IMPACTS OF BREXIT

Within the first 24 hours of the referendum result rumours were spreading on the BBC of French banks pulling out of London and Morgan Stanley moving 2,000 jobs to Frankfurt and Dublin. There was a sharp drop in the value of sterling and markets around the world saw a decline in value. There was panic within parliament and finance professionals working diligently to ensure their companies were in a stable position.

David Cameron has resigned and Jeremy Corbyn is resisting pressure to follow suit and the uncertainty is of course creating a nervous atmosphere for businesses to trade in. However, Morgan Stanley was quick to quash rumours that it was moving jobs out of the city, securing at least for the moment, 2,000 jobs in the finance industry.

Shortly after the result the Institute of Directors concluded a report that surmised that only one-third of Directors will be placing a pause on recruitment as a result of the referendum and 5% will be making cut backs. Therefore a large majority of Directors within the UK are looking to continue with recruitment drives for the foreseeable future.

ACCOUNTANCY AND FINANCE RECRUITMENT

Specialising in accountancy and finance recruitment NC Associates are very well placed to assess the scene post-Brexit. Having operated both sides of the referendum and with over 30 years combined experience in the recruitment industry we have spoken to many businesses in the run up and after the vote to leave was announced.

Although there is a period of uncertainty, there is a view by many Directors and Finance Directors that on a day-to-day level, the operations of most business have luckily not been impacted. George Osborne has indicated that a decrease in corporation tax from 20% to 15% could be included in the Autumn statement which would allow for reinvestment in staff should a company see fit.

At NC Associates, we currently have over 20 roles across several levels of seniority within finance. Our challenge within finance recruitment is searching and selecting the best candidate for our client’s roles rather than trying to find roles for waiting candidates. The recruitment market has changed, it is now more than ever since 2008 a candidate driven market and despite the uncertainty associated with Brexit, it would appear that businesses, banks and markets are more resilient than we initially thought.