ACCA - Generation Next - Managing Talent in Finance Shared Services

Professional accountants – the future:
Generation Next:
managing talent in
finance shared services
About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global
body for professional accountants, offering business-relevant, first-choice
qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world
who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.
ACCA supports its 198,000 members and 486,000 students in 180 countries, helping them
to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers.
ACCA works through a network of 101 offices and centres and more than 7,291 Approved
Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development.
Through its public interest remit, ACCA promotes appropriate regulation of accounting and
conducts relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.
Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity,
innovation, integrity and accountability. It believes that accountants bring value to economies
in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage
the adoption of global standards. ACCA’s core values are aligned to the needs of employers
in all sectors and it ensures that through its range of qualifications, it prepares accountants
for business. ACCA seeks to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove
artificial barriers, innovating its qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee
professionals and their employers.
More information is here: www.accaglobal.com

About this report
The first in a series of sector-
specific studies, this report
explores the work preferences
and career aspirations of
the youngest professionals
in finance shared services
organisations globally.
© The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

September 2017
Contents
Preface 4
Executive summary 5
1. Introduction 7
1.1 Generation Next – ACCA global study 2016 8
1.2 Generation Next in finance shared services 9
2. Generation Next in finance shared services: key findings 10
2.1 A successful long-term career in finance and beyond? 13
2.2 Implications of technological changes for finance shared services roles 10
2.3 A transient workforce 15
2.4 Global ambitions 17
2.5 Expectations mismatch 18
3. Employers’ call to action 21

3.1 Attracting talent 22
3.1.1 Building forward-thinking career paths 22
3.1.2 Creating an appealing brand for shared services 23
3.1.3 Using technology as a recruitment opportunity 23
3.1.4 Attracting the right talent 24
3.2 Developing talent 26
3.2.1 Rotating staff between functions and location 27
3.2.2 Implementing effective mentoring schemes 28
3.2.3 Providing quality learning and development opportunities 29
3.3 Retaining talent 30
3.3.1 Promoting staff internally 30
3.3.2 Encouraging ‘intrapreneurship’ 30
3.3.3 Creating an enjoyable office environment 31
4. Conclusion 32
Appendix: Country comparison 33
References 61
Contributors 62
Professional accountants – the future: 4
Generation Next: managing talent in finance shared services
Preface
Expectations of today’s finance organisation continue Yet, technology will never be the ‘silver bullet’. It is the combination
to shift. Mass competition and the transformation of of digital and talent that will define the smartest future finance
global markets are placing unprecedented pressure organisations. Enter Generation Next, a study of those aged 16-36
in the global accountancy profession today. One of the largest ever
on organisations survival. This in turn is creating new
studies conducted in the profession by ACCA in 2016, the study
challenges, as well as new opportunities for today’s suggested this was a generation with ambitions for fast progression
modern finance team to innovate and help the and rapid career development. Yet these traits place new pressures
business create winning strategies for growth. on employer practices for attracting, engaging and retaining young
talent in the global market.
Many argue that it is the ascent of digital, however, that will have
the most significant impact on the future role of the finance team. Building on ACCA’s 2016 study, this report takes a closer look at
Here there is certainly one clear trend emerging – new technology the aspirations of younger finance professionals working in finance
opportunities are not only redefining finance operating models and shared services today, as well as exploring the winning strategies
acting as a catalyst for re-engineering key processes, they are also organisations can adopt to win the war for talent. It is the first of a
having a profound impact on the future skills likely to be most four-part series of reports that brings deeper talent insights into
prized in the function. specific sectors across the profession.
In 2016 ACCA published the results of its Generation The survey data also showed that young finance professionals in
Next study (ACCA 2016a), one of the largest ever global shared services:
surveys, to which almost 19,000 members and students
• see their experience as a valued platform for a successful long-term
aged 16 to 36 years old responded, sharing their views career in and beyond the profession (see section 2.1);
Executive
on what attracted them to a career in finance, their
ambitions and how they like to learn. • believe that technology will have a positive impact on career
opportunities and that this generation may well be best placed to
summary
This first in a series of follow-up sector specific studies focuses on take advantage of this (see 2.2);
those who indicated that they were working in a finance shared
services centre. In the global study from 2016 they represented 30% • are very mobile and have international aspirations within the
of those working in medium-sized or large corporate firms. broader finance function and beyond (see 2.3 and 2.4); and
Overall, the findings suggest that the views of those working in shared • see progression as a key attraction and retention factor, but their
services are not dissimilar to the overall global results. This is a expectations for such opportunities may be falling short within
generation who believe they are well equipped to deal with change finance shared services functions (see 2.5).
driven by technology and globalisation. They expect even greater
opportunities from further innovation in shared services organisations,
which will enable them to focus on much higher value-added tasks.
Professional accountants – the future: | Executive summary 6
These trends have implications for the inclinations and using shared
shared services function and beyond, services as a natural incubation
as the profession as a whole will face ground for technological
challenges in attracting and retaining top experimentation (see 3.1.3).
talent to fulfil senior roles in the coming
decades. A talent deficit is a potential • Careful consideration needs to be
problem – unless, in part, the application given to attracting the right talent
of technology can mitigate some of the for the shared services function,
risk, though technology itself is likely to accepting that it requires a different
have the most impact at more junior, skill set from that in the retained
entry-level, rules-based roles, bringing finance teams (see 3.1.4).
entrants at higher, more intellectually
• Rotation, mentoring and further
rewarding levels. It also means that the
training are valuable support
traditional talent ‘pipeline’ through the
activities for talent development
finance organisation could become
and retention, as opportunities
significantly disrupted.
to broaden their skills are highly
From an employer’s perspective, the motivating for younger professionals.
pressure on attraction, engagement Here, reverse mentoring in the
and retention, is calling for a rethink of shared services environment may
talent management strategies, offer particular value, allowing
particularly in shared services. A series younger professionals to share their
of interviews and roundtables with exposure to newer concepts (see
shared services employers globally 3.2.1 and 3.2.2).
have led to the following insights:
• Encouraging internal promotion
• Building structured career paths in and employee-led initiatives in
shared services is key to attracting shared services to support
and retaining young talent, given innovation and growth in a
this generation’s appetite for challenging environment will help
progression and lifetime personal to keep staff engaged by providing
development; a strong brand and recognition and increasing work
executive commitment within the satisfaction (see 3.3.1 and 3.3.2).
organisation facilitate this process
• Maintaining a healthy and
(see 3.1.1 and 3.1.2).
considerate work environment is
• Technology could be an opportunity becoming more and more important
to make the sector a more attractive because young professionals in
career destination, tapping into finance shared services value a good
Generation Next’s natural digital work–life balance (see 3.3.3).
1. Introduction
In 2016 ACCA published Generation Next, the

results of a global survey in which almost
19,000 members and students aged 16 to 36
shared their views on their career aspirations
and work preferences, what attracts them and
retains them in organisations, and how they
like to learn.
This report follows on from that global study and takes a
deeper view of the career aspirations and desires of
those young finance professionals working specifically in
finance shared services. The findings are presented from
two perspectives:
• the key findings relating to Generation Next and

specifically the responses from finance shared services
employees; and
• the implications for employers for attracting, retaining

and developing talent in the sector.
Professional accountants – the future: | 1. Introduction 8
1.1 GENERATION NEXT – ACCA GLOBAL STUDY 2016 There was almost gender parity in the sample, with female Approximately 70% of those in a medium-to-large corporate
respondents representing 49% of the group and males 51%. firm said they were working in the retained finance function
Located in 150 different countries, the largest samples were
of their organisation2 and, while just under 10% were part of
found in Pakistan (2,458 respondents), the UK (2,446), Malaysia 44% of respondents were in the private sector, out of which their firm’s Centre of Excellence (CoE),3 the other 20% said
(1,925), China (1,093) and Nigeria (741).1 more than half indicated working in a medium-sized to large they were working in the organisation’s finance shared services
corporate firm (over $750m turnover). Just over 20% of centre (FSSC).4
While about 10% of respondents to the survey were aged 16 to
respondents said they were working in accountancy firms (with
20, more than 60% were in their twenties and the remaining
half of these working within one of the Big Four and the other
28% were aged 31 and older, placing the average age of
half in small or medium-sized practices).
respondents, globally, at around 27 years.
Russia
292
United Kingdom Denmark

2446 | 105 5
Canada
80 Ireland
425 | 40 Poland
131
France Greece
15 118
Pakistan
Central and Eastern Iran 2458
Europe (CEE) 30
90 Italy Japan
USA 10 Cyprus
71 2
191 China
1093
Saudi Arabia
31 UAE Hong Kong
Cayman Islands 456 150
Jamaica Nigeria
10 116 Ethiopia India Vietnam
Barbados Ghana 741 341
Trinidad and Tobago 58 447 57 247
344 Sri Lanka
TOTAL RESPONSES n SHARED SERVICES 218
Singapore Malaysia
18,646
RESPONDENTS Kenya
Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) Uganda 560 1925 | 96
UK ................................ 105 52 240 451
Ireland ...........................40
Zimbabwe
f 9,069
CEE ................................90
Malaysia .......................96 Zambia 505
316
SSA .................................52 Mauritius
m 9,577
South Africa 561
187
AGE GROUPS Australia
66
16 – 20 10%
countries 150 21 – 25 30%
26 – 30 32%
31 – 36 28%
1 All results can be found in ACCA (2016).

2 A retained finance function is those activities that are localised and based as part of an ‘in-country’ team in a specific country to support local business operations or, typically, based at a central headquarters.
3 A Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a group of finance employees who are typically geographically centralised and collaborate to achieve best practices in a specific analytical specialised finance function area such as treasury, tax, or merger and acquisitions.
4 A Finance Shared Services Centre (FSSC) is an internally owned (‘captive’) operation centre as opposed to a third-party service provider – the latter often being known as a business process outsourcing centre (BPO). FSSCs typically provide core finance processing activity
support such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, fixed assets, GL accounting, expense processing, and sometimes other finance function activities.
Professional accountants – the future: | 1. Introduction 9
1.2 GENERATION NEXT IN

FINANCE SHARED SERVICES
58%
Globally, respondents from shared services
represented 707 respondents (Figure 1.1) from the
total Generation Next population, mainly located
in the UK (105 respondents) and Ireland (40),
central and eastern Europe (CEE) (90),5 and
Malaysia (96); Nigeria’s respondents, combined
with those in Ghana and Kenya (three countries
collectively referred to as Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA)) of the respondents working
accounted for a total of 52.
in shared services are women
Shared services respondents had a slightly older
age profile than that for all respondents, with the
average age being around 29 years old and the
sample representing more female than male
respondents (58% women to 42% men) (Figure 1.1).
FIGURE 1.1: Profile of respondents

9% 31% 32% 28% 58% 49%
Global
51%
0.5% 17.5% 40% 42% 42%
Shared services
Shared services Global
n 16–20 n 21–25 n 26–30 n 31–36 n Male n Female
5 CEE includes Bulgaria (14 respondents), Czech Republic (9),

Hungary (14), Poland (18), Romania (17) and Slovakia (18).
Results from ACCA’s Generation Next survey

(2016a) revealed that today’s young professionals
in finance and accounting have ambitions to
progress rapidly within the finance organisation,
2. Key findings possibly diversifying into more general business

roles while expecting to work in another country
at some point in their careers.
The findings presented in this section suggest that the views
of those working in shared services are not dissimilar to the
overall global views. They have equal ambitions to advance
their career rapidly, whilst being ready to change
organisations often to attain the variety of skills and
experience they need to progress.
They are technologically savvy too, expecting even greater

opportunities from the implementation of further innovation
in shared services organisations. The survey data also
showed that young finance professionals in shared services:
• see their experience as a valued platform for a successful

long-term career in and beyond the profession;
• believe that technology will have a positive impact on

career opportunities and that they are well placed to take
advantage of this;
• are very mobile and have international aspirations; and
• they see progression as a key attraction and retention

factor, but perceive opportunities to be limited within
finance shared services functions.
These trends clearly have implications for the shared services

function. If the emerging talent is more transitory than
previous generations and looking to progress with new
challenges at a faster rate, there is a potential for a draining
of talent from shared services functions if employers cannot
match the career aspirations of this generation.
Professional accountants – the future: | 2. Key findings 11
2.1 A SUCCESSFUL LONG-TERM CAREER FIGURE 2.1.1: What attracted you to a career in finance? (Top 5 factors)
IN FINANCE AND BEYOND?
Long-term Opportunity to Ability to use skills Interest in the Prestige of
Finance offers the young professional an attractive career prospects develop a broad in a broad range subject matter the profession
career. Those survey respondents working in finance range of skills of roles both in and
outside of finance
shared services were primarily attracted to the
45% n Shared services
profession for its long-term career prospects and the 43%
opportunity to develop a broad range of skills that 40% n Global
could be used both within and outside finance 35% 36%

33% 32% 33%
(Figure 2.1.1). Finance is generally seen as providing
a strong business grounding and an opportunity to 28% 29%
develop key skills at an early stage.
The career goals of Generation Next respondents in

shared services are very much aligned to the global
results (Figure 2.1.2) in that they see a progression
within finance but, as would be consistent with the
development of so-called ‘lattice’ careers,6 they
envisage later diversifying away from the shared
services finance function into broader roles. These
roles include starting their own businesses; the
sense of entrepreneurship is strong.
Their intermediate objective is to progress within FIGURE 2.1.2: Career goals of those in finance shared services compared with those of global respondents
the finance organisation, looking at more senior n Later on
15%
19%
39%
39%
48%
46%
48%
45%
66%
70%
roles and towards leading teams. Almost 90% of n Next move
them said that they would like to find a role in a
n Never
different area of finance. There is clear evidence of
this generation’s eagerness for responsibility at an
early stage.
78%
71%
49%
48%
40%
34%
15%
11%
9%
7%
This is a consistent story across the Generation Next
population and one that is not unique to those
working in a shared services environment.
24%
24%
17%
12%
4%
4%
5%
5%
4%
9%
SSC Global SSC Global SSC Global SSC Global SSC Global
6 The “corporate lattice” (as coined by authors Cathleen Benko and Molly Continue in my Lead a finance team Role in a different A role outside finance Start my own business
Anderson in their book, The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High area with a more area of finance into a more general
Performance in the Changing World of Work) is an alternative model to senior position business role
the “corporate ladder” which has been the prevailing paradigm for
structuring the enterprise and defines career success as a linear “climb
to the top”; in contrast, the “career lattice” model depicts employees’
career paths as multidirectional, with moves across, as well as up and
down. Arguably “lattice career pathways” provide greater flexibility,
enabling knowledge workers to customise their journeys over time and
companies to deepen their on-demand pool of expertise.
Variations were noted from country to country FIGURE 2.1.3: Finance shared services career goals by country – desire to find a role outside finance by
(Figures 2.1.3 and 2.1.4) with, for example, 77% moving into a more general role
of respondents in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria n Later on
(aggregated under SSA) expressing a desire to move n Next move
36%
into a more general business role compared with 55% n Never
44% in Ireland; 100% of the SSA respondents were 45% 73%
48%
thinking of starting their own business at some point
43%
in their career while just over half the shared services
respondents in Ireland were considering this.
8%
The observed difference could be explained by the 47%

relative maturity of shared services operations in 8%
9% 16%
certain countries. Those in Ireland, the UK and CEE 31% 1%
being arguably more established and able to offer 25% 24%
wider opportunities as the organisation transfers 15% 4%
more finance activities into shared services. 4%
Ireland UK CEE SSC average Malaysia SSA
In more mature shared services environments more
emphasis is now being placed on added-value
activities, such as the provision of management
commentaries and decision insight, extending
beyond traditional ‘transactional finance’ activities.
FIGURE 2.1.4: Finance shared services career goals by country – the desire to start one’s own business
n Later on
80%
65% n Next move
50% 66%
68% n Never
66%
5%
35%
2%
26% 7%
1% 3%
20%
16% 17% 16%
0%
2.2 IMPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGICAL

CHANGES FOR FINANCE SHARED
SERVICES ROLES
Technological changes are having an impact on
finance functions across the board, but on shared
services centres in particular. The research report,
The robots are coming (ACCA 2015) presented the
views of shared services and outsourcing experts
and leading professionals, and concluded that
finance leaders may only adopt further technological
innovation such as robotic process automation (RPA)
when they see peers they trust implementing these
solutions and being able to clearly track the benefits.
However, a recent article based on research jointly

led by ACCA and PwC, The ascent of digital (ACCA
and PwC 2017), highlights that more and more
finance organisations have now shifted to RPA.
Considering the implication (and potential gains) of
the advances in areas such as robotic processes and
Artificial Intelligence (AI), the article points to the
incremental returns on adoption of technology
across finance, showing how first movers have the
potential to reap the benefits of higher data quality,
visibility and insights, especially when dealing with
large volumes of transactions.
With lower-end roles being automated, especially in

a shared services environment, there is a clear shift
in skills that the finance function needs and the
career opportunities that it can offer, whilst having
implications on the number of roles that will be
required in the future.
Among young professionals in finance, and even

more so in shared services, technology is seen as an
88%
opportunity more than a threat. While more than
60% expect some entry-level roles to be replaced as
a result of further process automation, almost 90%
of respondents in shared services see technology as
an opportunity to focus on much higher value-
adding activity (Figure 2.2.1). One leading
organisation interviewed noted that automation
enables a resource reallocation to higher value but
also in itself is helpful in providing capability for of respondents in shared services see
better insight, and the push for automation is often technology as an opportunity to focus
a catalyst for cleaning up processes in the first place,
in the interests of efficiency and effectiveness.
on much higher value-adding activity
The finance function is clearly changing and there is

a need for individuals who understand both the
business dynamics and how data can be exploited
to explain current, and foresee potential future,
trends. Their familiarity with digital tools will
therefore provide a significant opportunity.
FIGURE 2.2.1: Finance shared services respondents’ perceptions of the impact of

technology compared with the global view
88%
n Shared services
84%
n Global
64%
57%
Technology will replace Technology will enable finance

many entry level roles professionals to focus on much
in the profession higher value-added activity
2.3 A TRANSIENT WORKFORCE FIGURE 2.3.1: How long have you been in your current role?
The workforce of the 21st century is inherently more 30% 24% 16% 19% 11%
mobile and more global. It is not uncommon for n Less than a year
senior managers in finance to have first-line direct
reports in several overseas offices. The days of Shared services n 1 year or more but less than 2
virtual working and cross-border collaboration are n 2 years or more but less than 3
commonplace, and workforce diversity is considered 27% 23% 16% 19% 15% n 3 years or more but less than 5
valuable for fostering a climate of enterprise n More than 5 years
innovation and growth. This is especially true of
shared services centres, which are often located in Global
lower-cost economies, geographically distant from
the day-to-day operational functions that they serve.
This can be good news for Generation Next, who FIGURE 2.3.2: How many organisations have you worked for since entering the profession, including your
may be more willing to take bolder steps in their current organisation?
careers. Globally, the survey found that nearly 50% 26.5% 32% 26.5% 15%
of respondents have been in their current role for
less than two years, yet the data also revealed that, n One
across age cohort, location and sector, over one- Shared services
n Two
third of young finance professionals would like to
n Three
change job within a year, rising to 70% within two 31% 31% 22% 16%
n Four or more
years (ACCA 2016a).
Although being slightly older than the global Global

average (Figure 1.1), respondents in shared services
tend to have spent even less time in their current
role (Figure 2.3.1) than is typical of their age group
while having generally worked for more FIGURE 2.3.3: How quickly would you like to move to your next role?
organisations (Figure 2.3.2). Respondents in shared 2% 2% n Less than 1 year
services may be anticipating changing role slightly n 1 year or more but less than two
less rapidly than the global average, yet an 9% 9% n 2 years or more but less than 3
overwhelming majority would still expect to have n 3 years or more but less than 5
moved on within three years (Figure 2.3.3). Put 34% n More than 5 years
36%
simply, the young shared services workforce is 19%
20%
transient. The global nature of shared services
means that opportunities may exist in different
countries, or with similar organisations in the same
country. The range is greater than ever before.
34% 34%

Finance shared services professionals have FIGURE 2.3.4: Would you like your next move to FIGURE 2.3.6: To which sector would you like to move in the future?
ambitions to move up the ladder quickly and are
71%
be a promotion or a lateral move?
prepared to move externally and change employer Large 36%
to achieve their career goals. In comparison with Lateral move corporate 32%
29%
global respondents, it seems that even more 17%
respondents in shared services are looking for a Big Four
15%
promotion in their next move, rather than a lateral Promotion
Medium 11%
move (Figure 2.3.4), but possibly fewer of them are Shared services corporate 15%
considering moving externally to achieve this (Figure
67%
2.3.5). This could suggest that respondents see 13%
Consulting
opportunities for progression within their current 12%
Lateral move
33%
shared services organisation or are keen to gain the 9%
Public sector
necessary experience in a short time frame to 10%
achieve their longer-term ambition. 4%
Promotion Small
corporate 5%
In the long-run however, close to 70% of respondents Global
in shared services said they would want to change 3%
SMP
sector, with more than a third intending to move to 3%
a large corporate firm, primarily to work with the 2%
retained finance function (Fig 2.3.6 and 2.3.7). Mid-tier
3%
FIGURE 2.3.5: Do you expect your next move to 3% n Shared services
It can be noted, however, that, compared with the
54%
be internal or external to your current organisation? Not-for-profit
global results, a higher proportion of respondents 4% n Global
46%
from shared services indicated an inclination to work Internal
in the shared services centre (SSC) of a medium or
large corporate firm.
External
Shared services FIGURE 2.3.7: If moving to a medium or large corporate firm, in which
part of the finance function would you aim to work?
61%
65% 15% 19%
39%
Internal
Shared services
External
Global
80% 15% 6%
Global
n Retained finance function n CoE n SSC
2.4 GLOBAL AMBITIONS

There are significant trends towards a more
globalised workforce, especially in shared services, FIGURE 2.4.1: Finance shared services career goals – finding a role in a different region or country
and young finance professionals’ ambitions for
49% 44% n Later on
mobility are also global, with 76% of those working
in shared services expecting to secure a role in a n Next move
different region or country at some point in their n Never
career (Figure 2.4.1).
Variations were, however, noted from country to

35%
country, for example between respondents in 27%
Ireland and those in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria7 (SSA).
In Ireland, more than 40% of shared services
respondents said they would never seek a role in
a different region or country whilst 44% of SSA 14% 12%
respondents said they would be ready to do so
in their immediate next move. (Figure 2.4.2) SSC average Global
For more mature shared services centres, in

economies where they can be geographically
located closer to the operating units, there is a
greater potential for rotations into those areas. As
can be seen from the survey respondents, in Ireland, FIGURE 2.4.2: Finance shared services career goals – finding a role in a different region or country
the UK and the CEE the personal need to move (by country)
within the ‘lattice’ career model can often be
satisfied by moves to other employers within the 43% 61% 51% 49% 42% 48% n Later on
country whereas those in less affluent economies are n Next move
reliant on moves within the organisation, though n Never
perhaps to another country, to satisfy their aims for
career growth.
8% 38%
44%
27%
41% 21%
7%
24%
16% 14% 12%
2%
7 Aggregated under Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) group on the graph

2.5 EXPECTATIONS MISMATCH

Young professionals in finance and accounting are
focused on developing their careers and attaining FIGURE 2.5.1: The top 5 factors attracting shared services respondents to an employer, compared with the global results
new capabilities, regardless of their age, location or
Opportunity Career progression Financial Interesting Work life
sector of activity. The top two determining factors in to learn and opportunities remuneration work balance
their decision about going or staying in an develop skills
organisation, particularly for respondents in shared
services, are the existing prospects for career 69%
66%
progression and the opportunities for developing 61% 63%
and learning new skills (Figures 2.5.1 and 2.5.2). For 58%
51% 52% 51% 52% 50%
n Shared services
many shared services functions, this may represent a
n Global
challenge, especially for those located in areas
removed from the main operating units.
Significantly, the factors cited by the respondents in

shared services did not differ substantially from
those in the total population. As noted in section
2.1, the attainment of a personal career path is
important to this generation and the factors that
help in achieving that are no different in this context.
FIGURE 2.5.2: The top 5 factors in shared services respondents’ decision to remain with an employer, compared with the
global results
Career Opportunity Financial Work life Job security
progression to learn and remuneration balance
opportunities develop skills
62% 59% 59% 58% 58% 56% n Shared services

50% 47% 48% 48%
n Global
When respondents were asked whether they found

FIGURE 2.5.3: Are opportunities to learn and develop skills available as expected in your current organisation?
that opportunities for both progression and learning
were available in their current organisation, many 48%
n Worse or much worse
were fairly positive about the opportunities to learn
n As expected
and develop their skills, particularly in the UK and
CEE (Figure 2.5.3). n Better or much better
Nonetheless, for more than 40% of respondents, 50%

46%
access to career progression appeared worse or 42% 43%
36% 39% 37%
much worse than expected (Figure 2.5.4) probably 34% 33% 33%
30% 31% 29%
because market factors limit such developmental 27% 27% 25%
20% 18%
opportunities.
CEE UK SSC average Malaysia SSA Ireland
FIGURE 2.5.4: Are opportunities for career progression available as expected?

48%
n Worse or much worse
n As expected
n Better or much better
61%
47% 46%
43%
40%
37% 35%
29% 32%
28% 26% 28% 28% 29% 28%
24% 25%
16%
SSA Malaysia Ireland SSC average UK CEE

This may not be the case everywhere, as nearly 40%

FIGURE 2.5.5: My current organisation offers sufficient opportunities for achieving my career goals
of respondents did agree or strongly agree that their
organisations offered sufficient opportunities for n Strongly disagree
them to progress and achieve their career goals; but 7% 7% 9% 9% n Disagree
conversely, the data suggests that more than 60% n Neutral
either disagreed, or at best were unsure, that such 19%
n Agree
19%
opportunities were available for them in their n Strongly agree
organisation (Figure 2.5.5). 30%
29%
Also, and in line with global perceptions, the

majority of respondents were unclear about the
transparency of career paths in their shared services
organisation (Figure 2.5.6).
37% 34%
As noted in earlier sections, there is an implication
that many younger professionals are responding to Shared services Global
shorter-term attitudes of employers who, especially
in outsourced scenarios, view shared services
centres as ‘transaction factories’. One employer in
the UK commented that ‘businesses still do not
really understand what a shared service organisation
is and what they deliver’. A question that must be
FIGURE 2.5.6: Career paths in my organisation are transparent
considered is whether this view is exposing the
profession to a longer-term risk when key talent is n Strongly disagree
not offered appropriate, nurturing, career paths. 6.1% 8.3% n Disagree
14.8% 14.8%
n Neutral
n Agree
24.9% 22.9% n Strongly agree
20.8% 21.8%
33.4% 32.2%

3. Employers’
Key findings from Generation Next imply
that organisations which focus on providing
opportunities for learning new skills and are
call to action offering clear career paths for progression will

be better placed in the competition to attract
and retain top talent.
Monitoring talent management practices in finance shared
services through interviews with leading professionals and
surveys of ACCA’s global membership (ACCA 2012, 2013a,
2016b), the results consistently suggest that career paths
remain broadly confined to shared services functions, and
that there is little mobility or rotation of staff from finance
shared services to the rest of the finance function.
Although shared services roles appear to be increasingly

seen as an attractive career choice, a survey of 260 ACCA
members in finance shared services leadership positions
found that only 34% agreed or strongly agreed that
opportunities to move out of shared services to the retained
finance function were available to them (ACCA 2017).
Comments from shared services respondents to the

Generation Next survey also highlighted mixed beliefs
about career opportunities within their organisation; many
thought the experience gained in this area was ‘a good
starting point but feels like a dead end after four years
without much of a progression’ (UK interviewee). Overall,
80% of them thought there were barriers to moving out of
shared services, mainly because of a lack of transparent
paths into the retained finance function (see Appendix).
Generation Next have the propensity to be transient

members of the organisation. They are looking for new
opportunities that support their personal career
development plans and are attracted to those organisations
that can support their needs. This is a question of skill
growth and if the shared services centre is to retain key
talent it needs to address the relevant factors.
Professional accountants – the future: | 3. Employers’ call for action 22
3.1 ATTRACTING TALENT career pathways that enable opportunities for

progression and professional development,
Attracting the best talent is a key, and a
key elements in attracting and retaining the
continuous, activity. In shared services, as noted
younger generations.
in Chapter 2, there are a number of challenges
that employers needs to address if they are to Having executive buy-in and a clear vision of
attract this generation’s best and brightest. how the finance team can support the
business in achieving its strategy are critical in
In attracting talent employers need to consider:
anticipating the organisation’s future human
• the nature of the career paths that they offer; capital requirements, and start planning
effectively to meet those needs so that a
• the position of the shared service ‘brand’ in robust and sustainable pipeline of talent can
their talent market; flourish in the organisation.
• how technology can be used to attract the In terms of defining career paths that run
talent that they are seeking, and across the entire finance function, this can
present obvious obstacles for employers but
• their approach to attracting the right talent. should be an important principle. With little
mobility or rotation of staff from shared
3.1.1 Building forward-thinking career paths services to the rest of the finance function,
In Chapter 2 we noted respondents’ view that there is a significant risk that dual-track career
clear career paths were often lacking (Figure paths develop (ACCA 2016b).
2.5.6) whilst being able to promote examples
of career paths is a key means of attracting With more and more aspects of core finance
talent (ACCA 2013a). These paths may not, of integrated into shared services models,
course, be entirely within the organisation and professionals in the retained finance functions
the attractiveness of lattice career structures have the opportunity to focus on developing
has also been noted in earlier sections. their capabilities in business partnering and
analysis, corporate finance and strategic
As discussed in previous ACCA research planning, suggesting they would therefore
papers (ACCA 2016b; ACCA 2017), shared become the natural successor for the CFO
services are often challenged by their historic role (ACCA 2013b).
positioning as a ‘finance transactions factory’:
many organisations may look at shared services However, what will be the implication for a
with a sort of master/servant mentality, making generation of CFOs with no exposure to the
it difficult to communicate shared services’ core finance activities that increasingly sit in
value to the enterprise. This has serious the shared service environment?
implications for talent attraction and retention.
Organisations need to consider these wider
For employers in shared services, having a implications for developing the senior cadre
clear direction is vital to mapping out of finance leaders for the future. Without such
appropriate skills, roles and responsibilities that exposure, the risk of developing leaders
will be required, describes CA Technologies without the appropriate experience and
vice president and regional controller, Robert understanding of basic financial concepts
Molnar. This in turn help defining structured will arguably increase.
3.1.2 Creating an appealing brand for shared services Engaging with universities can also help appeal directly to young
Generation Next are interested in the ‘brand’ of their employer and soon-to-be graduates. For instance, one employer we spoke to has
Shared services how that will benefit them in their longer-term career goals. It is a team which goes into colleges to present the work the company
therefore important that employers use their brand effectively, and does in a ‘dynamic, engaging and funny way’ that connects with
leaders must ‘go out overcome any potential negativity, when seeking to attract top talent. younger audiences.
there’, building their 3.1.3 Using technology as a recruitment opportunity
To make the industry more appealing to top talent, some employers
organisation’s brand both interviewed for this study suggested that shared services leaders should Generation Next’s tech-savvy attributes may offer an unprecedented
internally and externally. ‘go out there’, selling their story and building their organisation’s name opportunity for employers to tap into a pool of potential change
through a variety of channels, both internally and externally. agents able to help accelerate the adoption of technologies in the
business. This generation uses technology on a constant basis,
Boonsiri Somchit, who led AMD’s shared services centre in Penang particularly in their personal lives. For employers, how they engage
(Malaysia) for more than a decade before setting up her own with potential candidates starts with an effective technology access
consultancy firm Xtrategize, told us that when junior staff posted point and, for many, the approach to technology in the workplace can
pictures on social media platforms of themselves presenting in front of make the difference between an attractive and a less attractive
the company CFO, this contributed to creating a powerful brand in the employment proposition.
market and helped talent attraction for the shared service centre.
To attract the best and brightest, leaders must therefore be at the In the UK, Jacqui Ingleson from Shared Services Connected Limited,
forefront of this shift, identifying and adopting the technologies that a joint venture between SopraSteria and the Cabinet Office,8 predicts
Many in the industry will enable shared services to offer roles producing value beyond that from 20% to 60% of her operations will be automated in the next
purely processing data to actual insightful analytics that support five years; a challenge now is to recruit staff able to develop digital
expect robotics to business decision-making. processes alongside having strong finance and accounting skills.
significantly disrupt Millennials have grown up amid significant advances in technology.
To address this, some employers are already recruiting staff from IT
to work with their finance teams.
the traditional shared As noted in Chapter 2, with increasing attention placed on the
services roles and application of RPA and AI, this is a generation who broadly expect to 3.1.4 Attracting the right talent
see more automation taking place. Rather than seeing this as a threat, As shared services grow in scope and scale, and with increased
structures as we know it. they believe technology is an opportunity for increasing the value of automation and digitisation placing capability in data analytics and
their roles, particularly in shared services, ‘taking the robot out of the skills in communication and customer relationships at the centre of the
human’ and allowing them to focus on more interesting, value-added talent equation, new opportunities for attracting talent will emerge
activity (Willcocks and Lacity 2016). while also presenting fresh challenges. As the capability paradigm
shifts, getting the right people in may become tougher and employers
Over the next few years though, many in the industry expect robotics may be required to invest in up-skilling their teams.
to significantly disrupt the traditional roles and structures of the shared
services model as we know it, redefining the skills and capabilities that To exemplify the issue, many of those who attended a recent roundtable
will be required to maintain a competitive edge or simply disappear. organised by ACCA in Bangalore9 recognised how the core expectations
8 Soprasteria provides finance shared services for the National Health Service in England (called NHS SBS) and more than 27 UK government agencies and departments, including the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office.
9 Hosted in April 2017, some of the companies represented at this roundtable included Tesco, HP Inc., Hitachi Consulting Software Services and Micromatic Machine Tools.
from finance professionals in shared services were now evolving beyond them to achieve greater heights of their potential. After successful
purely transaction-based jobs to include compliance and analytics, as completion of the one year, the exceptional participants are confirmed
As the skills and capability well as a better understanding of the business in general. To move on into the respective positions. Over the last four years, Centum has
successfully to what one participant called ‘knowledge accounting’, on-boarded 66 graduate trainees into permanent positions.
paradigm shifts, getting employers should invest much more in training entry-level staff: for example,
The shared services industry as a whole needs to ensure that it makes
the right people in will by more systematically sponsoring further professional qualifications
itself attractive to Millennials. All too often, the image of a ‘transaction
and allowing staff to take some time off to study and sit exams.
become tougher for shared factory’ may mask the true nature of the role. Individuals, especially
services employers. Investing in training can not only be more cost efficient than dedicating those in this generation, as discussed in Chapter 2, are looking for
time and resources to recruit new staff, but it can also help attracting longer-term careers that provide stepping stones in their personal
best talent by being committed to provide opportunities for long-term developmental paths.
learning and development. This can be a particularly attractive
proposition in light of technological changes and the impact on skills The importance of having honest career conversations should be
that will be required in the near future. stressed. Some employers recognise that opportunities for progression
may be limited by default and that, as ABSL President Ota Kulhanek
Graduate trainee programmes that can lead to permanent positions are puts it, ‘typically, the business services career model is not based on
also a proven way of attracting the right talent. In Kenya, Centum runs a fast progression, but it is based more on stable, predictable job where
successful annual Graduate Training Programme that delivers a constant you can fulfil your task within the given working hours’.
supply of technically qualified fresh graduates, with a winning attitude
and high leadership potential from renowned universities across East While richer career paths help retention and open up opportunities to
Africa. Upon joining Centum, the participants embark on the Graduate attract others, it becomes critical for employers to have a strategic and
Development Program, which involves structured training modules and targeted approach to learning and development when progression is
on the job coaching, aimed at nurturing their skills and empowering however limited.
3.2 DEVELOPING TALENT As these skills are transferable, they provide

greater opportunities for developing a more
Findings from the Generation Next survey
‘lattice’ career structure that can satisfy
have shown the importance of learning
appetites for progression, development and
opportunities as the second most decisive
diversification of skills, and moves into more
retention factor for younger professionals.
general business roles.
In a shared services environment, finance
The survey also demonstrated the criticality of
experience is increasingly perceived as a
experiential learning for younger generation:
valuable induction to building key business-
on-the-job learning, rotation and mentoring
wide skills, a fact also emphasised by industry
were ranked as the top three most effective
experts and finance shared services leaders
learning activities in the survey, followed by
(ACCA 2017). Shared services employees can
further professional qualifications – a similar
acquire, and build, basic finance mastery skills
result when looking at shared services
but because of the nature of service
respondents’ perspectives (Fig 3.2.1).
operations, it also demands other capabilities:
analytics, operational excellence, process In this section we consider how the following
knowledge, customer service skills, actions can support the developmental needs
programme management and, sometimes, of this generation:
specific skills such as Lean and Six Sigma.
• Rotating staff;
Coupled with skills in communication and
influencing, harnessed as part of the natural • Implementing effective mentoring; and
requirements of servicing the business, it is
easy to see how these types of environment • Providing quality learning and
can be powerful in building a rich range of development opportunities.
complementary skills that are valuable across
the enterprise, with core finance capabilities
as the bedrock.
FIGURE 3.2.1: What are the most effective learning activity? (Top 5)
n Shared services
n Global
53% 52%
31%
25% 27% 27%
23% 23% 22%
20%
On-the-job Job rotations Mentoring Further External seminars,

learning and secondment professional workshop and events
qualifications
3.2.1 Rotating staff between functions and location Rotation is an effective way of developing staff and retaining talent.
Rotations provide opportunities for expanding skills and getting a At the BBC’s Finance Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Cardiff, the Director
Employers see better understanding of the business, which in turn helps improve Peter Morgan highlighted how a number of staff had moved between
performance and add value to the staff, while keeping them engaged. teams either as a result of development conversations or as a result of
greater talent organisation structure changes. In large organisation like the BBC a
retention as a result GE has such an approach involving the engagement between rotation to a new team or division with new stakeholders and business
managers and their more junior staff. Describing the initiative, GE contacts can be motivating for staff and aids development.
of development Global Operations local leader for Sub-Saharan Africa, Allan Kilavuka,
through rotations. recognises how the benefits are two-sided; while more junior staff can Rotation can also be implemented on a global scale. Developing their
get a better understanding of how their work fits in the bigger picture, operations in Africa, Wilmar International is sending staff on temporary
he gets a direct view of what his team may be dealing with on a daily duty assignment from the Penang shared services centre to help in
basis, the kind of queries they handle and how they solve issues. This setting up a robust function in Africa that replicates Penang’s standards
enables him to identify where inefficiencies may exist and how best to of controls and processes. Penang shared services leader, Oh Ming Po,
address these. says that such rotations have allowed people to move up and become
heads of various groups and functions, for example, by moving from
Many employers interviewed for this study are implementing formal transition manager to head of transformation.
rotation between key functions of their finance services, for example
between accounts payable, accounts receivable and general ledger. At Undeniably, not all companies can afford to implement such measures.
Interserve in the UK, such an approach is embedded in as part of their First of all, there is always a risk of losing talent when on assignment
SustainAbilities programme. This has resulted in greater talent abroad and some employers are thinking of ways to ensure that such
retention by demonstrating to their employees that the company people return. Secondly, rotating staff also means that the position left
invests and is committed to developing staff. vacant must be filled somehow and for this, employers often resort to
contractors or do a ‘swap for skills’.
Regulation on work permits, tax and visas can also make international GE Kenya also has an interesting approach to mentoring, called a
placement challenging; all locations are not equally appealing to staff, ‘mentoring waterfall’, where one person mentors another, who in turn
Like rotations, and neither can all staff leave on a two-to-four-year placement away mentors a third person. Here, reverse mentoring may also offer
from their family. particular value, allowing younger professionals to share their exposure
implementing mentoring to newer concepts.
For Jacqui Ingleson, rotations are not always valuable in practice; from
systems can be an effective her point of view, ‘you have to get the training in that area and go At organisational level, employers sometimes set up an internal portal
way of supporting staff through a couple [of] months…to really know what you are doing, so a to match mentors and mentees on the company’s intranet: every
six-month rotation sometimes may not be long enough’. employee has a profile with information about their skills and
in their development and
Rotation and regional placement can give staff very good experience assignments; those signing up to be a mentor select the skills, career
keeping them engaged. and understanding of the business, but such schemes must be well levels and approach to mentoring they would be comfortable with (ie
structured to provide a real return on investment. face to face or virtually) and the system matches the mentee and
mentor. One challenge employers face, however, is that, inevitably,
3.2.2 Implementing effective mentoring schemes everyone is busy getting on with their own workload and mentoring
Respondents to the Generation Next survey said that mentoring was takes time and resources.
the third most effective learning activities. While this can be
challenging to formalise, mainly because the alchemy between a Like rotations, implementing mentoring systems can be an effective
mentor and a mentee cannot be dictated, employers are more and way of supporting staff in their development and keeping them
more frequently engaging in facilitating it. engaged. But rather than a one-off solution, such initiatives may be
best realised when approached on a case-by-case basis, which
Roman Pavlousek, working in the Czech Republic, described a probably explains why companies may struggle to implement such
managerial mentoring scheme being currently driven by HR directors ideas effectively.
of different companies and designed to match mentors and mentees
across the market, regardless of their sector of activities.
3.2.3 Providing quality learning and development opportunities Digitally based learning activities ranked the lowest in young
From discussions of opportunities for further qualifications and training professionals’ perception of effective training approaches. In global
Line managers are a with employers, it appears that, in some cases, shared services results as in responses from shared services, not even 10% of
employees do not have access to the same professional development respondents expected ‘gamified learning’ to be beneficial in the future.
powerful resource in opportunities as others across the business; at times, employers end
up in a position where they have to ‘fight for training’. Perhaps there is a lack of awareness or understanding of what
helping design effective ‘gamification’ in business means, or perhaps there have been attempts
individual development Wilmar’s Penang shared services leader, Oh Ming Poh, confirmed again in companies to use games (actual games) for learning and training
how gaining support from the top of the organisation is critical. She and the experience was perhaps not appropriate or beneficial.
plans while keeping describes how the company, headquartered in Singapore, sees the
employees’ expectations finance shared service centre in Malaysia as ‘the eyes and ears’ of the As research VP Brian Burke from IT research and advisory firm Gartner
organisation. With backing from the top, the business invests in Inc. explains, ‘like most new trends and technologies, the initial hype
grounded in reality. developing talent in the function: for example, by subsidizing the ACCA surrounding the trend creates unrealistic expectations for success and
annual membership fees for staff. As a knock-on effect, retention increases many poor implementations follow. In the longer term, as design
and, over the past four years, the attrition rate has fallen from 50% to 20%. practices improve and organisations focus on defining clear business
objectives, gamification will have a significant business impact and
Organisations’ investment in learning and development varies from
become an important means for organisations to engage audiences at
case to case and securing executive sponsorship may not always be
a deeper level’ (Burke 2013).
easy. Some employers invest a lot of time and resources in internal
training, sometimes even offering English and public speaking courses Developing talent is not a one-size-fits all process. Rather, it requires a
to their staff, e.g. Toastmaster. tailored and balanced approach that evolves according to people and
Others may also encourage staff to put together training programmes business capacity. Line managers should have regular one-to-one
for their co-workers, which may be on technical subjects or other aspects conversations with employees; they are a powerful resource in helping
of their day-to-day work where skills may be lacking, e.g. with Excel, design effective individual development plans while keeping
Word and PowerPoint programmes. As suggested by the Generation employees’ expectations grounded in reality.
Next data, internal knowledge sharing sessions are perceived by
younger professionals as more effective than e-learning courses.
3.3 RETAINING TALENT performers, ensuring that the company ‘move

them forward quicker than maybe some
Increasingly organisations need to focus on
others’. Gary concedes, however, that ‘people
retaining talent as the pool of available talent
management is the one thing that can easily
in some instances is decreasing whilst, as we
get pushed to one side when the pressure is
have seen, the workforce is more fungible.
on and there is always more than can be done’.
Retaining existing talent is increasingly
important. Some of the activities that Global finance SSC manager for international
employers in shared services should manufacturing company Edwards, Roman
undertake include the following; Pavlousek, tends to agree that organisations
can only encourage talent development, and
• promoting staff internally;
employers should probably focus their time
• encouraging ‘interpreneurship’; and and energy on those who are willing to learn
and progress.
• creating an enjoyable office environment.
For Roman, nurturing and empowering such
3.3.1 Promoting staff internally talent may also be a critical way of
Many employers who contributed to this study maintaining a healthy organisational culture in
said that they try, where possible, to promote an environment of rapid change. Talking
staff internally rather than recruiting externally about a recent expansion project involving
for senior positions. Promoting staff internally the recruitment of 140 additional members of
has proved not only to enable organisations staff to absorb two new business support
to save time and money, but also strengthen areas, Roman attributes the successful
ties between employees and the organisation, transition to the core management team he
improving job satisfaction and eventually has put together from within, involving them
leading to greater talent retention. in hiring and training of new staff, and hence
enabling the positive culture they had
In Malaysia, Oh Ming Poh went even further by developed in the previous structure to
executing this. Since she took part in setting continue in the new model.
up Wilmar’s shared services centre in Penang
four years ago, she has kept her commitment 3.3.2 Encouraging ‘intrapreneurship’
to her team that she would only hire externally Reflecting on the entrepreneurial aspirations
at the graduate recruitment level, thus of the young generation, employers could
allowing existing staff to grow with the team consider encouraging staff to take part in
and move into more senior positions. As employee-led initiatives, training each other,
mentioned above, her approach to talent doing something new, innovative and creative,
management has cut the attrition rate by well transforming ideas into more effective
more than half since she took charge. processes or actionable business insight, within
the confines of the business. In shared services,
To ensure there is a sustainable pool of talent, many employers in the survey do involve staff
head of finance operations at L&G in Cardiff in transformational projects, identifying issues
(UK), Gary Leeds, works along a talent matrix and being part of the solution.
that helps him identify and focus on top
Benefiting from the resources, capabilities and security of the current 3.3.3 Creating an enjoyable office environment
organisation provides the best of both worlds for employees – learning Being recognised as a good employer that treats staff fairly and looks
Having a smart and from possible failures while eliminating the risks of entrepreneurship. after its employees, and having a smart, attractive office in a good
The organisation also benefits as it taps into an increasingly diverse pool location also contribute to attracting and retaining talent.
attractive office, of ideas and skills, which promotes innovation as well as collaboration.
in a good location, For Peter Morgan at the BBC, consideration of aspects such as a
An example of this is the national gaming competition in which structured induction, training, flexible working arrangements, team
contributes to attracting Boonsiri Somchit engaged her staff when working at technology firm events and focus on staff development helps create an enjoyable
and retaining talent. AMD in Malaysia. Staffs were selected to go out to schools and office environment.
orphanages to talk about game development as a career choice and
then some of the students were invited into the office to be trained by Part of this is also creating and maintaining an environment where
the GBS employees (who were avid gamers but mainly accountants) on people are respected and cared for, and where health considerations
how to develop simple computer games. The experience was hugely matter; for CA Technologies Robert Molnar, this has to come from the
rewarding, putting into practice the ideal of doing the right thing and top, and involve middle management for it to cascade effectively to
giving back to society. the rest of the organisation.
4. Conclusion
Results from the Generation Next survey confirm This presents many challenges for employers and some of For this to happen, employers in this sector must build
the idea that the traditional ‘ladder’ career these are accentuated in the shared services environment. structured pathways that possibly run across the entire
models are changing. Lattice structures where There are actions that employers can take to address finance function, offering prospects for progression beyond
these issues. the shared services organisation.
professionals develop a portfolio of skills to suit
their personal ambitions may be more attractive In many cases, as opportunities for professional growth are Embracing technology and positioning shared services as the
to younger generations. perceived to be limited in finance shared services, many are innovation lab of the wider business is one way of making the
looking for a way out. While shared services increasingly sector an attractive career destination, particularly for
As findings suggest, young professionals in finance are represents a career destination in its own right for those in younger, more tech-savvy generations.
ambitious for quick progression, aspire to working globally more senior positions, leadership must ensure the
and are animated by a fierce entrepreneurial spirit and attractiveness of a longer term career permeates throughout Different strategies can be applied to develop, engage and
creative forces that drive them to use their original field of the shared services organisation at all levels. retain talent. While there is no one-size-fits all when it comes to
expertise as a passport to exploring options and people management, the report offers best practice examples
opportunities beyond traditional finance. and guidance for implementing some of these effectively.
The data from Generation Next showed how shared services respondents had a slightly older
age profile than the global average, particularly in Ireland and across Central and Eastern
European countries (CEE).
It also revealed a larger proportion of female respondents within finance shared services,
representing more than 70% of finance shared services respondents in Malaysia and CEE.
Appendix
FIGURE A1: Age by country
0% 22% 47% 31%
Malaysia n 16–20
n 21–25
0% 22% 38% 40%
n 26–30
UK
n 31–36
0.5% 17.5% 40% 42%
Shared
services
0% 4% 50% 46%
CEE
0% 15% 33% 52%

SSA
0% 5% 37% 58%
Ireland
9% 31% 32% 28%

Global
FIGURE A2: Gender by country

74% 71% 65% 58% 54% 49% 44%
56%
51%
46%
42%
35%
26% 29%
CEE Malaysia UK Shared services Ireland Global SSA

n Male n Female
Professional accountants – the future: | Appendix 34
Whilst being slightly older than on average, respondents in finance shared services however Like the global results showed, respondents in finance shared services were also attracted to
tend to have spent less time in their current role than is typical of their age group (particularly the profession primarily for its long-term career prospect, although the ability to use related
in the UK and Ireland), and have generally worked for more organisations (particularly in skills in a broad range of roles both in and outside of finance was noted as being particularly
Malaysia and CEE). attractive to respondents in Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria (SSA).
FIGURE A3: How long have you been in your current role? FIGURE A4: How many organisations have you worked for since entering the profession?
32% 14% 18% 24% 12% 27% 28% 29% 16%
Malaysia n Less than a year Malaysia n One
n 1 year or more n Two
34% 12% 12% 29% 13% 23% 35% 30% 12%
but less than 2
SSA CEE n Three
n 2 years or more n Four or more
27% 23% 16% 19% 15% but less than 3 Shared 26.5% 32% 26.5% 15%
Global
n 3 years or more services
Shared 30% 24% 16% 19% 11% but less than 5 27% 34% 32% 7%
Ireland
services n More than 5 years
38% 18% 10% 27% 7% 31% 31% 22% 16%
Ireland Global
29% 29% 19% 17% 6% 31% 36% 21% 12%
CEE UK
31% 40% 14% 7% 8% 36% 33% 21% 10%
UK SSA
FIGURE A5: What attracted you to a career in finance? (Top 5 factors)

Long-term career prospects Opportunity to develop a broad Ability to use skills in a broad range Interest in the subject matter Prestige of the profession
range of skills of roles both in and outside of finance
54% 54%
51%
45% 46%
43% 43% 44%
41% 40% 39%
38% 37% 38% 37% 37%
35% 36% 36%
33% 32% 33% 32%
29% 28% 29% 29% 28% 29%
27% 27% 27%
23%
17%
15%
n UK n Ireland n Shared services n CEE n Global n Malaysia n SSA

Professional accountants – the future: | Appendix 35
Among young professionals in finance, having grown up amid significant advances in

technology, here is a generation who broadly expect to see more automation taking place.
Whilst perceptions differ as per how quickly such changes may occur, there seems to be
unanimous consent that technology will be an unprecedented opportunity to focus on much
higher value-added activity.
FIGURE A6: Technology will replace many entry level roles in the profession
66% 67%
64% 64%
55% 57% The following pages offer
51%
further analysis into finance shared
services respondents’ perspectives
on career ambitions and aspirations,
as well as the factors attracting them
Technology will replace many entry level roles in the profession to an employer and driving their
n Ireland n SSA n Global n Shared services n UK n Malaysia n CEE decision to leave or stay with a
particular organisation.
FIGURE A7: Technology will enable finance professionals to focus on much more higher
value-added activity
96%
88% 88% 88% 90% 90%
84%
Technology will enable finance professionals to focus on much higher value-added activity
n Global n CEE n UK n Shared services n Ireland n Malaysia n SSA
CEE: Career goals 36
FIGURE 2.1.2: Career goals of those in finance shared services compared with those of global respondents
n Later on
11%
15%
19%
44%
39%
39%
60%
48%
46%
43%
48%
45%
66%
66%
70%
n Next move
85% n Never
78%
71%
40%
49%
48%
23%
40%
34%
15%
11%
1%
9%
1%
7%
25%
24%
24%
16%
17%
12%
1%
4%
4%
7%
5%
5%
0%
4%
9%
CEE SSC Global CEE SSC Global CEE SSC Global CEE SSC Global CEE SSC Global
Continue in my Lead a finance team Role in a different A role outside finance Start my own business
area with a more area of finance into a more general
senior position business role
FIGURE 2.4.1: Finance shared services career goals – finding a role in a

different region or country
85%
51% 49% 44% n Later on
n Next move
n Never
35%
27%
21%
have ambitions to progress
to a more senior position in
16%
their next career move 14% 12%
CEE SSC average Global

CEE: Next move – where and when 37
FIGURE 2.3.3: How quickly would you like to move to your next role?
1% 2% 2% n Less than 1 year
n 1 year or more but less than two
5% 9% 9% n 2 years or more but less than 3
n 3 years or more but less than 5
18% 34% n More than 5 years
37% 36%
20% 19%
39%
34% 34%
CEE Shared services Global
FIGURE 2.3.4: Would you like your next move to be a promotion or a lateral move?
73% 71% 67%

Lateral move Lateral move Lateral move
Promotion
27% Promotion
29% Promotion
33%
FIGURE 2.3.5: Do you expect your next move to be internal or external to your current organisation?
69% 54% 61%

Internal
31% 46% 39%

Internal Internal
External External External

CEE: Next move – where and when 38
FIGURE 2.3.6: To which sector would you like to move in the future? FIGURE 2.3.7: If moving to a medium or large corporate firm, in which
44%
71% 17% 12%
Large corporate 36%
32%
4% CEE
Big Four 17% n CEE
65% 15% 19%
11% n Global
Medium corporate 11%
15%
Shared services
16%
Consulting 13%
80% 15% 6%
12%
7%
Public sector 9% Global
10% n Retained finance function n CoE n SSC
7%
76%
Small corporate 4%
5%
4%
SMP 3%
3%
4%
Mid-tier 2%
3%
2%
expect to move to their
Not-for-profit 3% next role within two years
4%
CEE: Attraction / retention factors 39
FIGURE 2.5.1: The top 5 factors attracting shared services respondents to an employer, compared with the global results
Opportunity to learn Career progression Financial Interesting work Work life balance
and develop skills opportunities remuneration
69%
65% 66% 64% 61% 63% 60% 58% 56% 57%
51% 52% 51% 52% 50%
n CEE
n Shared services
n Global
FIGURE 2.5.2: The top 5 factors in shared services respondents’ decision to remain with an employer, compared with the global results
Career progression Opportunity to learn Financial Work life balance Job security
opportunities and develop skills remuneration
62% 59% 59%

56% 58% 58% 56%
51% 53% 50% n CEE
49% 47% 48% 48%
n Shared services
39%
n Global
CEE: Barriers to mobility 40
FIGURE 2.6.3: Do you think there are barriers to moving out of shared services, and if so, what are they?
No transparent paths Not enough value Organisation' cultural Not enough capacity / Insufficient training / No barrier
into the retained placed on the experience challenges no roles available in the learning opportunities
finance function gained in current role rest of finance
31% 32% 32%

29% 28%
26% 24% 22% 21% 20%
13% 12%
n CEE n Shared services
32%
think there are not enough finance
roles outside of shared services
Ireland: Career goals 41
n Later on
11%
15%
19%
41%
39%
39%
51%
48%
46%
36%
48%
45%
50%
66%
70%
n Next move
79% n Never
78%
71%
46%
49%
48%
38%
40%
34%
15%
11%
8%
9%
5%
7%
47%
24%
24%
35%
17%
12%
8%
4%
4%
5%
5%
5%
8%
4%
9%
Ireland SSC Global Ireland SSC Global Ireland SSC Global Ireland SSC Global Ireland SSC Global

41%
43% 49% 44% n Later on
n Next move
n Never
8% 35%
41% 27%
would never consider a
role in a different country
14% 12%
Ireland SSC average Global

Ireland: Next move – where and when 42
27%
34% n More than 5 years
36%
20% 19%
22%
36% 34% 34%
Ireland Shared services Global
68% 71% 67%

Promotion
32% Promotion
29% Promotion
33%
51% 54% 61%

Internal
49% 46% 39%

Internal Internal

Ireland: Next move – where and when 43
25%
50% 13% 37%
Large corporate 36%
32%
4% Ireland
Big Four 17% n Ireland
65% 15% 19%
7% n Global
15%
Shared services
14%
Consulting 13%
80% 15% 6%
12%
29%
11%
50%
Small corporate 4%
5%
4%
SMP 3%
3%
4%
Mid-tier 2%
3%
0%
aim to work in a Centre of Excellence
Not-for-profit 3% of Shared Services Centre in the future
4%
Ireland: Attraction / retention factors 44
69% 66% 68%

61% 63%
58%
54% 51% 51% 51% 52% 51% 52% n Ireland
49% 50%
n Shared services
n Global
62% 59% 59% 59%

56% 58% 56% 58% 56% n Ireland
50% 47% 49% 48% 48%
n Global
Ireland: Barriers to mobility 45
34% 32%
29% 28%
24% 26% 24% 24%
22% 20%
18%
5%
n Ireland n Shared services
5%
think the organisation’s culture is a
barrier to moving out of shared services
Malaysia: Career goals 46
n Later on
15%
15%
19%
32%
39%
39%
38%
48%
46%
56%
48%
45%
68%
66%
70%
n Next move
80% n Never
78%
71%
58%
49%
48%
56%
40%
34%
15%
11%
16%
9%
3%
7%
15%
24%
24%
16%
17%
12%
3%
4%
4%
5%
5%
5%
2%
4%
9%
Malaysia SSC Global Malaysia SSC Global Malaysia SSC Global Malaysia SSC Global Malaysia SSC Global

80%
42% 49% 44% n Later on
n Next move
n Never
38%
35%
27%
expect to work in a different
region or country at some
point in their career 12% 14% 12%
Malaysia SSC average Global

Malaysia: Next move – where and when 47
9% 9% n 2 years or more but less than 3
16% n 3 years or more but less than 5
26%
36%
20% 19%
20%
35%
34% 34%
Malaysia Shared services Global
74% 71% 67%

Promotion
26% Promotion
29% Promotion
33%
49% 51% 46% 54% 39% 61%

Internal Internal Internal

Malaysia: Next move – where and when 48
43%
74% 5% 21%
Large corporate 36%
32%
11% Malaysia
Big Four 17% n Malaysia
65% 15% 19%
13% n Global
15%
Shared services
16%
Consulting 13%
80% 15% 6%
12%
9%
0%
43%
Small corporate 4%
5%
0%
SMP 3%
3%
1%
Mid-tier 2%
3%
4%
would like to work for a large
Not-for-profit 3% corporate firm in the future
4%
Malaysia: Attraction / retention factors 49
69% 66%
61% 61% 63% 61% 58%
53% 51% 52% 51% 51% 52% 50%
n Malaysia
n Global
59% 62% 59% 59% 59%

58% 58% 56%
52% 50% n Malaysia
48% 47% 46% 48% 48%
n Shared services
n Global
Malaysia: Barriers to mobility 50
38% 40%
32% 31%
28% 29% 28%
25% 24% 22% 20%
14%
n Malaysia n Shared services
40%
think the organisation’s culture is a
barrier to moving out of shared services
SSA: Career goals 51
n Later on
11%
15%
19%
40%
39%
39%
47%
48%
46%
73%
48%
45%
80%
66%
70%
n Next move
87% n Never
78%
71%
56%
49%
48%
47%
40%
34%
15%
11%
4%
9%
20%
7%
24%
24%
17%
12%
0%
4%
4%
0%
5%
5%
0%
4%
9%
4%
0%
SSA SSC Global SSA SSC Global SSA SSC Global SSA SSC Global SSA SSC Global

92%
48% 49% 44% n Later on
n Next move
n Never
35%
44%
27%
expect to work in another
region or country at some
point in their career 2%
14% 12%
SSA SSC average Global

SSA: Next move – where and when 52
2% 0% 2% 2% n Less than 1 year
9% 9% n 2 years or more but less than 3
21%
36%
20% 19%
48%
29%
34% 34%
SSA Shared services Global
77% 71% 67%

Promotion
23% Promotion
29% Promotion
33%
27% 73% 46% 54% 39% 61%


SSA: Next move – where and when 53
45%
84% 11% 5%
Large corporate 36%
32%
27.5% SSA
Big Four 17% n SSA
65% 15% 19%
2.5% n Global
15%
Shared services
15%
Consulting 13%
80% 15% 6%
12%
10%
10%
n Retained finance function n CoE n SSC
0%
73%
Small corporate 4%
5%
0%
SMP 3%
3%
0%
Mid-tier 2%
3%
0% expect their next move to be external

3%
Not-for-profit
4%
to their current organisation
SSA: Attraction / retention factors 54
87%
79%
69% 66% 69%
61% 63% 63%
57% 58%
51% 52% 51% 52% 50%
n SSA
n Shared services
n Global
81% 83%
71% 71%
62% 59% 59% 61%
58% 58% 56% n SSA
50% 47% 48% 48%
n Shared services
n Global
SSA: Barriers to mobility 55
42%
33% 32% 33%

29% 28%
24% 22%
21% 20%
17%
13%
n SSA n Shared services
42%
think the lack of value placed on their current
role is a barrier to moving out of shared services
UK: Career goals 56
n Later on
18%
15%
19%
58%
39%
39%
52%
48%
46%
45%
48%
45%
65%
66%
70%
n Next move
75% n Never
78%
71%
29%
49%
48%
40%
40%
34%
15%
11%
8%
9%
2%
7%
31%
24%
24%
26%
17%
12%
5%
4%
4%
3%
5%
5%
3%
4%
9%
UK SSC Global UK SSC Global UK SSC Global UK SSC Global UK SSC Global

68%
61% 49% 44% n Later on
n Next move
n Never
35%
27%
expect to work in another 7%
region or country at some 24%
point in their career 14% 12%
UK SSC average Global

UK: Next move – where and when 57
14% 34% n More than 5 years
36%
20% 19%
43%
35%
34% 34%
UK Shared services Global
70% 71% 67%

Promotion
30% Promotion
29% Promotion
33%
47% 53% 46% 54% 39% 61%


UK: Next move – where and when 58
13%
81% 15% 4%
Large corporate 36%
32%
16% UK
Big Four 17% n UK
65% 15% 19%
24% n Global
15%
Shared services
16%
Consulting 13%
80% 15% 6%
12%
7%
6%
78%
Small corporate 4%
5%
10%
SMP 3%
3%
1%
Mid-tier 2%
3%
7%
expect to move to their
Not-for-profit 3% next role within two years
4%
UK: Attraction / retention factors 59
69% 66%
64% 63% 61% 63%
58%
51% 51% 54% 52% 51% 52% n UK
48% 50%
n Shared services
n Global
62% 59% 59%

58% 55% 58% 58% 58% 56%
50% 50% 52% n UK
47% 48% 48%
n Shared services
n Global
60
38%
32%
28% 29% 28%
24% 24% 24% 22%
19% 20%
13%
n UK n Shared services
38%
think there are no barriers to
moving out of shared services
61
References
ACCA (2012), Talent management in a shared services world, <http://www.accaglobal.com/uk/

en/technical-activities/technical-resources-search/2012/september/talent-management-shared-
services-2012.html>, accessed August 2017.
ACCA (2013a), Talent and capability in global finance functions, <http://www.accaglobal.com/
uk/en/technical-activities/technical-resources-search/2013/april/talent-and-capability-in-global-
finance.html>, accessed August 2017.
ACCA (2013b), Global business services: a game changer for organisations? <http://www.
accaglobal.com/uk/en/technical-activities/technical-resources-search/2013/october/global-
business-services-a-game-changer.html>, accessed August 2017.
ACCA (2015), The robots are coming: implications for financial shared services, <http://www.
accaglobal.com/uk/en/technical-activities/technical-resources-search/2015/september/
robots-and-the-future-of-finance.html>, accessed August 2017.
ACCA (2016a), Professional accountants – the future: Generation Next, <http://www.
accaglobal.com/uk/en/technical-activities/technical-resources-search/2016/november/
generation-next.html>, accessed August 2017.
ACCA (2016b), Talent equation: first insights, <http://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/technical-
activities/technical-resources-search/2016/march/talent-equation.html>, accessed August 2017.
ACCA (2017), Finance shared services careers: opportunity or end game? <http://www.
accaglobal.com/uk/en/technical-activities/technical-resources-search/2017/february/finance-
shared-services-opportunity-or-end-game.html>, accessed August 2017.
ACCA and PwC (2017), The ascent of digital, <http://www.accaglobal.com/uk/en/professional-
insights/technology/the-ascent-of-digital.html>, accessed August 2017.
Benko, C. and Anderson, M. (2010), The Corporate Lattice: Achieving High Performance In the
Changing World of Work (Boston: Harvard Business Review Press).
Burke, B. (2013), ‘The Gamification of Business’, Forbes [website article], 21 January <https://
www.forbes.com/sites/gartnergroup/2013/01/21/the-gamification-of-
business/#55d6cd6d4dc2>, accessed August 2017.
Willcocks, L. and Lacity, M. (2016), Service Automation: Robots and The Future of Work
(London: SB Publishing).
62
Contributors
Donna Austin Peter Morgan

Supplier & Employee Experience Director, Finance Centre of Excellence
Manager, Finance Operations BBC Cardiff (UK)
Interserve Support Services (UK)
MingPoh Oh
Paul Doyle SSC Manager
Senior Finance Director Wilmar International (Malaysia)
Oracle EMEA Ltd (Ireland)
Roman Pavlousek
Jacqui Ingleson Global FSC Manager
Director of Finance and Accounting – Edwards Vacuum (Czech Republic)
Government
Shared Services Connected Ltd (UK) Boonsiri Somchit
Co-founder and Partner
Samuel Kariuki Xtrategize Technologies (Malaysia)
Group Finance Director
Centum Investment Company Limited
(Kenya)
Allan Kilavuka
Global Operations Leader –
Sub-Saharan Africa
GE (Kenya) EDITORS
Ota Kulhanek Pauline Schu
Association of Business Service Leaders Research and Policy Manager,
President – Czech Republic Professional Insights (ACCA)
Robert Molnar Clive Webb

Vice President and Regional Controller Head of business management,
CA Technologies (Czech Republic) Professional Insights (ACCA)
PI-PATF-GENERATION-NEXT-SHARED-SERVICES
ACCA The Adelphi 1/11 John Adam Street London WC2N 6AU United Kingdom / +44 (0)20 7059 5000 / www.accaglobal.com

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Professional accountants – the future:

More information is here: www.accaglobal.com

© The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

3. Employers’ call to action 21

In 2016 ACCA published Generation Next, the

• the key findings relating to Generation Next and

• the implications for employers for attracting, retaining

United Kingdom Denmark

1 All results can be found in ACCA (2016).

1.2 GENERATION NEXT IN

FIGURE 1.1: Profile of respondents

5 CEE includes Bulgaria (14 respondents), Czech Republic (9),

Results from ACCA’s Generation Next survey

2. Key findings possibly diversifying into more general business

They are technologically savvy too, expecting even greater

• see their experience as a valued platform for a successful

• believe that technology will have a positive impact on

• are very mobile and have international aspirations; and

• they see progression as a key attraction and retention

These trends clearly have implications for the shared services

could be used both within and outside finance 35% 36%

The career goals of Generation Next respondents in

The observed difference could be explained by the 47%

2.2 IMPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGICAL

However, a recent article based on research jointly

With lower-end roles being automated, especially in

Among young professionals in finance, and even

The finance function is clearly changing and there is

FIGURE 2.2.1: Finance shared services respondents’ perceptions of the impact of

Technology will replace Technology will enable finance

Although being slightly older than the global Global

Shared services Global

2.4 GLOBAL AMBITIONS

Variations were, however, noted from country to

For more mature shared services centres, in

7 Aggregated under Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) group on the graph

2.5 EXPECTATIONS MISMATCH

Significantly, the factors cited by the respondents in

62% 59% 59% 58% 58% 56% n Shared services

When respondents were asked whether they found

Nonetheless, for more than 40% of respondents, 50%

CEE UK SSC average Malaysia SSA Ireland

FIGURE 2.5.4: Are opportunities for career progression available as expected?

SSA Malaysia Ireland SSC average UK CEE

This may not be the case everywhere, as nearly 40%

Also, and in line with global perceptions, the

Shared services Global

call to action offering clear career paths for progression will

Although shared services roles appear to be increasingly

Comments from shared services respondents to the

Generation Next have the propensity to be transient

3.1 ATTRACTING TALENT career pathways that enable opportunities for

3.2 DEVELOPING TALENT As these skills are transferable, they provide

On-the-job Job rotations Mentoring Further External seminars,

3.3 RETAINING TALENT performers, ensuring that the company ‘move

0% 15% 33% 52%

9% 31% 32% 28%

FIGURE A2: Gender by country

CEE Malaysia UK Shared services Ireland Global SSA

FIGURE A5: What attracted you to a career in finance? (Top 5 factors)

n UK n Ireland n Shared services n CEE n Global n Malaysia n SSA

Among young professionals in finance, having grown up amid significant advances in

FIGURE 2.4.1: Finance shared services career goals – finding a role in a

CEE SSC average Global

• the key findings relating to Generation Next and

• the implications for employers for attracting, retaining

5 CEE includes Bulgaria (14 respondents), Czech Republic (9),

• see their experience as a valued platform for a successful

• believe that technology will have a positive impact on

• they see progression as a key attraction and retention

7 Aggregated under Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) group on the graph