‘Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery.’
That was how Micawber described his precarious domestic economy in the famous novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. More than a century and a half later, far too many people still endure a Micawberesque existence, with their financial fortunes hanging by a thread.
We are witnessing a global surge in the cost of living, which has plunged workers into a condition where their basic pay fails to cover everyday family essentials – housing, food and water, energy, transport, education, health. The Business Commission to Tackle Inequality estimates that more than a billion workers worldwide are earning less than they need for a decent standard of living.
I know that ACCA members are keenly aware of this worrying and dangerous trend. They see it in their own lives and in the lives of their clients.
If a business cannot afford to pay its staff a living wage, is it truly viable?
Disturbing picture
Our most recent global talent trends survey concluded: ‘The impact of inflation on the real wages of employees tops the list for the biggest work-related fear across the profession, and it’s creating incredible pressure on employers to think about how they manage spiralling wage demands.’
Now ACCA has investigated the extent of this crisis more deeply, in a hard-hitting report A living wage – crucial for sustainability. It is based on the insights of professionals from across the world, many of them ACCA members, and paints a disturbing picture of growing economic uncertainty and a rising tide of working poverty.
It emphasises ACCA’s belief that all workers should receive, as a minimum, a living wage, and urges members to play their part in advocating for this basic level of pay in their organisations. The report explains how business leaders – especially CFOs as the guardians of financial frameworks – can lead the drive for greater economic fairness.
ACCA members can tilt the balance from misery to happiness for millions of workers
Unsustainable?
The study sounds a note of realism and recognises that many businesses are struggling with their margins – a big hike in employment costs may threaten their viability. But it also raises a key question: if a business cannot afford to pay its staff a living wage, is it truly viable?
There is no good reason for inaction on this issue. This is why ACCA argues that a commitment to paying a living wage must form part of every business’s reporting regime – along with cost and revenue, and other key measures linked to sustainability, such as environmental impacts, and action on ESG issues, human rights, diversity and inclusion. And if we can’t offer millions of people the opportunity of a decent living, then we can’t claim the moral high ground on sustainability.
It comes back to the profession’s central purpose: to serve as a force for public good and the public interest. It is an area where all ACCA members can make a difference in tilting the balance from misery to happiness for millions of workers around the world.
