The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has released its third annual Global Talent Trends 2025 survey where it found that more than half of respondents—52 percent—have career ambitions to be entrepreneurs, clearly showing that many view the profession as a "natural springboard" to eventually run their own businesses.
The survey compiled responses from more than 10,000 accountancy and finance professionals from 175 countries and asked questions about their work and career aspirations.
The study found that as respondents' career paths expand, there’s an increasing motivation for accountants to adapt their entrepreneurial mindsets to more traditional career paths in finance and business. These professions are also where skills such as commerciality and innovation are still seen as prized qualities.
Other important findings include the increase in "side hustle" among the Gen Z. ACCA's survey reveals that 43 percent of Gen Z respondents and 39 percent across all age groups are have added employment aside from their main jobs. The key reasons cited by younger respondents who have two jobs are supplementary income and income stream diversification. According to the study, these ambitions have major implications for companies when it comes to engagement and retention. However, some professionals view this as a positive side in terms of opportunities to obtain new skills.
Three years of tracked data from ACCA's annual Global Talent Trends survey also indicates that employee demands on hybrid work are still not met. More than three quarters of respondents—76 percent—want hybrid working arrangements. However, more than half or 51 percent are still working in the office full time. The gap between what employees want and reality is a risk that might result in poor engagement and employee dissatisfaction. But, it also has possible implications for skills development and mental health. This problem is exacerbated by "in-office days" policies that are inconsistently applied.
Aside from these issues, the survey also found that leadership inclusivity indicators score well throughout the survey. Most survey participants value leaders with integrity and who are accessible. However, there are elements of the inclusivity agenda that are still worrying given that 40 percent of the respondents agree that a low socio-economic background can still stop the progression. Almost half of respondents this year—increasing to 45 percent from 41 percent last year— indicate that their companies are still more focused on certain aspects of diversity than others. The inadequate recognition of older workers tops the list of concerns.
Another top five concern revealed by the survey is that cost of living is still top of ACCA's "workplace fears" index, a trend prevalent in the survey for three straight years, consistent throughout the respondent divide and almost entirely agnostic of sector or country demographic. This is creating pressure for organizations to manage salary costs as 41 percent of respondents are expecting at least an 11 percent annual pay raise. Unfortunately, it’s also the younger generation and more junior employees who get hit the hardest.