Bernard Kellerman
CFO Magazine
May, 2006

The skills shortage in the lower levels of the accounting industry has been well reported (and the "Resume" page is no exception - see the item at left: "Accounting jobs boom in March"). A Melbourne recruitment firm, 1st Executive, is now suggesting that the problem will start affecting recruitment strategies at the CFO level in the not too distant future.

According to 1st Executive, many Australian businesses will be unable to fill key executive positions, particularly CFOs, within the next five to 10 years.

"As senior positions become vacant and an ageing population exits the employment market, it is becoming more difficult to replace key employees in executive-level positions" says Andrew Thoseby, a director of 1st Executive.

Thoseby says the business environment, with its emphasis on compliance, means companies are looking for a "safe pair of hands", often in the form of their CFO, to move up to the top job. "The chief financial officer [role] is one the most marked areas of business where we can expect a shortage," says Thoseby.

"A lot of CFOs are baby boomers, and some of them are now either retiring or moving into managing director and CEO jobs." This will increasingly affect the demand for aspiring CFOs.

1st Executive is a leading Melbourne based recruitment and Human Resource Consulting firm specialising in executive recruitment and  consulting services in employee retention and performance management. The organisation also offers and extensive range of psychometric assessment services.