Amid a global war for accounting talent, this paper extends our understanding of early career accountants’ (ECAs) career values and the alignment between their career expectations and experiences when entering the profession. Drawing on survey data from 305 ECAs and 165 managers/recruiters of ECAs in Australia, the paper uses social cognitive career theory and person–organisation fit theory to explore the dynamic interplay between individual and contextual factors and career values, career choices and subsequent career satisfaction. The findings emphasise the importance of both intrinsic, and to a lesser extent extrinsic, career values for ECAs, with variations by gender and organisation setting. ECAs and managers identified different perceptions of attractors to diverse organisational settings. While ECAs were generally satisfied with their careers, satisfaction varied by organisation type. Intrinsic career values were positively associated with ECAs’ career satisfaction, along with age and closer alignment between career expectations and experiences. Our analyses suggest implications for the recruitment and retention of new accounting talent and calls to engage with individual and contextual influences on career values, experiences and satisfaction. Specifically, the paper highlights how different organisations can tailor their strategies to better attract and retain early career accountants to support more sustainable careers.

中文翻译：

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会计人才的未来：早期职业会计师的职业价值观、选择和满意度

在全球会计人才争夺战中，本文扩展了我们对早期职业会计师 (ECA) 职业价值观以及他们进入该行业时的职业期望和经验之间的一致性的理解。本文利用澳大利亚 305 名 ECA 和 165 名 ECA 经理/招聘人员的调查数据，运用社会认知职业理论和人-组织契合理论，探讨个人和情境因素与职业价值观、职业选择和随后的职业满意度之间的动态相互作用。 。研究结果强调了 ECA 的内在职业价值观和较小程度上的外在职业价值观的重要性，并因性别和组织环境而异。ECA 和管理者确定了不同组织环境中吸引者的不同看法。虽然 ECA 普遍对自己的职业感到满意，但满意度因组织类型而异。内在职业价值观与 ECA 的职业满意度、年龄以及职业期望和经验之间的紧密联系呈正相关。我们的分析表明了对新会计人才的招聘和保留的影响，并呼吁考虑个人和背景对职业价值观、经验和满意度的影响。具体来说，本文强调了不同的组织如何调整其策略，以更好地吸引和留住早期职业会计师，以支持更可持续的职业生涯。