East Midlands finance professionals are leading the way on purpose-driven careers

Finance professionals in the East Midlands are significantly more likely than their counterparts elsewhere in the UK to want careers focused on social and environmental impact. However, rising pay dissatisfaction and mounting work pressures suggest employers in the region are struggling to meet their ambitions.

The findings come from ACCA's (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Global talent trends survey, the world’s largest annual survey of accountancy and finance professionals, drawing on responses from more than 11,000 individuals across 160 countries, including finance professionals across the East Midlands.

The data reveals a regional workforce with a striking appetite for purpose-driven work that outpaces the UK average on almost every measure. Nearly two thirds (64%) of East Midlands respondents say they want to pursue finance roles focused on environmental issues in the future, compared to 47% across the UK as a whole.

On social impact, the gap is equally notable: 67% of East Midlands accountants want roles that make a difference on social issues, against a UK average of 54%.

Crucially, many are already translating that ambition into action. 51% say their current role contributes to helping their organisation respond to social impact issues, significantly above the UK average of 39%.

Almost half (40%) say they are already contributing to their employer's response to environmental and climate challenges, compared to 32% nationally.

Jamie Lyon is Global Head of Skills, Sectors and Technology at ACCA: “One of the key themes we continue to see in the East Midlands and across the globe this year is how accountants have ambitions around making a difference on social impact issues through the work they perform.  

“It’s great to see that many are already contributing to this agenda through their current finance jobs. It’s more evidence of how roles and career paths in accountancy continue to transform and broaden out.”

Yet despite this sense of purpose, significant pressures are building beneath the surface. More than half of East Midlands respondents (57%) say they are dissatisfied with their current pay, and 52% say work pressures are damaging their mental health. With 39% expecting their next career move to take them to a different organisation, the region's employers face a real and pressing retention challenge.

On working patterns, the picture in the East Midlands mirrors a national shift towards flexibility. 58% currently work on a hybrid basis, and 68% say hybrid would be their preferred model if given a free choice.

Entrepreneurial ambitions are also running high, with 45% of East Midlands finance professionals saying they harbour aspirations to start or own a business in the future.

Gemma Gathercole, Strategic Engagement Lead at ACCA, said: "The East Midlands data tells a genuinely compelling story. Finance professionals in the region are not just expressing an interest in purpose-driven work - they are already delivering it, and doing so at rates that outstrip the UK average. That is something the region's employers should take real pride in. 

“But the pay dissatisfaction and mental health data are a cause for concern. Ambition and purpose can only sustain a workforce so far. If employers in the East Midlands want to hold on to this talent, they need to match the values their people are demonstrating with the support and reward those people deserve."

Now in its fourth year, ACCA's Global talent trends survey is the largest annual survey of accountancy and finance professionals worldwide, covering respondents across 160 countries on issues including career ambition, sustainability, intergenerational collaboration and workplace wellbeing.