Robert Half

Sarbanes-Oxley gives rise to new accounting service providers

Mon, 21 May 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Recall that Sarbanes-Oxley banned accounting firms from providing consulting services to their audit clients--for good reason. That gave rise to a new group of service providers. The need to handle risk assessments, tax-related consulting and IT-related work, among other things. One firm that has distinguished itself is Smart Business Advisory, based in the Philadelphia area. Great Hill Partners, a private equity firm, just sunk $60 billion into the business, which is in hyper growth mode. There are a host of competitors. Huron Consulting Group, which was formed by refugees from Arthur Andersen. Navigant Consulting, Protiviti, a unit of recruiter Robert Half International, and FTI Consulting. Most of the established companies are looking to expand by acquisition. We'll likely see some roll-ups emerge soon enough.

For more:
- here's an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer

Recruiter pain a signal of Sarbox uncertainty

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:01:39 -0400

Robert Half International, a big headhunter-type firm, has benefited from the rise of Sarbanes-Oxley. Like a lot of executive search companies, there was law-generated turnover that kept them busy. In addition, its Protiviti unit fared very well as demand soared for its independent internal audit and risk-assessment consulting services. So it really seemed to have hit the Sarbox sweet spot. But the company missed its first-quarter estimates. And the company guided analysts lower for the second quarter--to the 40 to 43 cents per share range. That compares with previous estimates in the 48 cents range. One issue seems to be that more companies are scaling back their risk-assessment work or putting off until the issues are better clarified. If more companies are scaling back, in a sense, that means the drive to narrow the scope of Sarbox is working. If they are merely postponing, we could see a really frenzied rush once, make that if, the guidance from regulators is made explicit. Interesting.

For more:
- here's the AP article via Forbes

What are your job prospects like in 2007?

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:01:39 -0500

We've discussed before that Sarbox has been a real boon to finance and information technology employees who specialize in compliance. In the upcoming year, this trend will likely remain intact, and will likely present many opportunities for those aiming to trade up. Headhunter Robert Half International has come up with five "hot jobs" for this year: Internal auditor, compliance executive, financial analyst, staff accountant, and external auditor. Not too hard to figure out what's behind the boom. At the top of the heap: Compliance executives with a Securities and Exchange Commission reporting portfolio. Starting salaries for chief compliance officers at large companies, a relatively new position, are projected to be in the $132,500 to $181,250 range. The pay is a bit less at smaller companies. In both cases, that's about a 9 percent rise. One tack may be to acquire both IT and accounting compliance skills. Sarbox, if you haven't figured it out by now, is an interdisciplinary endeavor.

For more Robert Half's hot jobs:
- read this summary

Salary guide: Keep up with how much you are worth

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 19:01:39 -0500

We've discussed a bit about the bull market for compliance professionals these days. Many of you have likely been contacted by headhunters. You can thank Sarbanes-Oxley for a lot of that. The good news is that the strong economy coupled with compliance-oriented needs are driving demand and salaries even higher. The person most likely to get the biggest raise to base salary at companies with at least $250 million in revenue is the chief compliance officer. These guys are expected to get a 14.4 percent boost, resulting in starting salaries between $132,500 to $181,250. Internal audit managers will see their base pay boosted 5.8 percent, to between $77,500 to $101,500 for 2007. You really ought to stay up with these trends. The last thing you want is get shorted. That's like losing money in bull market.

- read this article from AccountingWeb
- access the 2007 salary guide from Robert Half International