, with 17 per cent of companies surveyed planning redundancies in their departments – the same level as last year.