Demand in Caribbean for accountants and profile?
 

Hi all,
qualified ACCA last year in a small practice where got mainly experience in year end financial statements prep for small/medium companies, some audit experience but not a huge amount, and bookkeeping, payroll etc. Am currently in Ireland and there are actually a lot of positions for recently qualified in various type of roles despite the crisis. I am very interested in the prospect of getting a position in the Caribbean/ Bermuda region as it seems to be a very good way to develop rapidly professionally and obviously the lifestyle, but have some doubts after reading on various forums about getting a position there.

1) Am I too old to get a position there?
I am 35 and would plan to bring partner (beauty therapist) and two infants there. Worked as programmer (dot com crash killed that) and number of years as purchasing/logistics manager in Spain before turning to back accountancy in Ireland. Am fluent in Spanish.

2) Has the economic crisis greatly affected demand out there.

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance. :)

Re: Demand in Caribbean for accountants and profile?
 

Not sure on what planet 35 becomes too old for employment opportunities. :p So no, you are not too old.

I am an accountant and went to Bermuda age 36 returning 2 years later. I believe that the employment market has got tighter since then as you would expect but am not in a position to comment more than that as I am long out of there.

I do not think that the Caribbean would provide rapid career progression or is particularly good for a CV afterwards (depending upon position of course). I think a move to Bermuda or the Caribbean is about lifestyle not career path.

I could be wrong, but there might be a problem bringing an umarried partner to Bermuda on your work permit should you secure one.

Re: Demand in Caribbean for accountants and profile?
 

Thanks for the reply. Of course you are right about the age. I had read that most new accounting staff were mid to late twenties who were recently qualified so imagined that implied companies preferred candidates who were young, highly motivated to learn/work with no distractions such as children. That coupled with the fact that I am coming from a small practice rather than one of the big four might work against me.

I read also on the Hamilton Recruitment website that there were "truly extraordinary opportunities for career progression from the outset" for good employees. Obviously they want to attract candidates and it would depend on the position as you say. I would hope that if I were to get a position that it would enhance my CV, its very competitive out there so one has to be growing.

I imagine marriage would be the solution to the work permit issue, its been 14 years so its probably about time anyway. Shes been very chirpy since I showed her your post.:eek:

Re: Demand in Caribbean for accountants and profile?
 

The accounting firms tend to have intakes every year and these do tend to be mid to late 20 year olds. I do know one or two that trained in a small practice and then joined a Big 4 in Bermuda. I went a different path, into industry not accounting firm.

The company I worked for had picked up a lot of accountants that had come the traditional Big 4 / Audit route a few years earlier so that is how I know how that works.

Marketing speak I think. My background is multinational financial servies organisations, in this context, I don't think that a few years in Bermuda will ever look as impressive on a CV as a few years in London say. I was the CFO of the Bermudian office of a multinational, the title CFO in a globally known company (albeit in Bermuda :p) has done me no harm of course but I think if I had stayed there for much longer than I did that I would have lost my edge.

Glad to assist Mrs Wills. :D