Finance hiring in 2026 is raising an important question for employers: what should a strong finance professional be able to deliver beyond accurate reporting?
Technical accounting expertise remains essential. However, research published this year points towards a broader combination of capabilities: digital confidence, commercial understanding, risk awareness and the ability to turn financial information into decisions.
For organisations hiring across Ireland and the UK, these developments offer a useful guide to workforce planning. For accountants and contract professionals considering their next move, they highlight where to strengthen their experience.
These are skill trends, rather than evidence that every finance specialism is experiencing the same level of vacancy growth. The recruitment opportunity lies in matching evolving business needs with demonstrable capability.
Finance professionals should understand where AI can assist their work and where human review remains essential.
Data analysis that improves decisions
Finance teams have access to substantial information, but access alone does not create insight. Businesses need professionals who can establish whether data is reliable, connect it to operational performance and explain what action it supports.
ACCA and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand’s July 2026 research, based on 1,600 finance professionals, identified data quality, skills shortages and integration difficulties as significant barriers to better use of data.
For hiring managers, this suggests looking beyond a list of software packages. A candidate’s ability to reconcile inconsistent information, investigate unusual movements and build a useful reporting process can be more revealing than familiarity with a particular dashboard.
For candidates, examples might include improving a forecasting model, reducing manual reporting or identifying the cause of a margin decline. Experience with Excel, Power BI or finance systems becomes more persuasive when linked to a clear business outcome.
AI literacy supported by professional judgement
AI is changing expectations around finance work. The UK Financial Services Skills Commission’s 2026 report identifies an increasingly valuable combination of technology knowledge, sector expertise and human capabilities, including critical thinking and adaptability.
The recruitment implication is practical: finance professionals should understand where AI can assist their work and where human review remains essential.
An accountant using an approved AI tool to help draft commentary must still check the figures, challenge the explanation and protect confidential information. Familiarity with AI should therefore sit alongside sound judgement about accuracy, security and accountability.
Candidates can strengthen their position by explaining a responsible use case and the checks they applied. Employers should ask how a person validates an output, rather than treating enthusiasm for new technology as proof of competence.
Commercial finance and business partnering
A report becomes more valuable when it helps someone make a better decision. Finance business partnering depends on understanding how the organisation earns revenue, manages costs and allocates resources.
In recruitment terms, this means assessing how candidates connect financial performance with operational choices. Can they explain the implications of a pricing change? Can they compare investment options or challenge an unrealistic budget constructively?
For financial planning and analysis professionals, management accountants and finance managers, scenario planning is a useful way to demonstrate this capability. A strong interview example explains the business problem, the assumptions tested and the decision supported.
Employers should also define what commercial contribution means in their organisation. Supporting a manufacturing site, a services business or an investment operation involves different drivers. Clear role requirements help attract people with relevant experience.
Controls, governance and risk awareness
Digital change makes strong controls particularly important. In Ireland’s regulated financial services sector, the Digital Operational Resilience Act has applied since 17 January 2025. Its requirements cover areas including ICT risk management, incident reporting, resilience testing and third-party technology risk.
DORA does not apply to every finance department. However, for organisations within its scope, it provides a concrete reason to consider operational resilience knowledge when recruiting relevant risk, governance and control professionals.
Across wider accounting functions, employers can assess whether candidates understand approval processes, audit evidence, reconciliations and the risks created by changing systems.
For contract accountants joining a business during a transition, the ability to document a process and identify control weaknesses can be particularly useful. Delivering work quickly must be accompanied by a clear, reliable record of how it was completed.
Communication that makes expertise useful
Communication is a professional capability that deserves explicit assessment. ACCA’s March 2026 storytelling guide highlights how employers distinguish between technically capable candidates through their ability to communicate insight and engage stakeholders.
In finance, effective storytelling means explaining what the numbers show, why it matters and what should happen next.
A candidate might describe how they explained a cost variance to a non-finance manager or secured agreement on a revised forecast. These examples reveal whether someone can adapt their message without losing accuracy.
Hiring managers can explore this through a short, realistic scenario. Asking a candidate to explain a financial issue to an operational colleague may provide more useful evidence than a broad question about communication skills.
Adaptability and continuous development
Finance careers are evolving alongside the work itself. ACCA’s Global Talent Trends 2026 survey found that 52% of respondents expected their next career move to be outside their current organisation. The global finding highlights a retention challenge, although it should not be treated as an Ireland-specific or UK-specific measure.
Employers therefore need to consider the proposition surrounding a vacancy: development opportunities, management support, workload and career progression.
Candidates should be equally clear about what they want to learn. A move into commercial finance, a contract supporting a systems project or greater responsibility for reporting can each build a different career path.
A useful development plan combines strong accounting foundations with one or two capabilities relevant to the intended role.
Turning skills priorities into successful recruitment
The challenge for employers is translating these themes into a realistic hiring brief. Expecting one person to cover every accounting, technology and regulatory requirement can narrow the candidate pool unnecessarily.
Start with the business problem. Identify the essential experience, decide which skills can be developed and consider whether the requirement suits a permanent appointment or specialist contract support.
Working with a recruitment agency such as PE Global helps connect that brief with relevant finance talent. A focused conversation about responsibilities, sector experience and practical capability creates a stronger basis for matching employers and candidates.
For professionals, the same approach makes a job search more purposeful. Whether you are an accountant seeking progression or a contract specialist looking for your next assignment, explain the outcomes you have delivered and the direction you want to take.
Explore PE Global’s current opportunities, upload your CV or speak with a consultant about your next finance role. If you are building your team, contact PE Global to discuss the skills your business needs.
