Professional insight report
This joint report from ACCA and CA ANZ explores the persistent talent, attraction and retention challenges faced by audit firms worldwide
Despite concerted efforts, the profession is struggling to attract and retain talent, and at the same time is facing declining number of entrants.
This significant study amassed insights from over 6.500 respondents worldwide. Over half of the survey respondents were Gen Y/Millennials aged 25-42, with 37% current auditors, 33% former auditors and the rest considering audit as a future career.
This research unearthed consistent challenges:
- A prevalent concern about auditors’ work-life balance, prompting calls for flexible working.
- Equitable remuneration – inadequate remuneration is exacerbated by a long-hours culture, especially at peak times, and made worse by staff shortages.
- A requirement to emphasise empathy and respect in the workplace in a bid to build inclusive and diverse work environments.
In adding to these concerns a lack of career satisfaction and prevailing working practices, as well as questions over the audit profession’s reputation and its societal contribution, the report concludes the audit profession stands at a critical crossroads.
Five key themes
To address these formidable challenges, the report identified and explores five themes:
- Work-life balance matters the most.
- Remuneration should be fair.
- Career ladder and variety of work.
- Interest in sustainability reporting and assurance presents opportunities to attract, develop and retain, but may imply a lack of clear purpose in financial audits.
- Embrace technology to remain relevant.
As well as identifying challenges and themes, the report makes a series of recommendations grouped around the themes.
Recommendations
Regarding work-life balance, the report recommends that firms:
- Provide individualised, flexible support.
- Invest in technologies to ease workloads.
- Be more transparent about working hours in the busy season.
- Shift the culture.
- Give greater visibility to initiatives addressing issues.
But it also calls on regulators to listen to firms’ concerns over taking practical steps such as spreading out deadlines across the year where practicable.
On remuneration the report recommends firms should:
- Perform comparative salary surveys.
- Ensure all extra hours worked are paid.
- Ensure pay keeps up with inflation.
Regarding career ladders the report recommends firms should:
- Promote a ‘career-lattice approach’.
- Provide internal career opportunities.
- Listen to their employees.
On reporting the report recommends:
- Stakeholders should improve how they communicate audit’s purpose.
- Firms must grasp sustainability reporting as a unique talent acquisition opportunity.
- Regulators should share success stories of best practice.
- Firms should focus on the needs of existing staff to improve retention.
On technology the report recommends:
- Bridging the technology gap should be a strategic imperative.
- Small and medium-sized practices need to enhance their capabilities.
- New entrants should experience advance technologies at entry level.
Further reading
Professional insight report
"A compelling insight from our study highlights the absence of a commonly understood and unified purpose within the audit profession. This not only inhibits prospective candidates from entering the profession in the first place, but also hinders current professionals from recognising how their work generates value."
Antonis Diolas FCCA, head of audit and assurance, ACCA
"Auditing plays a vital role in the economy, increasingly bringing integrity to sustainability efforts. It offers an incredibly meaningful career with the potential for diverse, rich experiences, but we must tackle both time-worn and newer evolving challenges standing in the way of making the profession as attractive and engaging as possible."
Amir Ghandar FCA, reporting & assurance leader, CA ANZ