By JOYCE HOOI

IN a job market that is rapidly cooling off, demand is heating up for qualified accounting and finance professionals who know their stuff.

According to the third annual Robert Half Global Financial Employment Monitor, 80 per cent of local respondents have difficulty finding skilled accounting and finance candidates, against the global average of 68 per cent.

This year's survey found that professionals with 'financial management' skills are the most in demand, with 17 per cent of local respondents citing this is the area in which they have had the greatest difficulty finding personnel.

'The talent shortage in the financial management function represents a renewed emphasis in cost management and control as businesses continue to tackle the challenges of the economic downturn,' said Tim Hird, managing director of Robert Half Singapore.

Where finance candidates in particular are concerned, companies in Singapore are looking for a combination of expertise in regulatory-compliance, an understanding of international markets and experience and knowledge of the firm's industry.

Interestingly, less than one per cent globally and in Singapore, had listed confidentiality/honesty as one of the three most important attributes for executive-level finance candidates.

While employers may be experiencing a shortage of expertise, accounting and finance employees have been experiencing no shortage of work.

Local respondents in the finance and accounting department were the most harried in the region, with 58 per cent of them reporting greater workloads because of current economic conditions, compared with 39 per cent in Hong Kong and 32 per cent in Japan.

Not surprisingly, greater stress and lower morale in accounting and finance departments were cited by 45 per cent and 37 per cent of local respondents respectively as effects of the bleak economy.

Despite significantly outpacing global averages for stress and low morale, local employers have been among the more responsive, with 85 per cent of firms making changes like redistributing work and increasing communication with employees.

'It is heartening to note from the survey that the majority of Singapore companies are addressing the impact of the downturn on their staff and recognising the importance of motivating and retaining them,' said Mr Hird.

'People priorities should not be dropped from the radar screen, even as companies battle to manage costs and bottomline efficiencies. Ultimately, employees are a company's biggest assets and those who continue to value and invest in their staff will be better positioned for success in the future.'

The survey included 4,830 human resources and finance managers in 22 countries. 179 of the respondents were from Singapore.

This article was first published in The Business Times .