ACCA report reveals enterprising spirit in Nigerians
Young Nigerian finance professionals are looking to make their next career move in a new business in the coming year, a new research by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has revealed.
Findings from the ACCA global research entitled: ‘Next Generation’, which examined the career aspirations of the younger generation in finance, showed that Nigerian accountants were the most entrepreneurial.
This, according to the report, is because 95 per cent of the accountants surveyed said that their next career move would be starting a business, compared to 81 per cent globally.
It explained that in the polling of over 740 young people under the age of 36, it was discovered that Nigerians had aspirations for leadership, with 40 per cent seeing themselves leading a finance team; and 46 per cent seeking a different role in a different area of finance in the future.
The ACCA report stated that many Nigerians felt that they had a strong relationship with their manager (71 per cent) and their colleagues (81 per cent), but did not feel career paths were clear or transparent in their organisations.
Commenting on the report, the Head of ACCA Nigeria, Toyin Ademola, said, “This is a clear signal to employers that they need to have the right policies and the right training to hold onto their talent. Stifled and frustrated career goals will lead to people moving on; so, formal training and learning are clearly a need.
“If Nigerian employers want their staff to stay, then, they need to offer great training and development, and also job security. The whole package is important, but it’s interesting to see that work location and work life balance does not matter as much as the chance to develop skills and abilities.”