Bright Horizons – International Accountancy Trends

If you're a finance professional who mapped out a five-year plan for your career progression at the beginning of 2008 you've probably relegated it to the bottom of your ‘to do' tray.

With news bulletins full of depressing phrases like ‘Global Economic Crisis' and items on international financial institutions going under you may well be thinking that your best ‘plan' is to keep your head down and concentrate on keeping your current job.

The good news is that there are still excellent opportunities out there for individuals who are keen to fast-track their career prospects by gaining international experience. Abigail Stevens, Managing director of Think Global Recruitment says "Living and working overseas is a fantastic way to gain work experience that will give your resume the edge and help you stand out amongst other Chartered Accountants when looking for new opportunities".

While the financial markets of London and New York are suffering and the job markets are closing, opportunities in the rest of the world are ripe with more and more jobs opening up for experienced qualified accountants, which is great news for you!

Now is the best time to consider countries and cities throughout the world that may not have been top of your list before.

Top of Think Global Recruitment's list of exciting locations to further your career whilst enjoying a new culture are Africa, Eastern European countries and cities like Moscow, the Ukraine, Romania, the Czech Republic and Poland. These locations are offering expats very rapid career progression, early responsibility, more interesting and complex work than many other locations and great salaries. Culturally these are also extremely interesting locations.

Locations such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai and Oman are also places where we have had extremely good feedback from the accountants who have moved there. Packages allow you to afford a very good lifestyle whilst gaining excellent work experience and career progression.

France, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland offer the benefit of short flight times from the UK (ideal for weekend trips home or family and friends who are keen to visit) as well as the opportunity to learn a new language - something that will always be a positive addition to your CV.

It's also worth considering offshore centres such as Bermuda or the Cayman Islands. Bermuda is a fabulous location in terms of lifestyle and quality of life and provides good access to Canada, the USA and the Caribbean if you get the travel bug! Career progression is excellent as Bermuda is the second largest re-insurance market in the world after New York.

Like Bermuda, the Cayman Islands host a wealth of different nationalities from around the world so you're guaranteed a truly global experience. The Cayman Islands offer excellent opportunities for accountants seeking a move offshore or into financial services.

An international move is never something to be taken on lightly and is definitely something that you should research fully before making any decisions. It's reassuring to know that when surveyed, 96% of placed candidates said that they were pleased that they'd made the move, whether as a result of lifestyle improvement or career progression.

With so many fantastic locations and opportunities to explore why not consider your international options today?

To discuss an international accountancy career please contact Think Global Recruitment tel +44 (0) 131 240 1291 email; mail@thinkgr.com 

View other news from February 2009