News & Views

Today’s job market is fast-paced and competitive. At the start of the year, labour markets in the UK were at a turning point. Vacancies reached the highest number since records began. We saw a 50% increase in roles, and we expect this to grow. The Great Resignation also created a new cohort of workers, putting their career needs first, and hybrid working became the mainstay.

So it seems like the right time to rebrand and reintroduce a professional services recruitment firm specialising in legal and accounting practices. One where every candidate and client receives a tailored service and where a dedicated team keeps all stakeholders in the loop at every step in the process. 

Introducing Pentagon Talent 

“The demand for talent has grown exponentially over the past 5 years and as a result our clients and candidates expect and demand a recruitment partner with true expertise in their sector. Pentagon talent has built this expertise over the past 8 years, and it is right we launch a brand that reflects the knowledge and expertise we are proud to possess.”

Rob Fry, Board Director 

“The way I see it, recruitment is like shopping. You wouldn’t go to a garden centre for your weekly groceries, and that’s exactly why we have created Pentagon Talent. It is a way for both our clients and candidates to feel more comfortable with the brand that is representing them.”

Sam Vorley, Team Manager 

With a distinguished professional services brand, the Pentagon Talent team are able to establish themselves as the market leader in the legal and accountancy practice market. This is away from us, Morgan Hunt, a well-known public-sector specialist agency. Which is who Pentagon Talent inherit their values and our experience from.

We are re-engineering recruitment

Pentagon Talent isn’t your average recruitment agency. They originated from a Public Sector focused organisation where providing an ethical , cost effective and transparent recruitment service is paramount. With a strong connection to the public sector, where moral and ethical values are high, they adopt these in private sector recruitment. They care about the success of their clients and candidates and understand that every candidate is unique, and every client is different. Find out more about their mission and values on their webpage here: www.pentagontalent.com/mission-vision-and-values

Benefits for our clients

Pentagon Talent is able to attract and retain new and existing sought-after talent in the market. Not only do they have access to talented passive and active candidates in the sectors, with Pentagon Talent:

Benefits for our candidates

Similar to the benefits of clients, you’ll receive a personalised and understanding approach to finding your next role.

A safe-pair of hands

Specialising in legal and accounting practices, they have a reliable team who are experienced in modern recruitment challenges. They will guide and support organisations and individuals through the recruitment process.

Where to find us 

Pentagon Talent is in London, and we also have offices in Manchester, Birmingham, Milton Keynes, and Glasgow. To find out more about recruiting or finding a role, contact our team today at [email protected]

In the past 12 months, the ramifications of both domestic and international politics have created a tsunami of uncertainty, anger, fear and division.

Is there any wonder why? We have been hit with a barrage of headlines about the dire predictions for the UK economy including;“Pretty grim reading” “Two decades of lost earnings growth”“Declining living standards”“The endless living squeeze”Throwing in the mix about Brexit threatening to move your jobs to mainland Europe, the rise of Artificial Intelligence, plastic pollution and the all the other horror stories. The idea of hiding under the bed with Moz, the John Lewis monster seems most appealing. However, there are grounds for optimism especially if you are fledgling accounts trainee, newly qualified or an established and seasoned accountant.Singularly the biggest issue facing Professional Service clients who are recruiting is not the competition.  It is not unrealistic salary demands but it is the ongoing skills shortage amongst candidates particularly around Audit / Assurance / Tax / Advisory / Risk and Insolvency.Demand for accounting staff has remained consistent throughout the year and will continue into 2018. We do not hear from our clients about the imminent collapse of the UK economy.  Far from it.  The expectation is a push on hiring next year.The question to ask job seekers should be, what are you doing to make your profile stand out? what skills do you need to develop? where can you focus your efforts to secure your next role?  How are you approaching your job search?For those employers out there, the message from the UK working population is very clear.  The drip feed for improved flexibility and work life balance driven by the millennials is now matched by all generation types.It is by far the biggest motivator for job change.  Money, reward and career development is following closely behind. The thinking is; if purchasing a house is a distant dream and materialism and the requirement for “things” less important, life experiences and time to enjoy them is the compensation.

A business with innovative ideas, working flexibly with clear objectives whilst operating as an achievement focused meritocracy is an easy and compelling sell.So, accepting change, embracing it and leading change for candidates and clients alike is the optimistic message as Christmas and a New Year approaches.  Time for calm and hold of nerves, panic is no use to anyone.

Women in accounting - top exam results, but still on the trial balance

From what was a male dominated profession there is no doubt, females are making quite a bit of a stir entering accountancy. This year women have scored the highest exam results in the latest ACA Professional Level exams that has resulted in an all women prize list of top scorers.So not only are women proving themselves academically fit for purpose they are also not afraid to enter a profession once regarded as boys’ school territory.But this is the start of the story and not the end so there has to be a big ‘but’ somewhere and here it comes:Although women can prove themselves in the exam room they are yet to be given equal opportunity in the boardroom; even more surprising is that in some parts of the world women now represent the clear majority of accountants. Regions such as Asia Pacific; Singapore and the Philippines have some of the highest female accountant populations in the world estimated to be up to 75%, with the American labour bureau reporting female numerical dominance in accounting and tax positions. There’s more of the ‘but’; in the UK a recent survey by ICAEW and Stott & May shows women earning on average 37% less than men explaining the gender pay gap partly due to seniority of role, sector bias and job type where pay is typically less.So here’s the rub in the ‘but’; there are now more women entering into the profession, they represent majorities in some regions of the world, they excel in exams, yet they hold more junior positions, working in sectors that are not so highly paid that offer part time working, and they make slow progress when it comes to the boardroom, a natural path for accountants to take; women are struggling to reach 25% in the ftse 100 companies and only 18% in the top 250. On the worst interpretation; the data conspires a theory of discriminatory practice in accounting, the science has little form of testable explanations and the maths simply doesn’t make sense. On the best, it is a decision that women make to be more flexible to their life’s needs, with their choices favouring more worthy and satisfying sectors to work in.Whatever the cause and we must remind ourselves that equal opportunity and diversity isn’t just about women; it follows along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or any other ideologies. It celebrates differences and balances opinion and decision. Global companies thrive on it.However the effect of the appalling statistics on women in accounting is not, in the long term, good for commerce and business, and organisations must consider the consequences of continued male dominance at the top in accounting; lest we forget how far women have come in the last century.For more information on accountancy jobs email

Challenging was the word for central and local government finance professionals. In contrast the NHS, education and charity sectors held up well with finance managers, controllers and head of finance roles the most popular in the more buoyant areas within the public sector. Despite a backdrop of more cuts to public sector funding, the outlook for opportunities for finance professionals looks improved.

How does this influence what type of financial leaders charities and public sector bodies are looking for in 2014 and what are the potential challenges facing them?

Charities that relied on local council funding and those that provide disability assistance were squeezed, with some charities merging and 1600 organisations closing down altogether. 

Large charities which relied heavily on donations have struggled over previous years. However, more recently, they have seen an increase in charitable donations in the past 12 months reflecting a more positive mood in the private sector. The result is a more commercial sector increasing headcount in all areas of support staff, in particular, an increase in demand for financial professionals.

The education sector continues to become more commercial.  As a result, more organisations were dedicating time to finding finance business partners, management accountants and commercial VP’s of finance.  However, attracting candidates from the commercial sector to education remains a challenge from a salary perspective.

We expect the sector will see continued budgetary changes as public sector funding is reduced and replaced by private tuition fees. The rise in student tuition fees and increased competition with international institutions means next year we will see more higher education institutions having to cut cost and merge roles.

Finance professionals in local and central government faced a tough year as the demand for senior part-qualified and newly-qualified accountants decreased substantially. This trend looks set to continue, with only a few areas recruiting finance staff.

Increased public scrutiny in large corporate affairs after the GFC has resulted in regulatory bodies increasing hiring of finance professionals.

We anticipate a drive in the housing sector to get more value for money. Finance candidates will need to clearly demonstrate this to potential employers. Management accountants will continue to be in constant demand as housing associations aim to keep tight control on budgets and forecasts. Seasonal fluctuations will predictably occur around half and full year-end.

With many housing associations not having extra staffing capacity, this will probably lead to high interim demand.  The G15 and other larger national associations will continue to recruit finance staff at transactional and middle-management level.

We saw an increase in interim and temporary recruitment within the NHS.  We found that the primary reason for the increase was due to the cuts at management level – an unsurprising development in light of ‘an aim for £15 billion in efficiency savings’.

The subsequent knowledge gaps across NHS Trusts and hospitals have in turn increased demand for interim cover to bridge these gaps. Financial skill sets that were particularly sought after during the last year include financial planning and analysis and financial modelling to accurately monitor long-term costing and expenditure of a ‘moving feast’ in many situations. Candidates with these skills were able to command significant increases in their rates as they were in constant demand and still are today.

Management accountants with pricing and costing experience were also highly sought after as budget management was of particular importance within the NHS. Technical financial accountants were also very much in demand. Furthermore, as the NHS sought to improve efficiencies through improving financial systems, finance professionals with ERP systems experience were also sought after – Oracle the most frequently requested by hiring managers.

As the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG’s) and Commissioning Support Units (CSU’s) continue to evolve, finance professionals with specific experience in these areas will be in demand.

2014 looks set to be a busy year for interim and contract recruitment in the NHS.  Cuts to permanent staffing budgets set to continue until at least 2015, will increase the competition for specialist temporary staff with NHS Trust, CSU or CCG experience.

Public sector saw some tough times in 2013, with further cuts and a further decline in jobs.  In contrast to this, the NHS, education and the charity sectors have held up better and have seen a demand for finance professionals. however, with these cuts we can expect to see a demand in finance professionals with the capabilities to ensure organisations see ‘bang for buck’ across the board.

A number of key events over the last 5 years have led financial professionals to re-examine their roles. What is different now?

Since the global financial crisis the importance of the CFO has risen dramatically, but it’s not just this event that has propelled them and their functional department into the limelight – finance professionals have gone from being the principle number crunchers to partners in strategy.The finance function makes two essential contributions to the business; understanding costs and how these translate into outputs that turn profits. This isn’t just about doing the maths, the soul of the challenge lies along a continuum of thinking from; quantifying the value of using alternative delivery models and understanding the dynamics of the business through to ensuring that the organisation has the right structure and skills in place, and that the truth on how to report value is balanced and rigorously upheld in one place. The finance function not only plays a critical role in supporting the business but asks the right questions armed with the right information in order to create it.In recent months we’ve seen a major retailer wipe billions off their share price following the discovery that its profits had been artificially inflated by some £250m due to a discrepancy between when profits were accounted for from deals with suppliers and when costs were paid. Yet it wasn’t just the accounting errors that raised eyebrows but the sheer way in which eventually the story unfolded. It’s hard to understand why a whistle blower accountant should have to go through a protracted route and through many actors that eventually involved in-house counsel to report concerns; a true indication that all was not well with the culture and structure of the business.This event, although being a high profile is just one of a number of other types of events that have changed the face of finance for good, not necessarily as a result of misdemeanours, but global incidents, structural change, tax and regulation that conspire together to make the finance function a strategic pin that not only holds everything in place but takes decisions from having better information in a wider context. Commercial deals may not be that commercial if they are not structured in the right way, operational success only comes from efficient and effective delivery of service and products and leadership rewarded from having the right contextual information…the banks may learn a lesson or two from here.In many businesses today finance has a leading role in innovation that can be financed from tax credits with business strategy that uses finance to create additional and increased value from new business models and playing a critical part in the structures that will deliver this. All this and more finance managers are embracing a more strategic role. They are no longer the number crunchers but delivering the right balance of stability for a sustainable future.  This new dawn has an impact on skills where the qualification is just the foundation. Finance professionals are destined for a very creative and commercial career where nurturing the right attributes can lead to one of the most important roles in the organisation.Morgan Hunt is a specialist recruiter in the finance sector and offer a consultative service to help you and your organisation find the kind of finance skills that will ensure the continuity of your mission. For more information call 020 7419 8900 or email us.