It has been a dark couple of years for the economy and the accountancy profession has not been immune from the general malaise that has struck the UK workforce.

Pay freezes, redundancies, stress and long working hours are among the evils that have become more familiar to accountants during the recession, but now it seems things could be looking up.

Research conducted by recruiter Hays Senior Finance for Accountancy shows that salaries are starting to inch northwards again, interims are in demand and employers are focusing on staff retention once more.