Poles fill industry gap, study shows

News Article - Friday, October 20, 2006

filed under: Industry

An industry gap is being filled by Polish accountants coming to the UK to find work, a study has shown.

Research conducted by recruitment agency Joslin Rowe found that 270,000 Poles have moved to the country, of whom six per cent have taken jobs in accountancy.

Tara Ricks, the company's managing director, said: “Polish accountants are still a relatively new phenomenon. Among employers, early adopters have already started hiring them enthusiastically, but it takes time for a new group to establish itself.

She added that the group would become "a key support" to the UK accountancy profession and that there was a "chronic shortage" of qualified accountants in the country.

"We simply don't have enough home grown accountants to fill the void and this is creating accountancy job opportunities for those from overseas," Ms Ricks said.

Polish accountants in Britain are a relatively new phenomena in Scotland, according to Ms Ricks, however in Dublin the trend is on the rise.

Tony Osude from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants told Accountancy Age that eastern Europeans were willing to take on compliance jobs while local citizens preferred to pursue more strategic work.

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