Careers Growing demand for ‘green’ professional roles; Karen Young helps with your career issues; and our book review

Ask PQ’s very own agony aunt Karen Young when you need advice from a real expert. Email your dilemma to graham@ pqmagazine.com, and he will pass on the best ones to Karen

THE DILEMMA I have had little time to prepare for my upcoming job interview. What is your advice for last-minute preparation?

KAREN’S RESPONSE You are no doubt feeling the pressure if you’ve secured a job interview but feel there’s not enough time to prepare. Even with your interview just around the corner, there are still ways you can successfully be ready to prove why the job should be yours. Here are my top four pieces of advice. 1. I recommend preparing a pitch, around two to three minutes long, which details your experience, skills and ambitions going forward. 2. Take a moment to re-read the job description and highlight key words. Then you can address these to illustrate the ways in which you are a suitable candidate. 3. Another top tip is to visit the organisation’s website; familiarise yourself with the main information and get a crucial sense of the organisation’s brand including their values and their purpose. Consider details like how long they have been established, research who their competitors are and their major projects. 4. Prepare some good questions to impress your interviewers. Asking good questions not only shows engagement but provides you with the answers you may want to know! Remember, if you use the time available to prepare efficiently, you can still showcase your best self in a last-minute interview. • Karen Young is a director at Hays. She is passionate about helping people to find the right job and companies the right person

Jobs are going green!

A new PwC barometer shows there is growing demand for ‘green’ professional and scientific roles

Green jobs are growing at around four times the rate of the overall UK employment market, with 2.2% of all new jobs classed as green. However, more than onethird of these roles are now based in London and the South East.

The second edition of PwC’s Green Jobs Barometer has found that the number of green jobs advertised in the UK has almost trebled in the past year, equating to 336,000 posts, providing encouragement that the economy is becoming greener.

Carl Sizer, PwC UK’s Head of Regions, said: “The huge growth in green jobs over the last year illustrates how we are creating a Green Britain. One year on, our Green Jobs Barometer has shone a light on the regions and sectors where these jobs are being created.

“While Wales and Scotland are among the top performers, it’s striking that one in five new green roles are based in the capital. If growth continues on this trajectory the compounding effect means the green economy will increase London’s dominance over other cities and regions. If we want to meet our Net Zero ambitions while driving growth, then the green economy needs to be nationwide.”

In brief

FCA fines Santander UK £107.7m The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Santander UK £107,793,300 after it found serious and persistent gaps in its anti-money laundering (AML) controls, affecting its business banking customers.

Between 31 December 2012 and 18 October 2017, Santander failed to properly oversee and manage its AML systems, which significantly impacted the account oversight of more than 560,000 business customers.

Santander had ineffective systems to adequately verify the information provided by customers about the business they would be doing. The firm also failed to properly monitor the money customers had told them would be going through their accounts compared with what actually was being deposited.

UK’s big companies up tax contribution The UK’s biggest listed companies generated £81.5bn in tax during the 2021/22 financial year despite lockdowns and ongoing social distancing measures throughout much of 2021, according to a new study. The 18th annual Total Tax Contribution of the 100 Group, produced by PwC, estimates the companies contributed £26bn in taxes borne – those that are a direct cost to the company – and a further £55.5bn in taxes collected, such as income tax and employee National Insurance Contributions (NICs) deducted under PAYE, for the year ended 31 March 2022. In 2021/22, the 100 Group’s tax contribution increased by 5.2% on a two-year trend basis.

RSM UK revenue up 13% RSM has unveiled a 13% (£49m) increase in UK annual revenues to £425.4 million. It says the results “underscore the firm’s continued success in capturing further market share”.

During the year the firm recruited 650 graduates and school leavers, compared with 410 the previous year. The record intake is part of the firm’s strategic intention to strengthen the firm from within its own ranks.

With 354 partners across the firm, the annual revenue generated equates to £1.20m per partner (increasing from £1.04m in 2021). Profit before tax for the year, after partner remuneration, was £11.5m (increasing from £10m) amounting to a 15% increase.

The PQ Book Club: books you should read

Inclusive and sustainable finance: Leadership, ethics and culture. By Atul K Shah (Routledge £27.99)

We have a confession to make: PQ magazine is a friend of Atul K Shah. We have always liked people who try to make accountants think in a different way and Professor Shah is someone who does just that in his latest book (see last month’s front cover for more).

As we reviewed his book he was on a tour of India spreading the word.

I think it is fair to say this book is a disruptive tome, talking to people about the how diverse cultures and communities can help change accountancy for the better. When was the last time that you saw finance and violence connected for instance? Shah says finance has been violent towards nature and society. Business behaviour, especially large corporations, has been a major part of the problem here.

However, I am more interested in how Shah explains the importance of community and tradition and what accountancy has forgotten. And what about faith? Shah looks at Judaism and Jainism, Hindu banking – and lots more besides.

He is not just standing alone here either; he has brought together a whole host of key voices to try to engender change.

We firmly believe this is a seminal work, and have no doubt that in 10 years’ time everyone will be saying ‘he told us so’! PQ rating: 5/5 As the dust jacket says, this pioneering book draws on diverse traditions and their current living business practices to show that not only is another world possible, but is hiding in plain sight. We read it from cover to cover and thoroughly recommend you do too.