Ernst & Young

Recruiting internationally is critical to Ernst & Young's ability to grow and take full advantage of strong demand

The global 'Big Four' accountancy firm employs 114,000 people in 140 countries and in the year to the end of June 2006 recruited 650 people into the UK from a record 26 countries including Ecuador, Ukraine, Mauritius and South Africa.

Around 2% of the international hires joined Ernst & Young in Scotland, where the firm employs 800 people across offices in Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh. Most of the international recruits are overseas graduates of Scottish universities staying in Scotland under the Fresh Talent Working in Scotland Scheme.

The unprecedented international hiring activity helped boost UK revenues by 20% to £1.13bn, including a 40% jump in profits.

"The key thing for us is we're looking for talent irrespective of which country they come from," said E&Y graduate recruitment manager Emma Judge.

"We're looking for students with a broad range of experiences and backgrounds. We don't target recruits from overseas specifically, but often they have a different perspective on certain things. Obviously we're a global firm and it helps having people working throughout the world with different backgrounds from different countries.

"We also move people around the world a lot and having a good mix of different nationalities helps us do that. Most of our clients are global companies and expect us to be able to understand cultures wherever they are."

Recruits are generally required to have some kind of accountancy, audit, corporate finance or risk qualification which is accredited by the international accountancy body ACCA or an affiliate organisation.

E&Y's range of services includes accounting and auditing, tax reporting and operations, tax advisory, business risk services, technology and security risk services, transaction advisory, and human capital services. Secondment opportunities are promoted within the firm, while external recruitment activity includes international advertising campaigns in different geographical markets.

"It's not just about filling numbers, it's also about diversity and making sure we appeal to a wider talent pool," said Heather Andrews, senior recruitment manager at E&Y. "Secondment allows people within the group to come to the UK to get experience of larger deals and larger clients. They're then taking that experience back to their home countries and enabling us to increase the breadth and depth of experience we can provide globally.

"We're just making sure we're utilising our skills around the globe and ensuring they're brought together on the right project in the right way to produce the best result for the client."

Case study:Feb 2007

Contact

Ernst & Young
Ten George Street
Edinburgh
EH2 2DZ
Tel: +44 (0)131 777 2000
Fax: +44 (0)131 777 2001
Web: www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/UK/_Careers