And to manage the demand, a new service called ‘CAs Online’, has been introduced by Blue Recruiting, one of South Africa’s largest specialist CA recruitment consultancies.
Director Graeme Marais said: ”South Africa has traditionally been a source of CA talent for international audit firms, particularly in the UK.
But changes in the UK's economic landscape have reduced opportunities for South African CAs overseas. The UK has been experiencing economic challenges, including a slowdown in growth and sharp increase in the cost of living, leading to lower attrition rates within audit firms and therefore, reduced hiring.
“Audit firms in the UK have also reported a significant decrease in staff turnover as employees hold on to their jobs for longer, such is in the growing economic insecurity.”
PwC UK cut up to 600 UK jobs last year due to falling attrition rates, although this was mainly in the advisory space. This move was part of a broader trend among major accounting firms, including Deloitte, EY, and KPMG.
“More recently we are seeing this in the US and in the Cayman Islands, with these markets showing a 33% slowdown in attrition rates.” Marais said.
These developments reflect the broader economic uncertainties and shifting demands within the professional services sector over the last year.
“For example, despite the sustained interest among South African CAs to work abroad, less than half of the number of newly qualified CAs have found jobs in the UK for 2025 compared to the last few years.”
Employers in South Africa may be blessed for choice but for newly qualified CAs it is going to be a very competitive market.
“In response we have introduced ‘CAs Online’, a video enabled platform for candidates to be exposed to more employment opportunities and for employers to efficiently filter through the many newly qualified CAs available.
It gives you a chance to put your best foot forward to enable you to meet your employer match. It’s easy to use and it significantly speeds up the hiring process. Younger applicants also tend to be tech savvy and like the simplicity and familiarity of the approach.
Candidates can upload videos to the Blue Recruiting 'CAs Online' platform directly from their phones or computers.
Marais also noted that several other factors are enhancing the attractiveness of the South African job market for CAs such as the Government of National Unity (GNU).
“This coalition has fostered political stability and renewed confidence in the country's governance. South African banks in particular, benefiting from lower interest rates and improved market conditions, are expected to increase hiring in 2025 after a period of austerity in cost reduction in the last few years.”
While the retention of newly qualified CAs in South Africa is promising, it reflects external challenges in key international markets rather than a sea change in domestic attractiveness.
Given the fact that there was less hiring this year, we don’t yet really know if the positivity in the local market has had an impact of moving abroad yet. If that turns out to be the case, the increased supply in the local market may be more enduring.
“For newly qualified CAs it is going to be a very keen market. We encourage them to start looking for roles this year and not wait until 2025,” Marais concluded.
