| Pay scales rocket in London |
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| | This is a golden year
for investment bankers
according to City
recruitment firms, with
total remuneration
packages ballooning and
sign-on bonuses now the
norm.
Qualified accountants
are also witnessing
strong growth in
earnings. But the
consulting industry is
finding it hard to
respond - and overseas
consulting offices are
now seeking to lure UK
consultants over to work
in places such as Dubai
and Sydney. At a time
when we should be luring
staff into the UK
industry, is there a
danger that there may be
an exodus in the other
direction?
Let's turn our
attention first to
investment banking, a
much sought-after exit
route for the consulting
professional. City
recruiters are reporting
that remuneration
packages are set to
reach record levels this
year, buoyed by the
prospect of strong bonus
payments. Yet such is
the magnitude of these
bonus payments that from
autumn onwards it
becomes increasingly | |
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| | executive of Morgan
McKinley, commented on
the increasing ease with
which professionals can
move into banking:
“There are new routes
into investment banking
opening up for newly
qualified ACAs. For
example, corporate
finance and equity
research divisions are
now willing to hire
talented, newly
qualified ACAs at entry
level and train them
into roles. In the past,
ACAs wanting to forge
careers within these
areas would have had to
have had previous
banking experience
behind them first.”
The average total
compensation package
offered by investment
banking and financial
services employers in
London is now worth up
to £65,000 a year,
according to Morgan
McKinley.
The concern for
partners within
management consultancies
is that they do not have
the financial muscle to
compete with investment
banks. Consulting
margins are thinner now
than during the last
consulting boom - and
salary rises remain | |
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| | modest as a consequence.
And for consultants
unable to secure a
significant pay rise,
there's now the lure of
being able to relocate
on favourable terms to
far-flung places such as
Dubai and Sydney:
“In recent weeks
we've had a raft of
calls from recruiters
looking to attract
consultants to relocate
from London to places
such as Dubai and
Sydney, Melbourne and
Perth,” commented
Top-Consultant.com
Director Tony Restell.
“And it's some of the
biggest names in the
consulting industry
doing the hiring, which
makes it a very
attractive option for
those who are
commitment-free and
looking for some
adventure. This trend is
sucking staff away from
London at just the time
when the market here is
at its tightest. And
it's not just permanent
staff that are being
targeted either - in the
last days our sister
site
Top-ContractConsultant.co
m has seen roles
advertised for
contractors to go and | |
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| | work in Australia for a
few months, with flights
and visas taken care of
by the recruiter.”
Taken in combination,
these factors are sure
to mean that the 'War
for Talent' will
continue to rage within
the UK consulting
sector. Many recruiters
think it is now only a
matter of time before
consultancies will be
forced to revise their
entry criteria. Perhaps
they will begin to
accept candidates
without prior consulting
experience... or those
who have real-world
expertise rather than
academic excellence.
Whatever the compromise,
the UK consulting
industry needs to stem
the flow of consultants
leaving the London
market and increase the
flow of new talent into
the London market. “That
inevitably means higher
salary packages and
revised shortlist
criteria,” concluded
Restell. All of which is
good news for anyone
seeking a consulting job
in the current market
climate.
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| | hard to attract bankers
to switch employers.
Most just want to sit
tight until their
bonuses hit the bank. As
a consequence,
investment banks are
recruiting staff into
the sector with the lure
of sign-on bonuses and
even hefty bonus
packages - and
management consultants
together with
accountants are two of
their prime targets.
Without doubt,
accountancy firms have
been suffering from a
brain drain into
investment banking, with
recruitment firm Morgan
McKinley this week
announcing that newly
qualified ACAs are
commanding record salary
levels. This is being
driven by City employers
seeking to lure
accountants away from
remaining with their
practices. Robert
Thesiger, chief | |
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