GLOBAL | Job-Hunters
The Overseas A-List
Global hotspots for career advancement—and what to learn while you’re there.
By Selena Chavis
The early bird catches the worm, as they say. And it’s no secret that accounting professionals striving to stay relevant will take the initiative to arm themselves with IFRS knowledge and a global mindset sooner rather than later.
Who better to teach professionals the inner workings of IFRS than markets and economies that have worked under these guidelines for years? Industry professionals suggest that one of the best moves accounting professionals can make is to take an overseas assignment and learn the standards firsthand.
“The key here is deep knowledge. It’s knowledge of the differences between IFRS and US GAAP that matter,” says Belverd E. Needles, Ph.D., CPA, an Ernst and Young Distinguished Professor of Accounting at DePaul University, former chair of the Illinois CPA Society and a recent appointee to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Consultative Group to the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards on Accounting and Reporting. “International experience cannot hurt anyone. People who have worked in Europe for five years are coming back to very important positions in the United States.”
Industry experts agree, however, that it’s more than a sense of urgency over IFRS that’s inspiring interest in overseas engagements. It’s also about the global movement of business and a shift across US companies to a more global perspective.
According to Steven Lewis, division director for the Chicago office of Robert Half Finance & Accounting, the formula is very simple—companies want to hire professionals with a broad-based understanding of world cultures, and professionals who want the best jobs need to have these skills to land on the cutting edge.
“You don’t want to have too many people thinking the same way. You need different cultural viewpoints,” Lewis explains. “International experience certainly can’t hurt.”
Consider current initiatives underway at Grant Thornton. Named as executive director of Global HR Strategy three years ago, Laurie Kalman is part of a strategic effort to develop and integrate the firm’s employees, encompassing 99 member firms and 30,000 people. Kalman explains that as the firm examined its strategic roadmap for the future, the stress on global leadership became evermore obvious.
“We are rapidly shifting from a network of autonomous firms into a more cohesive global organization,” she says. “Grant Thornton is undergoing a largescale transformation to become a clear employer of choice.”
As part of that strategy, the firm is looking for talent that has both relevant technical skills and cultural diversity. “We are looking for people who have a global mindset and can lend a global perspective,” she emphasizes. “We need people who are not just technically excellent but culturally sensitive. As professionals service global clients, they need to be able to reach beyond borders.”
The first step for accounting professionals, says Needles, is to look for assignments in locations that already have a strong IFRS footprint. Currently, in fact, more than 100 countries across the globe have IFRS in play, and many others are heading in that direction.
“Clearly, the major economies are going that way,” Needles notes, pointing to newcomers like Canada and Brazil. “Globally, there is a real need in this area.”
Europe and Australia are good starting points for solid IFRS experience, since both have had IFRS in place since 2005, Needles adds. Remember, too, that English is spoken across both locations.
“If a young person were able to get an assignment in Europe or Australia for four to six years, it would be a very valuable thing,” Needles explain. Individuals with overseas experience, he says, often find they have an advantage over their incountry counterparts because they are equipped with global experience, possess substantial company knowledge and have the skills to advance new projects.
The 2009-10 Robert Half Global Financial Employment Monitor reports a number of key findings regarding talent demand globally. Overall, the survey of 4,800 accounting and finance professionals in 21 countries found that 56 percent of respondents were facing difficulty in finding skilled talent. The report concluded that hiring challenges remain especially acute in Asia, as 86 percent of managers in Hong Kong, 73 percent in Japan and 72 percent in Singapore cited difficulty filling accounting and finance positions.
Demand in Europe varied widely as 40 percent of managers in Ireland expressed difficulty, while 65 percent in Spain, Italy and France reported frustrations. Austrian managers reported trouble finding tax and treasury professionals as the highest percentage for any single category. In Brazil, 79 percent of managers reported difficulty locating skilled talent, the highest percentage of any country outside of Asia. Res-pondents from Brazil also reported the most challenges hiring financial management and financial and business analysis professionals.
Since globalization goes both ways, international companies planning to expand in the United States also will be seeking out firms and professionals who have a keen understanding of IFRS. As Lewis explains, “European companies with US subsidiaries previously couldn’t find talent to match needed skill sets. Going forward, it will mean expanded opportunities for US accountants because they will have a skill set that is in demand.”
Beyond the technical skills of IFRS, Kalman stresses that the “bar has been raised in accounting” and, going forward, professionals will need to be able to collaborate on a high level internationally.
Grant Thornton has implemented steps to meet the challenge. “We actually have gotten very proactive in this,” says Kalman. “We’ve implemented world-wide training for all managers. This is rigorous training on what it means to be a global leader and be strategic.”
In its search for accountants, Grant Thornton targets four key traits: Strong business acumen; a global mindset that is flexible and adaptable to different cultural environments; a genuine interest in helping clients achieve success in a global landscape; and an understanding of what operational excellence means.
To broaden their global perspectives, Lewis advises accountants to gain a wideangle view of industries. Offering an example, he suggests looking at the differences between highly regulated companies like airlines and big infrastructure industries like renewable energy, and then seeing how those differences line up with career preferences.
“Taking a big picture look at these areas is becoming very important,” he states. “Manufacturing is great, but ask, ‘What is a company manufacturing?’ You’ve got to be thinking where the underlying demand is coming from and how governments support those industries.”
Find Jobs Abroad
Finance Jobs Abroad - Offered by Robert Half Finance and Accounting, this portal facilitates overseas career moves for the accounting and finance industry. Search jobs by country.
The BIG Guide to Living and Working Overseas - A comprehensive guide for long-term planning. Resources allow in-depth exploration of specific topics, which are indexed in categories such as country, region and type of work.
Accountants Without Borders - AWB is an online recruitment agency for auditors, accountants and other finance pros interested in working internationally.
International Careers and Jobs - A leading international employment directory that includes more than 2,000 reviewed career resources in 190 countries.
|