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Accounting

Accountants switch firms to move up

Tuesday, 04 December 2007

Half of accountants believe that in order to move up the career ladder they must switch to another company.

Promotion is at the top of accountants’ wish lists for 2008 with more than 80 per cent of accountants hoping to get promoted next year. In a survey by recruitment website Careersinaudit.com only a third (32 per cent) of the accountants questioned anticipated promotion within their current company.

“Accountants clearly feel that greater career prospects can be achieved by changing employer which begs the question whether firms are doing enough to promote internally,” said Max Williamson, a director of the site.

The survey, released during International Accounting Week 2007, found that accountants felt confident about the economic situation for 2008. An overwhelming 82 per cent of accountants believed they were going to receive a pay rise in the next 12 months.

Thirty-four per cent expected a rise of up to 10 per cent and almost 50 per cent was confident of more than a 10 per cent pay rise. Over half (59 per cent) of accountants think it unlikely there will be a recession next year.

Increased workload

Despite the predicted increase in salary, a number of accountants surveyed seemed to be dissatisfied with the industry. Just under a third (31 per cent) considered a move out of audit in 2008. Unsurprisingly, this will have a knock-on effect to those remaining in audit, with almost two thirds (63 per cent) of accountants expecting their workload to increase in 2008.

A third (33 per cent) of accountants felt that banking and financial services companies were the most exciting companies to work for. Yet many agreed the sector will be a poisoned chalice, as over a third (36 per cent) believed banking and finance would be the most unstable sector.

Over a quarter believed that ethical issues will be the big news story in 2008, along with new regulations in the wake of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US. Noticeably however, 20 per cent of accountants thought green issues will be a major audit topic that hits the headlines in 2008.

When asked what accountants are looking for in their next career move, over a third (37 per cent) wanted the opportunity to learn a new skill, 22 per cent wanted a greater work-life balance, 19 per cent wanted greater responsibility and 12 per cent want to run their own business.

Work-life balance

A quarter (25 per cent) of accountants thinking of changing jobs stated that they were looking for greater prospects for promotion, whilst 24 per cent gave more money as a reason to why they would leave. Twenty-two per cent of accountants thought, however, that a better work-life balance was the most important incentive to move on.

Williamson added, “Employers need to be mindful that a good salary is not enough to keep hold of staff. Many accountants feel that in order to move up, they need to move out. And once again, the argument for an improved work-life balance appears to be gaining strength.”

He said that this must act as a warning to employers that there is a need to place greater emphasis on issues other than salary. If employers ignore these warning signs, he warned that they could find themselves losing a valuable member of staff to a competitor.

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