Hiring in Accounting & Finance (Bangkok): Businesses to maintain shrewdness about hiring the right fit

In 2025, the drive for efficiency and effectiveness set the tone for hiring, prompting businesses in Thailand to focus on transformation efforts over expanding headcount.

Global companies were most shaken by geopolitical uncertainties and trade tariffs. Team sizes shrunk as businesses implemented hiring freezes, consolidated job scopes and transitioned the Accounting & Finance function into a matrix, cross-functional structure. Regional roles were either centralised or saw expanded scopes, a sign of group-wide efficiency mandates.

Meanwhile, large, local Thai companies continued to hire, but demand shifted from merger and acquisitions (M&A) roles to transformation-focused finance positions. These vacant roles highlighted a need for support with enterprise resource planning (ERP) rollouts, shared services, governance and digital finance transformation projects.

Nevertheless, there remained a steady flow of opportunities that sprang from funds and private equity investment into fundamental industries. Kanruthai Somchitrmool, Senior Manager at Robert Walters Thailand shares:

Despite headwinds, inflows into agriculture, food, healthcare and hospitality drove some hiring demand. These investors sought finance professionals who could serve as change agents, modernising portfolio companies, strengthening controls and driving valuation uplift.

Read on to find out more about the labour market and hiring trends for Thailand’s Accounting & Finance professionals in 2026.

Businesses optimise for quality and flexibility

Kanruthai expects existing patterns to persist heading into 2026, stating, “Hiring will be about quality and adaptability, not volume.”

As local conglomerates and portfolio companies continue with their transformation projects, they will continue to prop up demand for talent who can support ERP rollouts, finance restructuring and digital transformation. 

Now that companies are more selective when hiring, Kanruthai believes that there will be a growing emphasis on skills-based assessments. Instead of job titles or years of service, companies will look for professionals who can operate effectively in matrix, efficiency-driven organisations.

Lastly, team sizes are expected to remain lean and global firms will look to build a more flexible workforce. There will be a heavier reliance on interim and project-based finance talent to support transformation projects.

Top roles and skills for 2026

The most popular roles in the year will be for talent who can combine technical excellence with strong transformation and partnering capabilities. These roles include heads of finance, CFOs, finance directors, accounting managers, financial controllers, and positions in financial planning and analysis (FP&A) and finance business partnering. 

Change leadership, influence and partnering are among the most sought after soft skills. These allow professionals to guide teams through transformation projects and advise business leaders. In addition, those with strong skills in commercial storytelling will also be appreciated for their ability to turn financial analysis into clear, actionable business stories.

Enhance both technical and people skills against AI

With digital finance transformation, repetitive tasks have been automated or passed on to shared service centres. Job scopes are evolving and Kanruthai observes that there’s a diminishing need for transaction-heavy roles like accounts payable and accounts receivables, reconciliations and routine reporting.

Her recommendation for professionals is to position themselves as business partners and change agents that can thrive in matrix organisations. “For starters, get tech fluent – ERP and BI tools are now essential,” she says. “Move up from producing reports to delivering insights and influencing business decisions. Lastly, strengthen your people skills, as the ability to partner, influence and lead change are what sets top talent apart.” 

Inspire talent with leadership and growth

Finance professionals now approach any career moves with more caution and selectivity. When exploring new opportunities, Kanruthai finds that they ask most about the prospective company’s stability and reputation, the hiring manager, culture fit, career development and scope expansion, and exposure to transformation projects.

“We’re seeing more senior finance leaders move from global MNCs into Thai conglomerates and private equity firms. These leaders build new teams and bring in talent with MNC experience who can help local firms adopt global standards,” she adds. 

The chance to lead and effect meaningful change is now a major pull for many job seekers. Therefore, companies should look holistically at how they can position the finance function in this vein. Job scopes should be delineated with clear mandates in areas like ERP, shared services and digital finance transformation. Exposure to transformation initiatives, such as system upgrades or finance restructuring, also excite and engage talent better than roles that centre on routine work.  

Investments in leadership and culture are also important as this forms a key part of professionals’ decision-making for their career moves. Companies will want to consider offering equity or long-term incentives to retain good senior leaders, as these professionals have an outsized impact on team morale and efficiency.

Stable pay raises 

Although companies will continue to exercise prudence in hiring, they are prepared to offer salary increments of 15 – 20% to secure new talent – aligned with existing rates. Professionals vying for senior finance leadership roles may see equity or long-term incentive schemes included in their compensation package, as this reflects expectations for ownership and value creation.

Find out more 

Request access to our 2026 Salary Survey to benchmark salaries and to find out more about key hiring trends in the Accounting & Finance industry in Thailand.