Salaries And Costs
Hiring managers often ask how pay bands, agency costs, and recruitment fees stack up, and the short answer is that it depends on seniority, scarcity, and location. For permanent hires, many recruiters quote a percentage of basic salary, with common fee brackets between 15% and 25%, and some firms work on retainers for executive search. For temporary and contract work, the charge rate covers pay rates, holiday pay, employer NI, pension, and the agency margin, so you will see an hourly or daily rate such as £18 to £28 for transactional roles and a higher band for qualified appointments. Clarify rebate periods, temp to perm terms, and any replacement guarantees before you sign. Candidates can ask about rate cards, payroll method, and when expenses are payable, so everyone starts clear on the numbers.
Qualifications
For part qualified and qualified roles, employers tend to request ACCA, ACA, CIMA, or ICAS. Many finance managers value AAT for grounding in ledgers, reconciliations, and month end routines. In practice, recruiters judge more than certificates, they look for systems experience in Sage, Xero, NetSuite, SAP, or Oracle, strong Excel, and proven stakeholder handling at audit or board level. Candidates who are mid study can register with recruitment consultants and outline exam timings, so interview dates do not clash with sittings.
Roles And Career Paths
Staffing agencies and employment firms cover the full spread, from purchase ledger, sales ledger, and credit control, through payroll, assistant accountant, and management accountant, to financial accountant, finance manager, FP&A analyst, financial controller, and finance director. Some recruiters run specialist desks for treasury, internal audit, risk, and corporate finance. Graduates often start in transactional work, move into assistant management accountant roles, and step up to qualified posts, while experienced AP or AR clerks can progress into team lead or shared service roles with clear retention paths.
Hiring Challenges
Local employers report pressure on talent for qualified roles, especially where business parks sit outside main commuter links. Hybrid working has widened choice, though many firms still need office presence for month end, payroll cut offs, and audits, so flexibility matters. Employers who brief early on systems, reporting lines, and interview steps tend to hire faster, since candidates judge pace and clarity as part of the offer. Temp agencies can plug urgent gaps and keep the ledger moving during year end, maternity cover, or ERP changeovers, and that protects the wider workforce from burnout.
Entry Requirements
For entry level finance jobs, GCSE Maths and an eye for accuracy carry weight, with Excel basics such as VLOOKUP and Pivot Tables. Many businesses fund AAT, then move staff onto chartered study once month end exposure grows. Recruiters help jobseekers present short projects, such as bank rec improvements or creditor days reductions, so hiring managers can see impact not only duties.
Regulatory And Compliance Standards
Hiring in finance touches sensitive data, so expect right to work checks, references, and sometimes DBS checks, especially in regulated sectors. Executive search for senior posts may include NDAs, director checks, and conflict of interest questions. Good recruiters brief on IR35 for contract work, holiday pay rules, and payroll status, so both sides avoid surprises.
Common Job Roles Agencies Recruit For
Recruiters place AP and AR clerks, credit controllers, payroll officers, assistant accountants, management accountants, financial accountants, analysts, finance managers, financial controllers, and CFOs. Employment firms with executive search arms handle senior leadership, transformation leads, and heads of shared services. If you need to hire staff for a project close, many agencies can build a temp team across payables, receivables, and billing, then taper headcount after the peak.
Regional Or Geographic Variations
Pay rates and recruitment fees often track local labour market factors such as commuting patterns, office clusters, and sector mix. Areas with major enterprise zones or logistics hubs tend to show steady demand for transactional finance, while hubs with private equity and advisory firms attract analysts and qualified accountants. Businesses near strong commuter links can widen their candidate pool with hybrid patterns, saving time to hire and reducing agency costs over repeat campaigns.
Seasonal Trends
Quarter ends, year end, and audit windows create peak demand for temps and contractors, and many staffing agencies pre register candidates who can step in at short notice. Payroll hires spike around system changes and new holiday year rules. For graduates, summer intakes remain busy, so employment firms often line up interviews in spring, keeping offers warm with regular contact to protect retention.
Quick Facts And FAQs
What does a temp margin cover in finance recruitment?
It covers the agency service and operating costs, on top of the worker’s pay, holiday, NI, and pension.
Can I move a strong temp to a permanent post?
Many agencies offer temp to perm routes with pre agreed fees.
How do I keep recruitment fees down?
Provide a tight brief, agree interview slots in advance, and give swift feedback, so the best candidates do not move elsewhere.
Do agencies help candidates with exams?
Good recruiters plan interviews around sittings and help protect study time during peak periods.
Will an executive search retainer suit every finance director hire?
Retained search is best for complex or confidential mandates, a contingent approach can suit open market briefs.
These pages focus on accounting & finance recruitment agencies for UK hiring, that means you can compare recruiters, temp agencies, and executive search partners in one place, talk through agency costs, register with an agency as a jobseeker, and get a plan that fits your business.