The research also shows the number of people employed by practices surveyed has decreased by only seven per cent since December 2007. This is significantly less than the drop in the national employment rate during this period, which was 12.5 per cent.

In contrast, many larger practices have actually increased their employee numbers since 2007. The Big Four practices that responded have proved to be resilient. While some tactical cutbacks were made, new graduates have been taken on throughout the economic downturn as partners seek to maintain the level of new talent they recruit, tailored to the strategic needs of their organisation.
“These results show a level of optimism amongst accountancy practices and will give accountancy college graduates in Ireland a sense of relief”, commented Ms. Maureen Lynch, Director of Hays Accountancy & Finance in Ireland.

The research also attempted to qualify some of the more strategic plans employed by these practices in response to the economic downturn. Four in ten practices cited cost reductions and fee negotiations as the only measures taken by their practice. Investments into I.T. infrastructure and human capital were the more proactive strategies highlighted in the report.

One in five (22 per cent) practices stated they are now more aggressively attempting to win new business through sales and marketing initiatives. This includes website development, customer relationship management and advertising.

“In a profession where many previously relied on their good name and a loyal client base, many practices are now finding that competition for lucrative work has intensified greatly”, commented Lynch.

Respondents to the survey said their clients have put large strategic projects on hold and the provision of consultancy services has been replaced by an emphasis on compliance. Many practices are spending a large amount of their time preparing cash flow projections and verifying financial statements for financial institutions with which their clients are negotiating finance arrangements.

“With a large number of practices’ clients having experienced financial difficulty – we have observed two trends – one being the large increase in clients becoming audit exempt due to decreased business activity and the other being the focus on the provision of liquidation services by the practices surveyed.  It’s a case of needs must. However the practices are also finding it difficult to collect the fees owed to them. So while the effect of the downturn may not have been as severe as in other sectors, it’s still been a tough time for accountancy practices, especially the smaller companies”, added Lynch

For further information about Hays visit www.hays.ie
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About Hays

Hays Ireland is part of Hays plc, the leading global specialist recruitment group. Established in Ireland since 1996, Hays developed into one of the country’s most successful specialist recruitment organisations with a network of offices around the country. In Ireland, Hays comprises of the following specialisms: Accountancy & Finance / Banking / Construction & Property / Financial Services / Healthcare / Human Resources / Information Technology / Insurance / Office Support.

Hays plc (the "Group") is the leading global specialist recruiting group. It is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe. It operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments.

The Group employs over 6,700 staff operating from 345 offices in 28 countries across 17 specialisms.

For the year ended 30 June 2009:
-    the Group had revenues of £2.4 billion, net fees of £670.8 million and operating profit of £158.0 million;
-    the Group placed around 50,000 candidates into permanent jobs and around 300,000 people into temporary assignments;
-    the temporary placement business represented 56% of net fees and the permanent placement business represented 44% of net fees;
-    Hays operates in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UAE and United Kingdom.