BS Internal Audit Mid-year - Flipbook - Page 4
INTERNAL AUDIT & CONTROLS | RECRUITMENT MARKET UPDATE 2024
BARCLAYSIMPSON.COM
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Looking ahead
Recruitment has always been, and always will be, cyclical. After
the extraordinary highs of 2022 and H1 2023, the internal audit
recruitment market has been in decline since the second half of
2023. This downward trend has continued into the first half of
2024. But where will the market go over the next 6-12 months?
The market outlook will depend on a few factors. First, an
increase in business investment is crucial to improving
opportunities for internal auditors.
Static organisations have relatively straightforward auditing and
assurance needs. However, dynamic investing businesses are more
likely to have major projects, organisational changes and M&A
activity, all of which significantly increase the need for auditors to
provide assurance that these activities are being well-managed.
A second, and related, factor is interest rates. These were
expected to fall in early 2024, but persistent inflation thwarted
those hopes. And while companies accept that the interest
cycle has likely peaked, with rates recently declining, business
investment is yet to start flowing again.
