As UK businesses navigate economic uncertainty, digital transformation, and growing regulatory complexity, the demand for skilled finance professionals has never been greater. Yet attracting and retaining top talent in finance is a constant challenge, driven by sector-wide skills shortages, evolving candidate expectations, and fierce competition for niche expertise.
From financial planning and analysis (FP&A) roles to ESG reporting, audit, and fintech compliance, the scope of finance recruitment is expanding fast. Employers must respond with tailored strategies that go beyond the CV, balancing technical acumen, cultural fit, and long-term growth potential.
Signet Recruitment & Retention works closely with SMEs and corporates across the UK to deliver specialist finance hires. Our structured approach, combined with real-time salary data and role-specific playbooks, helps hiring managers move quickly and confidently in a competitive market.
Context & Challenges in UK Finance Recruitment
Market Dynamics
The second half of 2025 is seeing a surge in demand for finance roles that blend traditional accounting skills with new competencies - particularly in FP&A, ESG, compliance, and digital finance. Fintech adoption, regulatory updates, and an increased focus on ESG transparency are fuelling job creation in specialist areas.
However, broader economic caution persists. HS2-related hiring pauses, tax uncertainty, and fluctuating interest rates are causing some businesses to tighten budgets and delay decisions. The labour market remains competitive, but hiring momentum is uneven across regions and industries.
This dual reality means finance recruitment needs to be agile and evidence-led; matching long-term workforce planning with short-term delivery capability.
Talent Expectations Have Evolved
Today’s finance professionals are looking for more than a payslip. While competitive salaries still matter, candidates increasingly value roles that offer hybrid working, exposure to modern tech stacks, clear progression routes, and purposeful work.
A strong employer brand, inclusive culture, and seamless candidate experience are essential for attracting passive and active talent alike. DE&I is no longer a “nice to have”; it is an expectation. Businesses must demonstrate progress through inclusive job specs, structured interviews, and representative hiring panels.
Salary Benchmarking & Compensation Strategy
Getting compensation right is vital for both attraction and retention. Referencing salary bands from trusted sources like ACCA and CIMA ensures credibility and competitiveness, especially for roles where talent is scarce.
Signet’s tailored benchmarking tools go a step further by mapping compensation against geography, sector, and level of seniority. These tools help clients identify salary gaps, avoid overpaying, and position themselves effectively in a crowded market.
Compensation strategies should also look beyond base pay. Bonuses, enhanced pensions, wellness allowances, and transparent career pathways all contribute to total reward. Employers should clearly articulate these benefits during the hiring process, as today’s candidates make decisions based on the full package.
Sourcing Channels: Building a Targeted Funnel
Niche and Broad Platforms
A multi-channel approach is key to building a finance talent pipeline. Specialist job boards like ICAEWjobs, GAAPweb, CityJobs, and eFinancialCareers offer targeted access to active candidates, while generalist boards like Reed provide volume reach, particularly for early-career or transitional hires.
Optimising job postings for SEO and clarity, and ensuring employer branding is visible on these platforms, increases response quality and brand recall.
Professional Networks & Referrals
LinkedIn remains the top source for passive talent. Finance-specific groups and communities, as well as ACCA and CIMA member forums, allow employers to engage directly with qualified professionals.
Referrals, both internal and external, are also effective in finance recruitment, particularly when filling sensitive or strategic roles. Encouraging employee referral programmes can yield trusted, high-conversion candidates.
Agency Partnerships & Signet’s Role
Time-strapped internal teams often benefit from specialist recruitment support. Signet’s finance recruitment team combines deep market knowledge with proactive sourcing, reaching both active and passive candidates who align with your values and expectations.
From sourcing and shortlisting to structured interview prep and onboarding support, we act as an extension of your team, speeding up hiring while reducing the risk of mis-hires.
Role Definition & Structured Selection
Skills Gap & Role Clarity
Finance hiring must start with a clear understanding of current capabilities and future needs. Conducting a skills-gap analysis in collaboration with department heads ensures new roles are shaped around genuine business goals, not just job titles.
Job descriptions should outline more than tasks - they should articulate expected outcomes, required technical knowledge, soft skills, and cultural alignment. Including progression pathways and upskilling opportunities makes roles more attractive to ambitious candidates.
Structured Assessment
Structured selection is essential for fairness, speed, and confidence. Interviews should include a blend of technical assessments (such as financial modelling or Excel-based tasks), case study evaluations, and behavioural interviews aligned to core competencies.
Where AI or automation is used for CV screening or test scoring, it must be monitored for potential bias. Human judgment, combined with clearly defined rubrics, remains critical in final decision-making.
Signet provides interview kits with finance-specific scorecards, case briefs, and question banks to help clients conduct effective, consistent interviews.
Retention Strategies
Culture & Engagement
Retaining finance professionals depends on more than pay. A culture of cross-functional collaboration, regular knowledge sharing, and inclusion gives employees a sense of belonging and purpose.
Flexible and hybrid working arrangements are now considered the baseline in finance roles. Employers that support autonomy and trust gain loyalty and are more likely to attract passive talent open to new opportunities.
Regular communication, peer recognition, and manager development all contribute to sustained engagement across finance teams.
Career Development & Wellbeing
Career growth is a primary motivator for finance professionals. Offering study support (e.g. ACCA, CIMA), structured career progression, and opportunities to take on stretch projects enhances long-term retention.
Well-being is equally important. Mental health support, financial education, access to coaching or mentoring (including cross-company mentoring), and work-life balance policies signal care and long-term investment.
Signet can support with retention audits, engagement pulse surveys, and strategic workforce planning to ensure your finance team stays motivated and future-ready.
Playbooks, Interview Kits & Channel Plans
Signet empowers employers with structured, ready-to-use recruitment toolkits designed for finance hiring teams.
These include:
- Salary benchmarking guides tailored to region and role
- Skills-gap analysis templates
- Job description templates for key finance roles (e.g. FP&A Analyst, Finance Business Partner, ESG Analyst)
- Interview question banks and technical test briefs
- Onboarding checklists for hybrid/remote employees
We also help clients build tiered sourcing plans; combining job boards, direct outreach, referrals, and specialist agency search to align recruitment activity with role urgency, seniority, and scarcity.
How Signet Recruitment & Retention Helps Employers
Signet Recruitment & Retention offers tailored, end-to-end finance recruitment support built around your unique business needs:
- Benchmarking & Salary Insights – Our compensation reports are grounded in ACCA/CIMA standards and adapted to local and sector-specific conditions.
- Role Mapping & Sourcing Strategy – We define role scopes, build candidate personas, and create sourcing plans aligned to urgency and culture fit.
- Deep Network Access – Our finance talent pool spans passive and active candidates across audit, FP&A, ESG, and compliance.
- Selection & Retention Tools – From structured interview kits to onboarding checklists and engagement audits, we support clients through the full hiring lifecycle.
By partnering with Signet, you gain access to a proven process, real-time market data, and a recruitment team that understands the nuances of finance hiring.
Conclusion
Recruiting top-tier finance talent requires more than advertising roles. It demands competitive benchmarking, precision in role design, targeted sourcing, and structured selection. But success does not end with a signed offer; it continues through onboarding, development, and retention.
Signet Recruitment & Retention is your trusted partner in building high-performing finance teams. With a tailored playbook, access to finance networks, and data-backed advisory, we help you secure talent that drives performance and strengthens your business for the future.
Reach out to our team today to start planning your next hire.
