The company invested US$150 million in China two years ago to increase staff numbers by 400 per cent.

The firm needs associates, managers, senior managers and partners for tax, advisory and consulting services in offices all over China, and for its joint venture with Pan-China Schinda in Shenzhen and Pan-China Certified Public Accountants in Hong Kong.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu audit partner Philip Tsai Wing-chung said Hong Kong candidates were often used on the mainland when local job seekers did not have the relevant skills or work experience to meet client demand.

He said the firm was using Hong Kong staff more frequently on the mainland as more Chinese companies looked to list on Hong Kong and international stock exchanges.

'We would use Hong Kong staff where the clients want somebody with experience at different stock exchanges.'

Mr Tsai said the high number of IPOs meant the company mostly needed audit staff, and most recruits would go to the company's main offices in Shanghai and Beijing.

Senior staff needed at least three years of experience in a Big Four or consulting firm. They also needed English and Putonghua language skills, and good leadership and interpersonal skills, he said.

New graduates needed a degree in a relevant field and should be team-oriented.

'A recruit will be always working with bosses, colleagues and clients so the ability to work in a team is vital.'

He also said it was vital that they enjoyed the job and wanted to build a career. 'Accounting is a hard job so we are looking for people who are committed to building their career with Deloitte and themselves.'

The biggest challenge facing the company and the industry was staff recruitment and retention, he said. A small pool of talent and competition between the Big Four audit companies and other multinationals meant that companies had to find staff and keep them.

He said that while the company always had to be on the lookout for new staff, it had managed to keep its turnover rate at less than 20 per cent across operations in Hong Kong and the mainland.

Mr Tsai attributed the turnover rate to competitive pay levels, training, staff care programmes and clear promotion paths.

He said the company emphasised training and endeavoured to provide all staff with a range of structured courses.

Staff received technical and soft skills training annually.

The company also has an employee assistance programme aimed at helping staff through difficult periods such as the peak season and Mr Tsai said the scheme covered social activities, concierge services, counselling and consulting services. The firm also used promotion offers to retain staff and Mr Tsai said Deloitte regularly promoted staff to partners.

Mainland employees would probably get promoted faster than their counterparts in Hong Kong due to the faster growth there.

'We have a clear channel of promotion, so staff know exactly what they have to do to get promoted.'

The company's promotional chain was not the only element based on performance and it had a performance-based pay system.

He said good-quality staff were vital to the company's business because it would not be able to offer clients the same level or range of services without them.

Doing the maths

The company needs 300 senior staff for offices in Hong Kong and on the mainland.

The company needs associates, managers, senior managers and partners.

Performance-based pay rates

Clear path of promotion