The Future of Internal Controls in Europe

​The general economic downturn across Europe last year had little effect on the internal controls (IC) market, with financial institutions being required to maintain a certain team size to ensure compliance with regulatory bodies, such as stricter reporting from the BaFin for financial institutions in Germany. No matter what the economy has in store for the period ahead, the internal controls market should remain stable due to the critical nature of the function.

In-demand skills & roles

We are expecting an increase in IT risk, BCM and operational resilience hiring over the next 12 months due to the new DORA regulations. There will also be an increasing focus on ESG topics, as well as sustainability-adjacent language becoming increasingly included in job descriptions.

Companies are finding roles like business continuity management (BCM) and outsourcing-related positions particularly difficult to fill as demand for talent outstrips supply in these areas. There is also a shortage of highly qualified German-speaking candidates in Frankfurt across internal controls functions.

Finding the right talent

The increasingly candidate-short market is making firms more flexible when it comes to the checklist of skills they are looking for - if someone is missing a skill in a long list, they can be trained on the job.

In order to secure the best talent, some companies are changing their compensation structure, such as offering a larger bonus or a sign-on fee rather than a higher base salary. Keeping shorter hiring timelines is critical for firms, as aggressive counter offers are common. Having multiple candidates in final rounds or revisiting previously unsuccessful candidates also prevents the need to start afresh if a favorite candidate isn’t secured.

Professionals on the other hand are leveraging the demand for their skillsets to ask for significantly higher salaries of up to 20-25% base salary increase when changing roles. Many candidates also increase their salary expectations later in interview processes, when they feel they have gained more commitment and leverage from the company. Keen to learn more about salaries within internal controls? Explore our Internal Controls Salary Guide for Europe.

Advice for candidates

​With internal controls talent being so highly sought-after, there’s never a downside to professionals being open to conversations and networking, as it can help cement career and compensation priorities. We recommend discussing salary expectations early on in the hiring process, so both parties have clear expectations.