Expecting a pause in Internal Audit recruitment this summer? Don’t turn off your phone just yet..

9/07/2018 by Andy Winterburgh

On my way to a very sunny Henley Rowing Regatta on Friday, I reflected for a moment that the Summer Season is now really in full swing. 
 
You might think as it’s mid July, I may have been able to recognise a few other signs before now!  Like the sun shining consistently for days - well actually that’s not something I associate with a British summer...  Or the beer gardens full with happy England fans (it’s coming home I’m told), but come to think of it, that also isn’t something I associate with a British summer...   And, in the absence of Andy Murray, British hopes fading at Wimbledon by the middle weekend, well at least that is normal service resumed.
 
Where’s the usual summer siesta?
 
Perhaps I’d not paid attention to all these signals because what I haven’t seen, is the Internal Audit recruitment market taking its usual summer siesta.  The summer siesta looked like it may have arrived around the time the World Cup started, but that was a false dawn, as people dragged themselves away from their TV’s and got back to business.  Having seen record activity levels in Q1 and Q2, Q3 has also kicked off with unseasonably high activity levels.  This despite the major UK bank, which has been one of the main protagonists of recruitment activity in the market for the last year or so, appearing to be taking a well-earned pause. 
 
So what does this mean for Internal Audit recruitment activity in the second half of the year?
 
Well, as we all know in Financial Services, “past performance is no guarantee of future performance”, but it’s probably good news for Internal Auditors looking to progress their careers, as opportunities abound for Auditors, especially in Investment Banking and Asset Management.
 
And it’s probably less good news for Audit Leaders either trying to retain top talent, or secure it, as they will face stiff competition from multiple players and are likely to see significant wage inflation.  But as one US Investment Bank we’ve been working with for years would say and believe “if you want to have the best firm you have to hire the top talent - period”.
 
So as you head off for your summer holidays, hopefully on the back of a World Cup Final featuring an England team for the first time in most of our memories, you might want to take your mobile with you, so you don’t miss any important calls...
 
Happy holidays (and come on England!).