This article was published on June 17, 2025, at 2:24 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Until last year, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) struggled to find accountants, but the atmosphere has improved. This year, it hired 12 new accountants early in the year and recently added 6 experienced professionals. With a nearly 20% decrease in the operating profit of accounting firms last year, there are analyses indicating that accountants' preference for the FSS is increasing again.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service, 8 experienced professionals began work this week. They are expected to undergo training for about a week and receive departmental assignments next week to officially start working. Last March, the FSS announced plans to hire up to 6 accountants and up to 4 IT (Information Technology) specialists as regular employees. After two rounds of interviews, the final successful candidates were announced in May.
Notably, the FSS has hired the maximum planned number of accountants, which is 6. This is different from its decision to hire only 2 IT specialists, roughly half the number. The experience requirements for the accountant positions were that applicants must have over 3 years of audit experience in accounting firms after obtaining the Korea Institute of Certified Public Accountants (KICPA) qualification. Once hired by the FSS, they are required to perform related duties for over 5 years.
The reason this recruitment drive for experienced professionals is attracting attention is that the FSS has struggled to find accounting personnel. Among the new employees hired by the FSS in 2017, 33 held certified public accountant qualifications. However, this number has declined to 10 in 2021, 7 in 2022, and 6 in 2023. Consequently, there was only 1 new accountant in 2024. Inside the FSS, competition to attract this sole accountant was fierce, and ultimately, they were assigned to the Insurance Supervision Department, which faced the issue of introducing a new accounting system (IFRS 17).
In the past, the FSS was the largest accounting supervisory organization in the country and was preferred by accountants along with the 'Big Four' accounting firms: Samil, Samjeong, Anjin, and Hanyoung. However, following the implementation of the new External Audit Act, which established periodic auditor designation systems in 2019, circumstances changed as accounting firms aggressively increased hiring. This surge in work led accounting firms to raise salaries for junior accountants, creating a wage gap that left the FSS struggling to recruit.
However, this year, the situation has improved somewhat. The decline in performance among large accounting firms combined with difficulties in hiring new certified public accountants has contributed to this. The FSS introduced additional points for qualifications that were not previously included in job postings. As a result, among the 75 new employees hired in regular recruitment this year, the number of accountants has significantly increased to 12. Given this situation, more than half of them, 7, were assigned to accounting departments. The Accounting Supervision Department, the Accounting Review Department 2, and the Public Accountant Review Department each received 2 accountants, while the Accounting Review Department 1 received 1. The accounting division of the FSS is made up of four departments: the Accounting Supervision Department, the Accounting Review Department 1, the Accounting Review Department 2, and the Public Accountant Review Office.
The FSS has many significant accounting-related tasks piling up, including the management disputes involving Korea Zinc and Young Poong, support for the operation of the periodic designation waiver program—part of the value enhancement program—and issues arising from the Homeplus case. A financial authority official noted, "With numerous accounting issues at hand, I understand that the FSS has proceeded with additional recruitment for experienced accountants last March, even during this record new hiring year," and added that, given the requirement for audit experience in accounting firms, most of these individuals are likely to be assigned to accounting departments.
Another official from the authorities mentioned, "Due to a wage difference of about 10 million won between new staff salaries at the FSS and the Big Four accounting firms, they are effectively considering various measures to 'attract' accountants. Internally, there is fierce competition to lure employees holding accountant qualifications."
Recently, there are growing concerns in the accounting industry that the business environment will remain challenging for the time being. A high-cost structure, including skyrocketing accountant labor costs over the past few years, has been pressuring the profitability of accounting firms, compounded by an economic recession that has reduced the amount of work available. According to the Financial Supervisory Service's '2023 Fiscal Year Accounting Firm Business Report Analysis,' the operating profit of all accounting firms last year was reported at 128.7 billion won, a 20.4% decrease compared to the previous year. The operating profit of the Big Four accounting firms also decreased by 9.6% to 31.1 billion won.