After the Global Financial Crisis hit hard across many areas of recruitment, 2011 has seen an explosive rise in the transfer pricing recruitment space. A number of listed multinationals and investment banks have increased their appetite for establishing or expanding their in-house transfer pricing capability and the Big 4, Top 10, economic consultancies and law firms continue to dip their collective toes back into the water.

ASIA ON THE RISE

With 2011 well underway, transfer pricing recruitment shows little sign of slowing up, with hot areas focused on the financial services sector as well as more broadly, the Asia-Pacific region. The nature of transfer pricing across Asia has quickly evolved into a highly advisory and commercially focused discipline. With the Chinese government announcing that it has retrieved 2.6 billion Yuan ($398 million) after 178 investigations last year, this is an aggressive 24% increase from 2009.

Whilst the tightening of regulations through the abolition of tax incentives has contributed to a more aggressive stance by governments, the expectation is that they will adopt a much more creative approach in exploring new avenues of revenue generation.  As such, the desire for superior in-house transfer pricing talent in both multinationals and banks is paramount, particularly for those candidates who may have local language skills or moved away from the region but now want to return home. Current hot spots in Asia include Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, China (Shanghai and Beijing); and Singapore for professionals with excellent supply chain restructuring credentials.

EUROPE AND THE U.S: IN-HOUSE SALARY REVIEW

The current drawback with countries like the US and the UK is work permit sponsorship. Due to the difficult economic conditions of recent past, it has become increasingly difficult to obtain employment sponsorship for lateral moves in these two markets, particularly as work permit quotas have already been met or there exists an already strong candidate pool of locally experienced transfer pricing professionals.

In-house European and U.S transfer pricing roles are still top of the shopping list for candidates; however the number of limited roles available ensures that competition is fierce.

There has also been a clear tightening up of criteria from clients seeking to recruit experienced in-house transfer pricing resources. Previous or current exposure to an in-house environment coupled with sound international tax and accounting knowledge are now seen by many Tax Directors as essential criteria to successfully bridge the relationship between key decision makers and finance.

A successful outcome for organisations now operating in a candidate led market has been the result of a fluid recruitment and offer process as well as readdressing the financial packages on offer. Whilst a typical salary increase of 15%-20% was considered the industry standard four years ago, organisations ahead of the game are offering 40-65% increases to secure exceptional transfer pricing talent. Guaranteed bonuses, sign-on bonuses and MBA study costs are included in these figures, however the message is clear, to secure the very best that the market has to offer, clients will need to provide outstanding financial rewards.

SUMMARY

So what does this all really mean for the remainder of 2011 and the start of 2012? In short, the future is bright for experienced transfer pricing professionals seeking a fast-track and highly challenging careeer move. There are a multitude of opportunities worldwide – a lot will depend on your sense of adventure, particularly in the emerging markets where there are excellent opportunities for accelerated career advancement.  All you need is the right attitude in being willing to adapt to new challenges and surroundings as well as possessing the right level of experience and skills to make the move a comfortable but very exciting leap.

Given our worldwide connections in over 40 countries, TP International is the only specialist recruitment consultancy working globally to help transfer pricing professionals fulfill their career aspirations. For further information on recent projects that we have completed with our clients or what our candidates think of us, please visit our Clients and Candidates pages or give us a call on +44 207 160 0020.