Nearly half of the todayís accountants (44%) do not believe enough is being done to attract graduates to the profession or to study accountancy, according to latest research conducted by CareersinAudit.com – the leading job-board for audit professionals worldwide.
The research ìFuture of Accountancyî was conducted amongst 477 UK accountants during August 2009. Top solutions to attracting more to the profession included the industry embarking on a campaign to change the perception (14%), offering better training programmes (14%) or making more effort to visit universities (13%). Others believe the profession could be doing more to convey the breadth of benefits (9%).
Part of the problem may also lie at entry level; over a quarter of UK accountants (26%) say the application process could be improved. Many of these believe the current application process fails to provide a clear explanation of the role, the online process needs to be simplified and more user friendly and that recruiters should put more emphasis on a personís innate qualities and their experience.
For those that havenít been put off entering the profession, the top two choices for first job were PWC (14%) and KPMG (13%).
Other key highlights of the research include:
Just over one in ten accountants (13%) were lucky enough to get offered their first job after their internship, however 10% admitted to applying to more than 20 firms before getting their first job in accountancy. The current climate is clearly taking its toll with 11% still trying to find a job.
24% of all accountants believe their family was the greatest influence in their to enter the profession
70% of accountants already work abroad or would consider working abroad
27% would choose to work in Western Europe, 20% in North America and 13% in the Middle East
60% would prefer to work in-house compared to just 28% in practice
Nearly a quarter of accountants (24%) were not aware of an increase in accounting regulations this year
Nearly half (46%) believe accountancy is a job for life
27% believe men are better paid than women but do not deserve it
Max Williamson, Director of CareersinAudit.com added:
ìI believe attracting more people to the industry isnít about image alone or glamourising the profession with a series of slick advertisements. But it wouldnít hurt recruiters to take heed of the research and to invest greater time in explaining the long terms benefits and variety that come from being a qualified accountant, particularly at graduate level.ì
Accountancy profession call for new measures to attract graduates
BIG 4 APPEAL: PWC and KPMG top of league but nearly two thirds want in-house positions
