One in every five finance workers in Ireland are being counter-offered, compared to just one in 10 last year, according to research from finance recruiter Marks Sattin.

The average rise made in a counter-offer rose from 4% this time last year to 13% in 2011.

The finance recruiter adds that with average wages in the sector of €110,000 (£93,000) and employee turnover standing at around 10%, the cost of offering wage rises of 13% to this proportion of Ireland’s 65,000 accountants is €20.2m per year.

Dan McKeown, associate director, Marks Sattin Ireland, says: “The number of counter-offers has rocketed this year and this has led to huge unplanned expenditure for companies.

“Big employers have been caught out by how quickly the market for finance professionals has recovered. At the moment, 22% of accountants are being counter-offered when they tell their employers that they are jumping ship, up from 12% last year – and that number is still rising.

“The size of these offers should also make payroll controllers think hard about any future decisions to freeze wages as the result is rapidly spiralling costs that reward employees who get itchy-feet and which companies can do little to control.”