UK employers are stepping up finance hiring plans as demand rises for professionals who can combine core accounting expertise with data analytics and generative AI capability, according to new research from recruitment company Robert Half.
In its latest findings, Robert Half said Finance and Accounting is among the strongest movers for planned hiring across white-collar disciplines. The company reported that 58% of employers expect to increase permanent headcount by the summer, up from 50% in the second half of 2025. It also found that 43% plan to hire contract or interim professionals, compared with 39% in the previous period. Robert Half said 64% of finance and accounting hiring managers rank finding qualified candidates among their top concerns for 2026.
The shift is being driven by demand for deeper technical capability inside finance teams, as organisations modernise reporting, forecasting, controls, and governance alongside wider digital transformation programmes. Data analytics was cited by 49% of employers as the most sought-after skill, followed by generative AI solutions (48%), budgeting and forecasting (47%), financial reporting (46%), and financial analysis (45%). Robert Half said the research is based on a UK survey of 500 hiring managers and 1,000 workers conducted in June and July 2025.
Employers are also becoming more explicit about paying a premium for scarce expertise. Robert Half said financial reporting was identified by 39% of employers as the skill most likely to command higher compensation, followed by data analytics, financial modelling, business intelligence tool expertise, and tax knowledge (all 38%).
Matt Weston, Senior Managing Director UK & Ireland at Robert Half, said: “The Finance and Accounting function is evolving at a remarkable pace. Businesses are accelerating their digital transformation initiatives, resulting in extremely high demand for finance professionals who can combine technical rigour with modern analytical and AI-driven capabilities. Employers are no longer looking solely for traditional accounting expertise. Instead, they want individuals who can interpret data, implement new technologies and support stronger financial governance.
“We are seeing a clear shift towards building smarter, more adaptable finance teams. The challenge for employers is that these skills remain in short supply, intensifying competition for qualified talent and driving up salary premiums, particularly in areas such as financial reporting and analytics.”
The hiring push comes as the wider labour market shows signs of easing. The Office for National Statistics estimated 726,000 vacancies in November 2025 to January 2026, broadly flat on the previous quarter, but down 9.2% compared with a year earlier. The ONS also reported an unemployment-to-vacancy ratio of 2.6 in October to December 2025, up from 1.9 in the same period a year earlier, indicating a larger pool of jobseekers relative to openings.
However, government research suggests AI capability remains a persistent bottleneck even as headline vacancy numbers fall. In an executive summary of its AI Labour Market Survey 2025, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said 97% of organisations surveyed identified at least one skills gap in the AI labour market. DSIT reported that 57% cited a technical skills gap and 30% a non-technical skills gap, underlining the scale of shortages as AI adoption spreads across business functions, including finance.
For finance leaders, the near-term implication is that hiring and retention strategies may need to blend permanent recruitment with interim capacity, while also investing in upskilling to build resilience in reporting, analytics, and governance capabilities. Robert Half’s findings suggest that employers that can offer clear development pathways and modern tooling may be better placed to compete for candidates as demand for hybrid finance and data skillsets increases.
More detail is available in Robert Half’s UK finance and accounting salary guide.
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