Accountants are a Contented Bunch…Sort of

According to a recent survey, accountants are content with their chosen vocation but not necessarily with their current firms. The survey, carried out by a UK finance jobs website totallyfinancial.com, asked accountants if they were happy with their selected career, the accountancy qualification they had chosen, and also if they intended to move jobs within the next 12 months.

An overwhelming 9/10 respondents said that they were happy to be an accountant. However, almost half (47%) said that they were looking to move jobs within the next 12 months.

“It’s encouraging to see that such a high proportion of accountants are pleased with the career path they’ve taken.” said Bernard Howard, Managing Director of totallyfinancial.com. “But firms should be worried about attrition, and need to explore the reasons why half their accountants are looking to leave within the next year.”

“Recruitment costs may be coming down thanks to the cost-effectiveness of online recruitment advertising, but high staff turnovers have a negative impact on business and morale. Firms need to begin a dialogue to find out why their accountants perceive the grass to be greener at their competitors.”

When asked if accountants were satisfied with the accounting qualification they had pursued, two thirds answered yes. But to put it another way, one third thought they had chosen the wrong one. “Maybe the accountancy bodies are better at the numbers than management of expectations!” continued Bernard Howard.