Robert Half International, a staffing agency for accountants and finance has released a report on the expected staffing level for accounting. For their report they surveyed 1,400 CFOs. They were questioned on their staffing level and hiring plans for the fourth quarter of 2012.

The bottom line is that there is no expectation of changing full time staffing levels for the remainder of the year. 89% saw no changes in their staffing levels and 5% saw an increase in accountants at their companies. The remaining 6% thought that they would be reducing the number of accountants on their staff.

If you are looking for a job in the accounting field then the CFOs said you should go to the Middle Atlantic States (New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania). The survey had 3% of companies planning to grow their accounting staffs.

This is in contrast with how the CFOs saw the outlook for their businesses as a whole. 36% expected their businesses to grow over the last quarter of the year. This may also be a function of the growth in sales in the holiday season.

On big factor that is holding the hiring steady is the use of technology. Better accounting systems allow fewer people to perform the work. This is a trend that was hastened during the economic downturn.