Article posted by on Jan 25, 2024
The year-end presents the busiest period for finance staff across the UK – and perhaps unsurprisingly, is also the busiest time when it comes to the mandates we receive for temporary finance staff in real estate organisations.
In fact, over February and March, we receive on average 30% more mandates for temporary finance staff than any other time in the year. With such competition for talented financial reporting staff – from organisations both in real estate and in other sectors, it’s critical to get your briefs in early if you know that you’re going to need that extra pair of hands, to ensure that you’re getting the best available talent ahead of your competitors.
How our existing clients work with us
We’re proud to work year-on-year with a vast number of real estate organisations on their year-end staffing requirements, on business-critical roles like Financial Reporting Accountants, Statutory Accountants, Year-end Accountants, Financial Accountants or Financial Controllers. These organisations, from student accommodation providers to global fund administrators, will often engage us a month, two months, or more out from the requirement, giving us the opportunity to match their brief with the best possible temp ahead of other organisations.
Whilst we pride ourselves on our network and ability to place EOFY temps right up to the final week before the deadline, this approach will see a smoother process for both company and candidate, as evidenced by Mathanki Thirukaran – Financial Controller at Urbanest below.
“Securing interim support for the statutory accountant well in advance not only helps with ensuring a smooth transition and avoiding last minute rushes but also provides ample time for a thorough candidate selection process. We are grateful for the invaluable support from Nicole. Nicole helped us recruit for this position again this year. Her understanding of our specific requirements and being consistently available has made her our go-to person for recruitment needs.”
We also find that those who effectively plan out their maternity and paternity covers earlier tend to be even happier with the handover process and candidates that work for them, too. With the highest number of births occurring in October in England and Wales, starting the conversation early with a recruitment specialist about the potential talent available at the end of their contracts would be our advice to any organisations who may have this need coming up.
Candidates (and your staff) want to feel included
Our network of candidates are experienced finance professionals with backgrounds in real estate who are used to hitting the ground running. Many are repeatedly placed during the EOFY cycles so understand the demand placed upon them to make sure that financial reporting is conducted right and on-time.
The nature of being a temp means that they’re always looking for their next contract after their current one ends, so having sight of their next role months in advance is always high on the list of the proactive and often best temporary finance staff I work with, whatever their seniority. They also value being brought in, where possible, with a lead-up to the project so that they understand their objectives before beginning.
Your new temp can obviously directly impact the tasks they’ll be undertaking, but can also boost a department’s morale, physical and mental health, and provide a point of difference as someone with experience of working across other organisations during busy periods, as our sister company Cobalt PS wrote about recently. Happy, less overworked staff are more likely to stay at a business as well – something that usually comes more into focus after the end-of-year bonus season in Real Estate in March.
Why use Cobalt
Our vast network of finance temps are often available immediately and work across both reporting and commercial functions in transactional roles like Accounts Assistants right up to strategic positions like CFOs, across all businesses in the Real Estate sector.
We’re proud of the quality of interim staff we can provide (with over 70% of the interims we place having their briefs extended), and do it quickly as well, typically sending CVs to you within 24 hours and scheduling interviews within a week, whilst handling all of the intricacies around IR35 and temp staffing directly with the candidate which therefore won’t affect your direct headcount.
We not only provide the temporary staff with Real Estate experience when you need it, but in such a competitive market we can also assist with market advice, job description assistance, and promotion of your role to our 60,000+ followers on LinkedIn, to ensure that your role and company stand out against the competition. Plus, we also have a dedicated corporate finance team that specialises in permanent briefs should you be looking for someone more long-term.
Get in touch with me if you have the need for a contract professional within your finance team this end of financial year or otherwise – I’d be delighted to help.
Executive Consultant, Interim Finance
Email: nbrookes-higgins@cobaltrecruitment.com
Phone: +44 (0)20 7478 2518
See our latest roles available across Real Estate and Construction here.