45% of Singapore CFOs intend to go on a hiring spree in 1H14

Singapore amongst hottest hiring markets for finance staff.

The hiring scene for finance and accounting staff in Singapore will be among the most active anywhere in the world during the next six months.

According to research released by Robert Half Singapore during the launch of its 2014 Asia Salary Guide, 45 per cent of companies will hire more finance and accounting professionals in the first half of 2014. The research is based on a poll of 2,350 Global CFOs, including 150 from Singapore.

Singapore is the fourth most active hiring market in the world for accounting and finance professionals, behind China (69 per cent), Brazil (63 per cent) and Hong Kong (48 per cent). Across all the countries surveyed, an average of 38 per cent of companies plan to add new employees, indicating hiring activity in Singapore will be significantly more robust than the rest of the world.

In addition to adding new finance and accounting staff, 53 per cent of Singapore CFOs will be in the employment market to replace staff as and when they leave. Only two per cent of companies are planning to freeze their headcount.

Singapore is one of only three countries where there wasn't a single company surveyed that indicated they planned to reduce staff – together with the UAE and Hong Kong. In other words, no company has plans to reduce their accounting and finance headcount in the first six months of 2014.