Finance temps hired for year-end workload

Finance executives here are turning to temporary workers to help them tackle work that has to be cleared by the end of the year, said specialist recruitment company Robert Half on Tuesday.

The biggest problem that finance leaders face in this year-end period is the lack of skills among their team, the firm added.

It said its survey of 150 chief financial officers and finance directors, completed in the third quarter, found that 52 per cent cited this issue.

It is worse for companies with more than 500 employees, with 72 per cent saying lack of skills was a problem.

Temps are seen as a way to address the issue, with 89 per cent of finance leaders saying they are planning to employ interim staff to meet deadlines. The level is 94 per cent among large companies.

Ms Stella Tang, director of Robert Half Singapore, said the end of the financial year always results in an increase in hiring activity within the finance and accounting profession.

"Adding more manpower to get the job done is sometimes the only way to meet deadlines."

The lack of time to meet deadlines is the next biggest problem, cited by 47 per cent of finance leaders while 29 per cent believe their permanent staff lack motivation.

The survey also found that the average work week will expand by 10 per cent to meet the year-end deadlines.

Additional time-off will be given by 51 per cent of firms, 49 per cent will offer overtime pay while 23 per cent say a bonus is in the offing.

Ms Tang added: "There are plenty of opportunities around for people with financial skills who don't want to work full-time, to take an interim role to fill a skills gap at a company."

rachaelb@sph.com.sg

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