An interest in sustainability reporting and assurance presents talent opportunities among audit professionals, but may imply a lack of clear purpose in financial statement audits, according to a joint study by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.
The survey, which polled over 6,500 respondents, delved into the appeal of sustainability reporting and assurance compared with the traditional financial statement audit within the audit profession's scope.
The ACCA-CA ANZ study found that 48% of respondents with no prior audit experience expressed a heightened interest in joining the profession if presented with opportunities in sustainability reporting and assurance.
Similarly, among those currently or previously engaged in auditing, 40% indicated a willingness to stay, or have stayed, within the profession if provided with avenues for involvement in sustainability-related engagements.
These statistics underscore a substantial opportunity for firms to bolster talent acquisition by embracing sustainability initiatives and facilitating staff participation in such endeavours, ACCA says.
Additionally, this shift in focus not only aligns with evolving market demands but also underscores the growing significance of sustainability within the audit profession's future trajectory.
The study further suggests that while sustainability reporting and assurance have clearly defined avenues and purposes, attracting considerable interest from prospective entrants and current professionals, financial audits seem to lack a unified sense of purpose or, at least, firms struggle to communicate the purpose effectively.
This potentially diminishes the appeal of financial statement audits among both prospective entrants and current professionals, highlighting the need for the audit profession to address this issue, enhance the clarity of its purpose, and engender pride in financial statement audit and its important public interest role.
Recommendations
With these at hand, the ACCA and the CA ANZ recommends the following:
- All stakeholders of the profession need to improve how they communicate the audit profession’s purpose: this includes audit firms, regulators, standard-setters, professional accountancy organisations and academia.
- Audit firms should focus on existing members of staff: focusing on the needs of existing members of staff will not only help improve retention rates but may well also produce future advocates for the profession, with systemic positive effects in attracting and retaining talent.
- Sustainability reporting and assurance present a unique talent attraction opportunity for audit firms: this is a unique opportunity to attract talent and firms should capitalise on this by offering the opportunity for both new entrants and current staff to work in this area, where possible.
