Professional accountants
– the future
Employers warned that strong diversity and inclusion culture is critical as they face continuing talent crunch
In the biggest global talent survey across the accountancy profession, our latest annual Global Talent Trends Survey 2024 provides a unique and vital view of how people feel about their life at work.
Almost 10,000 professional accountants from 157 countries were asked about the concerns they held around work in the future as well as aspirations for their careers. The survey also assessed key workplace issues such as hybrid working, diversity, mobility and mental health and the cost of living crisis.
Global Talent Trends - videos
Findings
Key themes that have emerged this year are:
1. 73% believe that a strong diversity and inclusion culture would be a key factor in deciding to work at an organisation. Employers have more to do on diversity though as 41% of employees believe their organisation focuses more on certain aspects of diversity than others.
2. Professional accountants have endless career opportunities with over half expecting their next move to be external to their organisation, making retention an ongoing puzzle for employers.
3. Global economic strains continue to place huge pressure on talent attraction and retention. 58% will ask their employer for a pay rise in 2024 – but 50% believe they will have to leave their organisation to get one.
4. Employers are excited by the opportunity AI offers with 78% believing it will enable finance professionals to add more value. But just over a third employees are still concerned about its relentless pace of change.
5. Mental health remains a major challenge with 57% saying their mental health suffers because of work pressures, and almost half still feeling their employer doesn’t consider mental health to be a priority.
6. Hybrid working is slowly gaining traction, but big mismatches remain between what employees want and what employers demand. 76% of employees say it’s their preferred arrangement but many employers continue to insist on full time office working arrangements.
Professional accountants
– the future
Global talent trends 2024
"73% of respondents say that a strong diversity and inclusivity culture is a key factor in choosing an employer, there’s a real opportunity for employers who are strong in this area to differentiate themselves in a competitive market."
Jamie Lyon, global head of skills, sectors and technology, ACCA
Global talent trends - webinar
Join us on 26 February for a free, live and interactive webinar as we reveal the findings of our survey in accountancy and finance on current workplace and career challenges. Join live or on-demand.