The finance, accounting and insurance industry is one of New Zealand’s most profitable industries, making up 26% of our income. Employment opportunities vary according to which sector you work in.

Opportunities for people to work in accountancy roles are good, as there is ongoing demand for staff in all areas.

Demand is particularly high for chartered financial accountants, which appears on Immigration New Zealand’s immediate skill shortage list. If a job is on the list it means the Government is actively encouraging skilled people in the role to work in New Zealand.

• Financial accountant job information

Insurance is a fast growing sector of the industry, as demand for insurance services is rising because of factors such as:

• an ageing population, with a need for health and medical insurance
• new legislation such as the possibility of compulsory car insurance
• climate change leading more people to take out policies against risk of drought, flooding, earthquakes or other natural disasters
• more employers offering insurance benefits as a means of recruiting and retaining staff.

This means opportunities to work in insurance jobs are good.

Aging workforce may create more opportunities in insurance

An ageing workforce will add to this demand in the future. For example, 67% of members of the Australasian Institute for Chartered Loss Adjusters (AICLA) and 80% of members of the Institute of Financial Advisers (IFA) are aged 46 and over. AICLA are attempting to attract younger workers through methods such as offering online training for professional development.

2007 saw a downturn in the New Zealand finance sector, which was caused by a slowing in New Zealand’s economy and a downward trend in international financial markets.

This resulted in the collapse of over 20 finance companies in New Zealand, causing hundreds of job losses.

As a result, competition for stable, full-time and permanent roles is high, whereas previously it was common for some financial professionals to do lucrative contract work, which is often the preferred option during economic boom periods.

New legislation introduced to protect the public’s investments

Thousands of New Zealander’s lost their savings with the collapse of over twenty finance companies between 2006 and 2008. As a result, fewer people are investing in the sharemarket or with finance companies that are not governed by a professional body.

New legislation has been introduced to protect the public’s investments, including:

• updating insurance legislation in 2009 to place the onus on insurers to get relevant information from the client. This may lead to more claims being paid as there will be fewer refusals for non-disclosure. This could in turn lead to a greater need for people to deal with insurance claims.
• the Financial Advisers Act starts in 2012 and will mean that anyone offering financial advice to the public will have to be a certified member of a financial planning institution.

Banking is seen as an excellent first step into the finance, accounting and insurance industry, as there are opportunities to progress into other roles. This includes moving into more senior roles in banking, or higher level roles in finance, accounting and insurance.