Finance professionals face a confusing job market. On the positive side, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 6% increase in the demand for accountants through 2033. Globally, the accounting services market is forecast to grow 4.4% annually through 2028. With supply largely flat, average salaries increased by 12% in 2022 and 9% in 2023. In June 2024, EY’s US arm announced a $1 billion investment over three years to improve the attractiveness of the accounting profession. At the same time, however, PwC, KPMG, RSM, and Grant Thornton have announced job cuts across the range of audit, tax, and advisory services, and many forecasters are projecting a softening of the job market in 2025. Given these conflicting signals, how should finance professionals view the market for their talents?
As we move through 2025, three trends appear to be driving the market for finance and accounting talent: the accelerating impact of AI and associated technologies on the nature of work; a growing divide between employer needs and employee expectations; and post-COVID-19 market stabilisation.
Continued tech disruption
The past 50 years have been defined by a series of technological advancements. From mainframe systems through ERP, data warehousing, e-commerce, analytics, and now AI, finance and accounting has been at the forefront of the tech revolution. Today is no different. Accounting, auditing, budgeting, forecasting, tax, and treasury are fertile areas for the application of AI and other advanced technologies.
Roles will continue to be redefined by technology. Professionals will continue to migrate to more decision-based or project-oriented roles that drive necessary changes within an organisation. These roles will increasingly be part of cross-functional groups that combine finance with other disciplines, which will place more emphasis on communication and collaboration skills.
Employer-employee disconnect
There has been much discussion recently of a growing disconnect between the needs of employers and the aspirations of employees. It is often framed around differing expectations relating to work/life balance, work-from-home policies, and generational differences in attitudes to work and careers.
The impact has been both positive and negative. On the positive side, employers and professional bodies have worked hard to adapt to changing expectations. EY’s US investment is aimed especially at making the profession more attractive by increasing early-career compensation and rolling out enhanced wellbeing benefits.
Yet some concerning long-term trends are signalling potential challenges ahead. There has been a decade-long decline in the number of students pursuing accounting degrees and professional qualifications. Increasing numbers are also leaving the profession, often attracted by higher pay and better work/life balance. In the US, more than 300,000 accountants and auditors left their jobs between 2019 and 2021.
While demand has remained relatively strong, the profession has an image problem. If that is not corrected, a severe talent shortage is just around the corner.
Post-COVID-19 stabilisation
The global COVID-19 pandemic triggered significant economic turbulence, dislocation in the workplace, and, perhaps paradoxically, a relatively quick economic recovery despite high inflation and interest rates. For example, average unemployment rates for OECD countries reached 8.8% in 2020 before falling to 4.9% in 2022 and remaining around that level into 2024.
Demand for finance talent increased as organisations scrambled to address pandemic-induced complexity and volatility. During 2024, however, there was a relative stabilisation as inflation and interest rates began to fall and organisations sought to normalise operations.
What finance professionals can do
To prepare for the future, there are some clear actions finance and accounting professionals can take:
- Understand that accounting, auditing, and compliance are moving from repetitive, rote, task-oriented activities to decision-based and project-oriented roles that sit at the heart of a high-performing organisation.
- Tech literacy in the areas of artificial intelligence and analytics are now foundational skills for a successful finance and accounting professional. While accountants won’t be replaced by AI, their work will change. The ability to effectively define and deploy AI capabilities will increase the value an accountant can bring to their role. (These webcasts, Navigating the AI Landscape: An Introduction to Generative AI and ChatGPT for Accounting Professionals and “Ethics in the World of AI: An Accountant’s Guide to Managing the Risks”, may be helpful.)
- It’s not just about technology. Communication, collaboration, project management, and leadership skills augment a sound knowledge of finance and accounting, opening doors to the most fulfilling positions. (This relevant course may be helpful: Strategic Leadership: Key Skills for Finance Business Partnering.)
- Recognise that finance and accounting provide an attractive career path as current roles evolve and new ones emerge. Of course, professionals can still pursue challenging and fulfilling roles outside the profession, including CEO, investment banker, management consultant, educator, or entrepreneur.
What employers can do
If you are an employer trying to attract and retain top-flight talent:
Understand prospective employees’ expectations
Global demographics, generational expectations, and demand and supply trends in the finance and accounting profession all point to long-term shortages for top talent. Understanding how prospective employees make decisions is essential. The days of attracting the best with a job for life and a good pension are long gone. Today, prospective employees seek meaningful work, fulfilling experiences, a life outside of work, access to the latest tools and technologies, opportunities for collaboration and learning, and compensation that rewards both capability and contribution.
Rebrand for the future
Today, ledgers, journal entries, and reconciliations are either obsolete or automated. Accounting and finance offer numerous opportunities to engage in interesting work, collaborate with top-flight talent in other areas, use the latest tools and technologies, and make a meaningful impact on value created by any organisation. Employers need to construct career paths that look to the future rather than sustain the past.
Adapt to today’s work environment
Work/life balance, remote working, meaningful experiences, job rotation, and programmes involving collaboration used to be things that other departments did. To attract and, more importantly, retain talent, finance must compete with other functions by offering comparable working conditions and development opportunities.
Uncertainty and change will remain constants, but they are also the catalysts for creating new and exciting opportunities. Though some of the traditional, repetitive finance tasks are being automated, finance and accounting professionals now have an opportunity to shift and expand their role to become more central to decision-making.
Those individuals and organisations that can adapt and update their skills will thrive and secure the most fulfilling work experiences. The next few years will be an interesting and potentially lucrative time to be a finance and accounting professional if you are prepared to develop the right skills, seek out the most attractive opportunities, and embrace the changing dynamics of work.
David A. J. Axson is a former managing director with Accenture, co-founder of The Hackett Group Inc., and former head of corporate planning at Bank of America. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Oliver Rowe at Oliver.Rowe@aicpa-cima.com.
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Articles
“4 Shifts Redefining How Finance Creates Sustainable Value”, FM magazine, 7 August 2024
“How Finance Leaders Are Championing Emerging Technology to Create New Value”, FM magazine, 18 June 2024
