Survey: International Experience Increasingly Important for Accounting Professionals

To get a good job at home, tomorrow's accounting professionals may first need to work abroad, a new survey suggests. Seven out of 10 (71 percent) chief financial officers (CFOs) interviewed said international experience will be necessary for accounting and finance professionals five years from now. This is up from 56 percent in 2002, when the same question was asked of finance executives.

The survey was developed by Robert Half Management Resources and conducted by an independent research firm. It was based on telephone interviews with more than 1,400 CFOs across the United States.

CFOs were asked, "How necessary do you feel international experience will be for accounting and finance professionals five years from now?" Their responses:

"The accelerating pace of globalization and the impending U.S. adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards will continue to drive demand for accounting and finance professionals with international business experience," said Paul McDonald, executive director of Robert Half Management Resources. "Professionals who are bilingual and have had exposure to other countries' tax, compliance, legal and regulatory issues have a competitive advantage in the job market, particularly among the largest firms."

McDonald continued, "Job seekers who are unable to work in another country can still enhance their career prospects by gaining an understanding of different cultures, languages and business protocol to better serve their companies and clients around the globe."

About the Survey
The national study was developed by Robert Half Management Resources. It was conducted by an independent research firm and is based on more than 1,400 telephone interviews with CFOs from a random sample of U.S. companies with 20 or more employees. For the study to be statistically representative and ensure that companies from all segments are represented, the sample was stratified by geographic region and number of employees. The results were then weighted to reflect the proper proportion of employees within each region.

Article courtesy of Robert Half Management Resources has more than 150 locations worldwide and offers online job search services.