Increase in Contract Roles & Extensions
Over the last three months, there has been a significant increase in accounting support and technical accounting contract roles. This increase is a trend we see most years, due to business annual close down periods and a large number of public holidays. Contract extensions have also become more common in this quarter. The majority of contracting roles within the technical accounting space are approximately 3 months. We are seeing that close to 80% of our contract roles are being extended one or more times. The contracts that haven’t been extended, tend to be contracts covering employees taking annual leave.We have seen a positive shift in the number of contract roles that provide the opportunity for permanent employment after the duration of the contract. These are often newly established positions, where the first few months are there to ensure that the roles have enough work to be sustained permanently. Often, this can be due to restructures and organisations looking to backfill positions as quickly as possible. This can be a great opportunity for both the client and the candidate to settle into a role before committing to permanent employment.

Increase in Accounts Receivable & Decrease in Accounts Payable
With a general increase in accounting support contracting roles, not all areas have had the same increase. The overall trend has seen an increase in the Accounts Receivable and Payroll space and a slight decrease in Accounts Payable roles. This fluctuation can be caused by the end of the financial year, preventing backlogs for audits, and supporting finance teams throughout upcoming busy periods. Different industries will be impacted at different times of the year, depending on international and national markets.

Encouragement of working in the office
Since the pandemic, working from home has been an expectation for most candidates. However, with each contract role we receive, we are finding that more and more hiring managers are encouraging candidates to come into the office. Since the majority of contracts are around 3 months, it’s important that contractors have the opportunity for a face-to-face introduction and training. Working in the office also allows contractors to meet the team and understand the wider organisation. The flexibility of 1-2 days working from home is still within most policies, however, most managers prefer to onboard in person, especially for shorter-term contracts. Contract roles sitting around 6 months, or those getting extended do encourage more flexibility once candidates have fully settled into the role.

Hourly Rates
Hourly rates have always been very dependent on the organisation and their approved bandings. The hourly rates have been relatively steady throughout the quarter with most experienced Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable roles sitting around $35p/h. Payroll and varied Accounts Assistant roles tend to sit slightly above this rate.