GOOD news for finance professionals in Singapore.

A new survey has found that plenty of these positions - for finance managers, accountants and credit managers, for example - will be on offer in the months ahead.

This is despite the global credit crunch and more difficult economic conditions.

Findings by global recruitment agency Robert Half International show that Singapore's non-banking financial sector is still buoyant, with many companies keen to hire over the next six months.

Given the somewhat bleaker outlook, many will be more cautious and selective - but they will add numbers nevertheless.

Robert Half also found that finance professionals in Singapore have the biggest salary packages when compared with their global peers in 17 other markets, including Australia, Canada, France and the United States.

The company's Singapore managing director, Mr Tim Hird, said Singapore has the second most buoyant hiring outlook of the 18 economies surveyed. Topping the list is Hong Kong.

'Nearly 40 per cent of respondents in Singapore say they will expand their finance teams within the next six months, which is a significant amount,' he said.

Another 35 per cent of the 300 line managers or human resource professionals surveyed said they would maintain the current staffing level of their finance teams.

Only 5 per cent said they would reduce headcount. The rest were not certain about their plans.

The global slowdown is not expected to ease the shortage of key financial sector talent in Singapore.

'The ongoing talent crunch in Singapore is unlikely to abate any time soon, and demand for middle management talent in Singapore is expected to remain high,' said Mr Hird.

'Despite concerns about an economic slowdown, many financial companies here are reviewing new sectors for growth, such as commodities, and are still actively recruiting in these areas.'

Another recruitment firm, Robert Walters, backed the survey findings. It has also not seen any tapering off in jobs in the non-banking finance sector.

'It is still an employee's market in this sector,' said the manager of the company's accounting and finance specialist recruitment division, Ms Shelley Tilson.

Mr Hird said firms are offering a wider variety of benefits, including high bonuses, to attract and retain top talent.

But more could be done to keep top talent.

Employers, for instance, will need to tailor salary packages and benefit schemes to suit the changing needs of individual employees, Mr Hird said. For example, they could consider including employees in the design of the benefit scheme.

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore, which endorsed the survey, said its recent online poll echoed the results.

Dr Ernest Kan, the institute's vice-president, said competition for talent is still strong, especially for accountants. More than 90 per cent of fresh accounting graduates find jobs before graduating, he said.

After gaining several years of experience, they will be in even greater demand, he said.

joyceteo@sph.com.sg