What sort of companies exist in Cayman and where are you likely to find employment in the professional services industries?

One of the questions I get asked most often from our Qualified Finance & Accounting candidates who are interested in making a move to Cayman is “Is my experience suitable for employment in Grand Cayman?”

Presuming you’re a qualified accountant with a reputable degree, it sounds like a simple question, but you first have to consider what type of companies exist in Grand Cayman before you can decide whether you have the right experience to make a career move here… yes, “career” move; unfortunately wanting to move out here for the beautiful beaches and the (mostly) unbroken sunshine just won’t wash as a compelling reason to employ you!

So in response to this question, I generally give the following very basic description…

The Basics About Cayman Companies

1. Cayman is an offshore financial district where financial services are the dominant sector, and as a result, it has a range of    different companies.

     1. These can be loosely broken down into the following categories; Funds, Trust, Captive Insurance, Reinsurance,              Company Management Companies, Banking, and Directorship/Fiduciary Services. In reality, pretty much every               company is different from the other, but I don’t want to over complicate things at this initial stage.

 2. In addition to the financial services companies, you also have all of the ‘Big 4’ professional services firms here, as well       as the so-called ‘2nd tier’ firms.

 3. Then we come to the General Industries, or Commerce & Industry as I have also heard it referred to in the past. That         represents a smaller proportion of the market in Cayman, but it certainly still deserves consideration.

     2. Leisure & Tourism is by far the biggest sector after Financial Services in Cayman, in addition to that, there are four           main Telecommunication providers, a handful of major Retail firms, about twenty-five IT firms, a few breweries and          distilleries, some SME media firms, Utility companies, a very small Energy/Mining/Oil & Gas presence, and also some         General Services companies.

 4. The other major industries out here are Local Government/Not-for-Profit/Public sector, and also the Legal industry; the       first of these sectors tends to recruit directly so not to incur recruitment fees, and the latter has a very small number of       accountants working in this sector, as it’s mainly made up of lawyers and other legal professionals, so I haven’t focused       on them too much here. If you are a legal professional however, read more about that industry here.



If you believe your experience might be in line with the different companies that exist in the Cayman Islands, please reach out to Will Koutney at william.koutney@cml.ky