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The latest Pulse survey by Sage (UK) reveals that accountants continue to be the most trusted source of business advice, pushing even banks and management consultants further down the ranks.

Independent business leaders class accountants as their most valuable counsel, the report shows, and this year more than a third of practitioners (35%) agree that they are the first port of call for advice for their clients’ businesses. This echoes the results of last year’s survey.

The high job satisfaction among accountants is a direct result of their status. It has reached an all time high, with 86% of practising accountants making no plans to change their careers over the next five years.

The survey reveals that fewer accountants (31%) would set up their own business immediately given the chance, compared to 47% who were ready to do so twelve months ago.

This is attributed to the trend in job satisfaction and is also possibly driven by the current economic climate and a general strive towards a greater work/life balance.

The survey was commissioned to uncover the current attitudes and perceptions of practicing accountants to technological advancements to their own behaviours and ambitions.

It reveals further that accountants form a truly connected workforce, which has fully embraced digital working practices.

“After identifying a new breed of accountants last year, we can now see a ‘Facebook generation’ of accountants who have become increasingly tech savvy, getting more and more comfortable with technology in the workplace as well as in private”, comments Managing Director of Sage’s Accountants’ Division, Greg Ford.

“This can only be a good thing as the industry gets ready to fully implement the government guidelines resulting from the Carter Report, ” he adds. There is just over two years to go until the Carter Report is put into full effect.

The survey revealed that less than one in ten accountants (6%) has never completed any online filing. 62% of those questioned admit to being on social networking sites such as Facebook. However, less than a fifth (19%) regularly visit work related sites including HRMC or industry bodies including CIMA.

Accountants are working more flexibly, occasionally and remotely, with 29% of respondents always carrying a laptop around (interestingly, the same number always carry around an iPod) and a further 27% carry a Blackberry, a smartphone/PDA or a digital camera.

There is a particularly strong tech-savvy trend amongst the more seasoned practitioners in the 55 to 64 age bracket where 29 percent frequently work on the move (compared to only 14 percent of 35 to 44 year olds), although this might be explained by their naturally higher level of client liaison outside the office.

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