A look back at 2020

I have always found Christmas to be a good time for reflection – time away from the office to look back at the year’s highs (and sometimes lows) and to make plans for the year ahead.  But where do you start with a year like 2020?

It’s certainly been a rollercoaster ride of a year – and I suspect we’ll be on that ride for a while longer yet as we await the roll-out of the vaccination programme.  As specialists in accounting and finance recruitment, the team here at Fletcher George have watched in awe as our clients have risen to the challenges that the year has presented them – furlough, economic uncertainty, remote working and staff wellbeing to name but a few – while, at the same time, successfully supporting and guiding their own companies and clients through Covid’s stormy waters.

One thing Covid-19 has achieved is to push through change and innovation in the world of recruitment.  We have witnessed an acceleration in the use of technology in the recruitment process – from virtual interviewing to remote onboarding – and we have ‘zoomed’ our way through two lockdowns and seen clients embrace flexible and home-based working in a way that nobody would have thought possible a year ago.

Those senior accounting and finance professionals who have been most successful in leading their teams through the crisis are those that have shown clear communication skills, empathy, flexibility, creativity and openness to change.  And, in these uncertain times, never has it been more important for finance professionals to be guided by their core values.

Here at Fletcher George, we decided to take some time to revisit our own core values – defining what drives us in our mission to deliver the best accountancy and finance recruitment service to our clients and candidates.  For us, it comes down to delivering honest, professional, relationship-based recruitment solutions built on trust and expert industry knowledge.

And what do I see on the horizon for 2021?  I’m not sure it would be wise to make any predictions following a year that has taught us that anything can happen!  However, we do know that our industry and clients will continue to face significant Covid-related economic and social challenges coupled with the small matter of Brexit (whatever shape that takes).  What I do predict though is that, in the face of challenges and change, there comes opportunity for those finance and accounting professionals willing to grasp it.

Wishing all our clients and candidates a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Lisa Wintrip

Director, Fletcher George Financial Recruitment

Fletcher George is an independent finance and accountancy recruiter working, primarily with finance and accounting professionals in South West London and Surrey including the Hampshire and Sussex borders.  We recruit for both Public Practice and also for commercial businesses in the local area.

For more information, please contact Lisa on 01372 364 160 or by email: lisa@fletchergeorge.co.uk