Finance and accountancy professionals across the Middle East and South Asia are becoming increasingly frustrated with their level of pay, according to an extensive new survey.
ACCA’s Global Talent Trends 2026, which collates the views of more than 11,000 respondents from 160 countries, is the most comprehensive assessment of the views of finance professionals worldwide. Regional analysis of respondents from the Middle East, South Asia (included in the Asia Pacific version) and India shows that salary expectations across the entire region are soaring, as more and more finance professionals become dissatisfied with their remuneration level.
Inflation
The impact of the rising cost of living can be seen in every region in this year’s survey. For the fourth consecutive year, the impact of inflation on salaries is the biggest workplace concern for respondents worldwide – and, as the report notes, the inflationary impact of the Iran conflict is still to be fully felt.
The rising cost of living is putting intense upward pressure on salaries. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of respondents from the Middle East (compared with 59% in 2025) now say they are unhappy with their current wage. Across South Asia, respondents are notably less satisfied with their salary than the global average.
Pressure on pay
The figures suggest employers should brace themselves for higher wage demands in the coming 12 months. Globally, 62% of respondents expect to ask for a pay increase this year, a figure that rises to 81% in India. Analysis shows that Gen Z (73%) are more likely to ask for a rise than the global average, and men (66%) are more likely to ask for a pay rise than women (58%).
‘But it’s the sheer scale of demands that is striking,’ the survey analysis says. Globally, over a third of respondents expect a pay rise of more than 10% this year, and nearly 60% expect a rise of at least 5%.
In the Middle East and South Asia, pay demands are even higher. Overall, respondents from South Asia expect an average pay rise of more than 20% in the coming year, compared with a global average of 12.5%.
Retention
Global geopolitical and economic uncertainty means that respondents to this year’s survey seem less inclined to move employers than in previous years. Even so, the adaptability and mobility of finance professionals’ careers remain a retention challenge for employers.
Globally, 38% of respondents expect to move roles in the coming 12 months, and 62% within two years; over half of them (52%) expect to move to another employer.
In South Asia, 53% of respondents plan to switch employers with their next role, down from 66% in 2025.
Entrepreneurial spirit
The survey results suggest that respondents across the world are looking for job security amid an uncertainty generated not only by macroeconomic conditions but also by the growing use of AI.
While all respondents are very confident of their own ability to learn and apply AI-related skills, half of respondents from the Middle East and 57% from India say they are concerned about the impact of AI on their own role.
Respondents in South Asia and the Middle East are often highly self-reliant, and are prepared to add a ‘side hustle’ to a steady job or have entrepreneurial ambitions. For example, 90% of India respondents are looking for at least one steady job, with 57% looking for some freelance work on top of that. Only a little over a third are content with a single steady job.
Globally, 54% of respondents say they want to become an entrepreneur or business owner at some point during their career. This proportion is notably higher in the Middle East and South Asia.
The report argues that accountancy is an obvious training ground for would-be entrepreneurs, and that entrepreneurial ambitions are not something that employers should fear. Rather, if organisations encourage the capabilities that are strong in entrepreneurs, this ‘will help finance teams play a stronger role in strategic decision-making and organisational transformation’.
More information
See the global coverage in AB and other regional deep dives of the research:
Africa
Asia-Pacific
Europe, North America, Caribbean
Ireland
UK
