Female accountants 'want flexible working'

Flexible working is a benefit which is more important to female accountants than their male counterparts, new research suggests.

A survey, which was carried out in part by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), found that two-thirds of women working in accountancy jobs said that flexible working was vital to job satisfaction, Accountancy magazine reports.

In comparison, four out of ten male accountants agreed with that statement.

According to the study, three-quarters of associate chartered accountants (ACAs) are happy with the current policy on flexible working in their workplace. However, 13 per cent said they had refused a job due to its policy on this issue.

"The number of newly qualified women is rising rapidly and businesses on the whole seem to be meeting the needs of our members with some degree of flexibility," said chief executive of the ICAEW Michael Izza, according to the news provider.

Accountancy firm Deloitte recently suggested that chief financial officers should do more to attract skilled workers to finance jobs.