Top 5 golden finance roles in New Zealand for 2019

Finance professionals are finding themselves in high demand as an ongoing skills shortage is contributing to the growing war for talent. Read more here. 

2019 Robert Half Salary Guide

New Zealand’s finance professionals are finding themselves in high demand as an ongoing skills shortage within the sector, combined with recently-tightened immigration laws [1], are contributing to the growing war for talent.

Top positions in demand, as published in the newly-released 2019 Robert Half Salary Guide, will prove difficult for local hiring managers to source. Indeed, more than seven in 10 (74%) New Zealand’s CFOs respectively currently find it challenging to source qualified finance professionals and predict it will become even more challenging in the coming five years. 

Megan Alexander, General Manager of Robert Half New Zealand says: “New Zealand employers are under increasing pressure to source skilled finance talent, particularly amidst tightening immigration laws. Access to international talent has been limited, so skilled finance professionals within the local talent pool are in hot demand, especially during peak times on the business calendar, such as tax season.”

“Within this hiring climate, talented finance candidates within the areas of accounts payable, accounting and analysis are currently highly sought-after as companies face crunch time in the lead up to end of financial year. To attract the best local talent, companies need to ensure their salaries are either in line or above what their competitors are offering.”

“And while salary is just one component of the overall remuneration package, companies need to tailor their remuneration packages to suit individual employees’ needs and preferences where possible, such as by offering non-financial benefits like flexible working arrangements and the option to work from home. This will not only help to entice new talent to their organisation, but also incentivise their top performing staff to stay.”

The newly-released Robert Half Salary Guide has identified the top five finance positions in demand in New Zealand for 2019 and their respective salaries [2]:

1.    Accounts Payable Officer 

  Salary range      
Percentiles 25th 50th 75th 95th 
  $52,000 $55,000 $60,000 

$65,000

Source: Robert Half Salary Guide 
    
2.    Financial Accountant 

  Salary range      
Percentiles 25th 50th 75th 95th 
  $85,000 $95,000 $100,000 $110,000

Source: Robert Half Salary Guide 

 3.    Accounts Assistant 

  Salary range      
Percentiles 25th 50th 75th 95th 
  $50,000 $55,000  $60,000 $65,000

Source: Robert Half Salary Guide 

4.    Finance Manager

  Salary range      
Percentiles 25th 50th 75th 95th 
  $120,000 $130,000 $140,000 $150,000

Source: Robert Half Salary Guide 

5.    Business Analyst 

  Salary range      
Percentiles 25th 50th 75th 95th 
  $80,000 $85,000 $95,000 $100,000

Source: Robert Half Salary Guide 

[1] https://www.immigration.govt.nz/about-us/media-centre/news-notifications/smc-essential-skills-changes-to-remuneration-thresholds

[2] In the 2019 Robert Half Salary Guide the salary ranges are presented in percentiles. These percentiles are determined by a candidate’s skillset and experience level, as well as the complexity of their role – the higher the percentile the more complex the role and the greater skillset and experience level required.

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About the Robert Half Salary Guide
The 2019 Robert Half Salary Guide is the most comprehensive and authoritative resource on starting salaries and recruitment trends in finance, accounting and information technology in New Zealand. The results and insights of the 2019 Robert Half Salary Guide are based on comprehensive analyses, local job placements, local expertise and independent research of executives. 

About the research
The annual study is developed by Robert Half and was conducted in January 2019 by an independent research firm, surveying 100 CFOs in New Zealand. This survey is part of the international workplace survey, a questionnaire about job trends, talent management and trends in the workplace.  

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