Concern over salaries and opportunities

Finance professionals across Africa feel dissatisfied with their salaries and with the career opportunities they see ahead with their current employer, according to a major new global survey from ACCA.

Global Talent Trends 2024 shows a range of pressures on finance professionals and their employers worldwide as organisations continue to grapple with rapidly evolving technology, changing work practices, and the rising cost of living – and in Africa, it is clear that pressure on salaries is creating the potential for a talent crunch (see the Africa findings).

The survey of almost 10,000 finance professionals in 157 countries is broader in scope and reach than previous studies, and highlights the rapidly changing workplace and the concerns of finance professionals and their employers.

Dissatisfaction

The rising cost of living is a significant concern for finance professionals in every region, but respondents based in Africa are more likely than any others to say that they are dissatisfied with their current salary – 72% say they are not satisfied with their pay, compared with 55% of all respondents globally.

It is clear that rising inflation could soon manifest itself in a crisis of talent retention and attraction in Africa. Over 40% of respondents in Africa said that the impact of inflation on their salary is their biggest workplace concern, and 61% agree that the best way to improve their salary is to leave their current employer.

African finance professionals are less likely than those in any other region to be satisfied with their current career opportunities – only 35% are satisfied, and 56% say they are concerned that they are not developing the right skills for the future workplace. Overall, six out of 10 finance professionals in Africa say that they intend to move jobs in the next 12 months – with most saying that they want to move for a better salary, or for better career opportunities (or both).

Going global

International career opportunities remain a strong attraction for accountancy professionals – 76% of respondents from Zimbabwe and 71% from Nigeria say that they intend to move to another country at some point in their career (compared to 64% from Botswana and 61% from South Africa).

Professionals in Africa are also keen to try new sectors: 14% of respondents currently work in a large corporate, for example, but 23% say that they would prefer to work for such a firm – and while 17% currently work in the public sector, it is the preference for only 8% of respondents.

In the office

The report explores a range of topics, including working practices following the sudden shift in working patterns prompted by the pandemic. In 2023, 57% of respondents worldwide said they were fully office-based, while 35% were working on a hybrid basis. This year, 52% are working in the office, while 41% have a hybrid arrangement and 7% work fully remotely.

But there are big differences across the continent – for example, 86% in Ethiopia work in the office full-time (12% hybrid), 57% in Kenya (39% hybrid), and 56% in Nigeria (41% hybrid). Contrast this with 81% working full-time in the office in Botswana, 62% in Uganda and 87% in Zimbabwe.

But the report notes ‘big mismatches between how employees want to work and how they are working’. In Africa, respondents were overwhelmingly in favour of a hybrid working arrangement. Of those that currently work full-time in the office in Africa, 88% say they are there because their employer requires it – this compares to 76% of global respondents who say the same, and 58% of those based in the UK.

The view that working alongside colleagues is important for creativity and productivity does not appear to be convincing for employees; 6% of respondents based in Africa say they feel more productive working with other people, and just 1% say they go to the office for the social connection. Overall, three-quarters of African respondents say they feel more productive working remotely.