The UK internal audit job market is surging in early 2025, driven by regulatory pressure from ECCTA and FCPA updates. January saw a 70% spike in vacancies as firms scale up compliance, with demand expected to keep rising through the year.
The banking sector continued its slump in 2024, with vacancies down 3% compared to last year. However, recent analysis suggests UK securities are undervalued, and with a new government, the sector might rebound – July has shown record performance. Tax has been a key focus for hiring, especially with Labour’s tax-raising agenda. As a result, tax roles have performed strongly, making the upcoming Autumn budget particularly significant.
With the impact of climate change now becoming an ever-present reality, it is now being recommended that internal auditors globally make assessing the risk part of their purview, and within the UK specifically. Nonetheless, activity has been muted so far in 2024, with vacancies slowing down by 19.7% compared to last year.
