Controlling and specialized accounting functions are undergoing significant change at financial service providers in Switzerland. The Horváth Human Resources Barometer shows an increase of more than 55% in the number of jobs advertised in these areas in the first half of the year. According to the management consultancy Horváth & Partners an increased need for transparency and new digitization projects are contributing to this development. In many cases the growth in demand for specific know-how cannot be found within companies’ own ranks.
More and more financial service providers are meeting the growing demand for transparency, efficiency and cost optimization with digital transformation and streamlining their business models and service processes. This has resulted in significantly changed demands on the finance function and an increased need for qualified specialists during the transformation phase. In the first half of 2018, the number of jobs advertised by financial institutions increased significantly in the controlling (+42%) and accounting (+71%) functions.
Digitization plays a crucial role for banks. Customers’ demand for digital offerings and omni-channel solutions directly impacts accounting and controlling functions. In order to enable omni-channel customer solutions, the organization, processes and systems in the finance function must be redesigned so that the information is coordinated and available in real time. In the insurance sector, where contracts are constantly being revalued, growth was also recorded in both functional areas in the first half of the year. The level of demand varies, according to the number of current regulatory projects such as IFRS 17, for example, which are often initiated by accounting.
Job vacancies in Switzerland in the 1st half of 2018 by function and industry:
Change in advertised positions in the 1st half of 2018 |
Banks |
Insurers |
Financial Insitutions (Banks / insurers combined) |
Accounting | +75% | +51% | +71% |
Controlling | +50% | +12% | +42% |
According to Dr. Frank Schindera, Partner and Head of Financial Industries at Horváth & Partners Switzerland, the effects of the digital transformation are considerable for financial service providers in Switzerland. "We are observing a clear change in the need for specialists in digitization areas. Financial institutions are increasingly facing a shortage of employees with the necessary skills for transformation in the financial sector and often have some catching up to do - either because it has not been possible to relocate enough jobs to low-wage countries (offshoring) or because recent cost-cutting measures have depleted the pool of relevant personnel".
Horváth Human Resources Barometer
The Horváth Human Resources Barometer measures the number of vacancies advertised (full and part-time) on Swiss company websites. Every month, it records more than 2,500 advertised positions in Switzerland in the selected functional areas of organization, purchasing, finance and controlling via web spider technology. The data provides information on the key areas in which Swiss companies, of all sizes, require personnel. This identifies their key resourcing issues thematic priorities.
