Fourth Quarter Save

An Interview with the Delta Dallas Accounting Team

We all love it when our home team makes a push to victory in the fourth quarter of a game. My personal favorite is in the movie Hoosiers when Jimmy Chitwood makes the final shot for victory. He didn’t get there by himself, however. He had a team. He had a strong coach and a full team behind him so that he could perform.

It’s the fourth quarter in corporate America right now. Accounting departments want to finish strong and position themselves for the next year. There are challenges, though. Most of us have been working for quite a while with reduced teams. During this final quarter of the year, it may be time to bring in additional team members to support the work that needs to be completed in Q4 and allow you and your team to look forward into Q1.

This week, I had the opportunity to sit down with Keith Beavers, CPC and Amanda Stark, members of the Delta Dallas accounting team, and ask them what trends they see at the beginning of this quarter.

Tabitha: Amanda, this is the final quarter of the year. What are you hearing from your clients as we approach the end of the year?

Amanda: Well, first of all, I have seen a lot more activity than in previous quarters. People are starting to pull in the end of year help they need in the areas of tax, accounts receivable, and collections, and they are hiring both contract and temp-to-hire.

Tabitha: Besides the volume that you have coming in, how does this differ from previous quarters?

Amanda: The primary difference that I am seeing is in the area of direct hires. Although contract employees are still the bulk of the job requests that we work on, the direct hire piece has definitely picked up. Employers are beginning to show signs of confidence when it comes to hiring full-time staff. They are being selective – and they can be with all of the great candidates that are on the market right now! The good news is that they are starting to re-hire some of the positions that had to be eliminated in 2008 and earlier in 2009.

Tabitha: Well, Keith, I know you hire at the senior level – what differences are you seeing this quarter?

Keith: This quarter has been really interesting. The clients that have had the most activity in my specialties this quarter have been wealth management companies, which to me is an indicator that the banks are starting to open up money.

Tabitha: So what does that mean in terms of fourth quarter hiring?

Keith: Well, I have seen more senior level VP positions right now than I have seen in the last 8 months. Senior level staff accountants are in more demand, and direct hires are more prevalent than they have been in quite a while.

Tabitha: How is the hiring dynamic different than it was before the recession?

Keith: In general, people are just running tighter operations. They are not going to over-staff. Here at the end of the year, they are feeling the need to re-hire some of the positions they had to eliminate, but they are not going to stretch the budget to fill positions that are not absolutely vital to operations.

The recession is beginning to ease. Recovery is ahead. Fourth quarter demands can press accounting departments to the brink of insanity, but they can also become an opportunity to focus with vision on the year ahead. You can finish strong by calling in the temporary teammates that you need to meet end of year demands and get ahead of the game by creating sound fiscal strategies for 2010. You can also position yourself for recovery by hiring top-tier employees that are available in this down economy. By the time the recovery is in full swing, these top-tier players can become part of your core group, allowing you to be ahead of the pack and prepared to support your company’s success in the new economy.