Life cycle of an ACA

Attitudes and career aspirations change over time. When we asked members about the main factors that motivate them in their work, we found that ACAs are motivated by different drivers as their career develops.

Motivation of ACAs

• Pay and promotion are particularly important to ACAs in the earlier years of their career
• Having a range of interesting work and responsibilities becomes more important in later career stages
• ACAs in mid to late career place particular emphasis on influencing skills, but managers are more likely to be looking for broader based leadership skills at this career stage
• Around half feel that the downturn has had an impact on their career development, with 10% reporting a positive impact
• A majority of young ACAs are likely to look for promotion with their present employer
• One in three ACAs will consider moving employer in the next two years

Skill needs of ACAs

• ACAs at different career stages place different emphasis on the importance of the various skills and competencies required to do their job well
• Early in their career, analytical skills are thought by ACAs to be key to doing their job well, much in line with the key competencies sought by managers when recruiting ACAs at this level
• As their career progresses, ACAs place less importance on analytical skills, and influencing and leadership skills gain prominence as key skills they feel that they need to demonstrate

Career development

• Around half feel that the downturn has had an impact on their career development, with 10% reporting a positive impact
• A majority of young ACAs are likely to look for promotion with their present employer
• One in three ACAs will consider moving employer in the next two years

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