This report is the second in our Professional accountants – the future series and forms part of the ACCA Talent Equation campaign delving into the issues and challenges of finance talent management practices globally.
This report forms part of ACCA’s research into the future of accountancy, the drivers of change in the profession and the skills that will be most needed in the future.
Almost 19,000 ACCA students and members under the age of 36 and from 150 countries participated in the Generation Next study, making this one of the largest surveys ever across the global profession.
The data in this survey suggests Millennials in the accountancy profession are well equipped to deal with change driven by digitisation and globalisation. They have a global outlook, often aspiring to work in another country in their next role or at some time in their careers. They appear technologically savvy and see technology as an opportunity. They are also prepared to switch jobs quickly to attain what they want from their careers.
The data also suggests they see themselves having careers in the profession and sometimes beyond, looking at the entry into the profession as a pathway to a broad range of business opportunities.
This first report marks the beginning of a series of research activities exploring the next generation of accountants in the profession and the implications for attraction, engagement and retention strategies. Over the coming months we will be exploring some of these issues further, drawing on the experiences of organisations in different sectors in addressing these critical talent issues as well as sharing best practices.