Global talent trends 2024
The biggest global talent survey across accountancy and finance continues to show employers and employees alike grappling with workplace challenges on multiple fronts.
In a year where AI has dominated the headlines, our survey of 9,889 finance professionals, in 157 countries across the globe suggests real excitement with the possibilities that AI affords, but also enduring concern about its impact on jobs. There’s good news on aspects of the equity, diversity and inclusivity agenda, but big questions on whether employers are stifling creativity and innovation by not recognising broader markers of diversity in the workplace.
Into the mix are other workplace opportunities and challenges, from the cost-of-living crisis and concerns regarding pay in the profession, to mental health issues and meeting employee demands for hybrid working. The bottom line? More pressure on employers to get their employee engagement strategies right.
Welcome to
GLOBAL TALENT TRENDS 2024
‘One of the big questions from our study is whether as employers we are promoting all of the different markers of diversity in the workplace that truly drive creativity and innovation.’
Survey demographics
9,889 finance professionals from 157 countries:
Our research identified six key themes:
There’s real excitement on AI across the profession, but employees need support to capitalise on its potential
Sentiments are spanning from sheer excitement from employers to anxiety from employees as AI technologies drive productivity benefits and technology change continues relentlessly. The pace of change is demanding a clear focus on equipping employees with the right technology skills and a need to provide reassurance on job security as roles in the profession augment.
Cost of living crisis: is pay in the profession keeping up?
Global economic strains are placing huge pressures on talent attraction and retention models. Wage demands are up, creating strain on employers to think about how they can tackle spiralling wage demands. Our survey results suggest mounting pressures from price growth represent both an economic concern as well as an employer talent retention risk if left unaddressed.
Hybrid work: not every employer is convinced, but most employees are
Hybrid working is slowly gaining traction, but working practices across regions and sectors remain polarised, and there are big mismatches between how employees want to work, and how they are working. For those employers who have transitioned to hybrid working models, there’s plenty of upside, but ongoing risks and challenges that need to be managed.
Are current approaches to diversity in finance and accounting “diverse” enough?
The survey suggests equity, diversity and inclusivity practices (EDI) are important as a key part of the employee proposition, playing a big role in the perceived attractiveness of an organisation to employees, as well as wanting to stay. But some see existing diversity initiatives leaning too heavily into singular facets like gender, potentially at the expense of other markers of difference such as age or neurodiversity that may enhance creativity and innovation. There’s more for employers to do.
Mental health indicators show little sign of improvement, yet wellbeing programmes continue to expand. What’s going wrong?
Work-related stress, anxiety, and burnout remain widely cited problem across the profession, a challenge noted in our first talent trends report last year, although the indicators have moved marginally in the right direction. There are issues cited around blurred work / life boundaries, peak workloads, inadequate organisational support structures and headcount to accommodate workflow pressures, and questions on prioritisation. Yet organisation wellbeing programs are expanding, so what’s going wrong?
Global mobility in accountancy – endless opportunities for professional accountants but a retention puzzle for employers?
Joining the accountancy profession opens wide career opportunities to move quickly to enhance careers, but keeping hold of great talent is becoming a real retention puzzle for employers. There’s evidence of significant mobility and high aspiration in every direction in terms of career moves, undoubtedly some of this driven from the challenging cost of living crisis as well as a natural feature of the optionality that a professional qualification in accountancy affords, yet whilst candidates may obviously be lured to other organisations by high salaries, our analysis suggests the reasons employees may choose to stay at an organisation are more nuanced in the data.
Global engagement
9,889 professional accountants from 157 countries across the globe were asked about the concerns they held around work in the future, as well as aspirations for their careers.
AFGHANISTAN ALBANIA ANGOLA ARGENTINA ARMENIA AUSTRALIA AZERBAIJAN BAHAMAS BAHRAIN BANGLADESH BARBADOS BENIN BERMUDA BOSNIA + HERZEGOVINA BOTSWANA BRAZIL BRUNEI DARUSSALAM BURKINA FASO CAMBODIA CAMEROON CANADA CHILE CHINA (MAINLAND) COLOMBIA COSTA RICA CROATIA CYPRUS DOMINICA EGYPT ETHIOPIA GAMBIA GEORGIA GERMANY GHANA GREECE GRENADA GUYANA HAITI HONG KONG SAR OF CHINA HUNGARY INDIA INDONESIA IRAN IRAQ REPUBLIC OF IRELAND ISLE OF MAN JAMAICA JAPAN KAZAKHSTAN KENYA REPUBLIC OF KOSOVO KUWAIT KYRGYZSTAN LEBANON LESOTHO LIBERIA LIBYA LUXEMBOURG MALAWI MALAYSIA MALTA MAURITIUS MOLDOVA MONGOLIA MONTSERRAT MOZAMBIQUE MYANMAR NAMIBIA NEPAL NETHERLANDS NEW ZEALAND NIGERIA OMAN PAKISTAN PANAMA PHILIPPINES POLAND QATAR ROMANIA RUSSIA RWANDA SAUDI ARABIA SERBIA SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SINGAPORE SLOVAKIA SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SPAIN SRI LANKA ST KITTS & NEVIS ST LUCIA ST VINCENT SUDAN SWAZILAND SYRIA TAIWAN REGION TANZANIA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO TURKEY UGANDA UK – ENGLAND UK – NORTHERN IRELAND UK – SCOTLAND UKRAINE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES USA UZBEKISTAN VIETNAM ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE
ACCA would like to thank the following partners who helped promote the survey:
ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA)
Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA)
Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICMAP)
The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) / Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (CASL)
The Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA)
International Federation of Accountants (IFAC)
Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA)
ACCA The Adelphi 1/11 John Adam Street London WC2N 6AU
United Kingdom / +44 (0)20 7059 5000 / www.accaglobal.com
Built with Shorthand