How social impact is reshaping accountancy careers

More than half of UK finance professionals want roles that deliver social impact, according to ACCA’s latest Talent Trends survey, signalling a shift in expectations that goes beyond pay and traditional markers of career success. With 54% prioritising social impact and 47% wanting to contribute to environmental and climate challenges, the findings suggest that purpose is becoming a defining factor in how accountants evaluate their careers.

At the same time, the data reflects a profession under strain. Nearly half of respondents expect to leave their current employer in their next move, 48% report dissatisfaction with pay, and 47% say their mental health is negatively affected by job demands. Alongside this, the workforce is becoming increasingly complex, with up to six generations now working together and a third of respondents highlighting cross-generational collaboration as a challenge. Against this backdrop, “social impact” is emerging not just as an ethical preference, but as a lens through which accountants are rethinking what their work is for.

Yet the meaning of social impact in accountancy remains contested. For some, it is closely tied to ESG and sustainability reporting. For others, it is embedded in everyday decisions around governance, tax, risk and investment. Increasingly, experts argue it is not a separate category of work at all, but something inherent in how finance functions operate.

Defining social impact in finance

Jamie Lyon, global head of skills, sectors and technology at ACCA, defines social impact in deliberately broad terms. “Social impact is the effect an organisation has on society,” he says. “That includes its workforce, its value chain, its customers and the wider communities it operates within.”

Within that framing, accountants are already central actors. Lyon explains, “Accountants and CFOs play a role through investment appraisal and capital allocation, performance management and reporting, governance and risk management, and helping organisations navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment.”

He argues that this influence extends beyond large corporations into SMEs and local economies. “For smaller practices, there is also an important community-level role, such as improving financial literacy among small business clients and helping create wealth locally,” Lyon adds.

“In accountancy, social impact is the knock-on effect that financial measurement, tax decisions, controls and reporting have on people’s lives and on trust in the economy.” – Sarah Wichelow, director at BSG Financial Solutions

Meanwhile, Danielle Aberg, head of social value at Thrive, a social impact measurement platform, similarly challenges the idea that social impact sits outside core financial work, but places stronger emphasis on systems and measurement.

“Social impact is about understanding how business decisions affect people, communities and wider society,” she says, adding that it is increasingly clear that those outcomes influence long-term business performance. “Many of the factors that determine business success are social in nature, from attracting and retaining talent to building resilient supply chains and maintaining community trust.”

For Aberg, the key shift is structural. “Within accountancy and professional services, social impact is increasingly about helping organisations understand, measure and manage these outcomes with the same rigour traditionally applied to financial performance,” she explains. “The opportunity is not simply to measure social impact, but to help organisations make better decisions by understanding how outcomes for people and communities influence long-term value.”

She also points to a broader transition underway, saying, “Perhaps the most important shift is from measurement to management, and from reporting to decision-making.”

If Lyon and Aberg frame social impact at a systems level, Sarah Wichelow, director at BSG Financial Solutions, grounds it in the practical consequences of financial decisions.

“In accountancy, social impact is the knock-on effect that financial measurement, tax decisions, controls and reporting have on people’s lives and on trust in the economy,” Wichelow explains. “It can be as concrete as preventing fraud and material error through stronger controls, or making sure decision-makers aren’t relying on numbers that flatter performance while hiding risks.”

She argues that this responsibility extends deeply into SME decision-making. “Better cash flow forecasting, tighter credit control and realistic scenario planning can prevent a temporary squeeze turning into redundancies,” she says. “The structure of borrowing also matters. Advising on affordability and risk can stop over-leverage and protect stability.”

Wichelow also highlights areas of impact that are often overlooked. “When retirement, succession, estate planning and inheritance tax are handled well, families can transfer a business without a rushed sale or damaging uncertainty for employees and suppliers,” she says. “The useful lens is whether the advice helps a business stay stable and credible for the long term.”

Taken together, these perspectives suggest that social impact in accountancy is less a specialist discipline and more a way of describing how financial expertise shapes real-world outcomes. The question then becomes where, in practice, accountants are most able to deliver that value.

One of the clearest areas is governance and risk management, where accountants increasingly influence how organisations define and respond to ethical and social risks. Supply chain scrutiny, workforce practices and customer treatment are now routinely part of financial oversight, even where they were once considered peripheral concerns.

Internal audit is also expanding its scope. Rather than focusing solely on financial controls, it is increasingly engaging with organisational culture, behaviour and ESG-related risks. ESG assurance and sustainability reporting have similarly created new roles for accountants in verifying claims and strengthening transparency.

From reporting to decision-making power

Lyon argues that these changes are already reshaping perceptions of the profession. “The future of accountancy is increasingly about strategic business partnering,” he says. “Helping organisations make decisions, manage risk and understand long-term value creation.”

He adds that technology will accelerate this shift. “Artificial Intelligence is unlikely to remove accountancy roles but will instead reshape them. By automating routine and transactional work, AI should allow accountants to focus more on advisory work, strategic thinking and business relationships.”

Aberg likewise sees the same evolution playing out in how organisations use non-financial data. “As organisations place greater emphasis on workforce resilience, responsible procurement, community impact and long-term sustainability, these considerations are becoming board-level priorities rather than issues confined to ESG teams.”

That is what transforms reporting into action, she adds, saying, “ESG frameworks are increasingly being used not just for external reporting but to inform procurement decisions, workforce strategies and investment priorities.”

“It’s easy to assume this is a younger generation phenomenon, but that would be misleading. Ultimately, people across generations want careers that offer both purpose and financial security.” – Jamie Lyon, global head of skills, sectors and technology at ACCA

However, the growth of ESG and sustainability reporting also raises questions about whether these opportunities are accessible across the profession, or concentrated in certain firms and roles.

Lyon acknowledges the risk of uneven access. “There are significant opportunities, but they need to become more accessible throughout organisations,” he says. “Too often, junior professionals may not yet see how their work connects to social impact, even when those links exist in practice.”

Wichelow highlights a similar divide between large organisations and SMEs. “Larger firms are being pushed by expanding sustainability disclosure requirements and supply-chain scrutiny, which creates a steady stream of work around systems, definitions, controls and assurance-readiness,” she adds. “In smaller practices, the constraint is often capacity and capability.”

This gap between aspiration and access sits alongside broader workforce pressures. While younger professionals are often associated with driving demand for purpose-led careers, Lyon cautions against treating this as purely generational. “It’s easy to assume this is a younger generation phenomenon, but that would be misleading. Ultimately, people across generations want careers that offer both purpose and financial security.”

Paul Tutin, chair and managing partner of Streets, agrees. “The demand for ‘good’ work is being driven primarily by younger generations, who are often more tuned in to environmental and social issues,” he says. “However, more people across all age groups are recognising that businesses have responsibilities beyond profit.”

He also stresses the importance of place and proximity in delivering social impact. “Accountancy has always had a social impact, even if the profession has not always been effective at talking about it,” he adds. “Accountants help businesses remain compliant, financially stable and able to employ people, support families, pay suppliers and contribute to local economies.”

For Tutin, advisory work is where that impact becomes most visible. “Advisory work is a key area. When providing clients with guidance, perspective and practical support, we can help them identify actions that are both socially responsible and commercially beneficial.”

Advisory work and the access gap

Lee Murphy, managing director of The Accountancy Partnership, similarly argues that SMEs are central to understanding the profession’s real-world impact. “An accountant responsible for an SME may have far greater social impact than they imagine,” he says. “With less bureaucracy and greater access to decision-makers, they act as trusted advisors with direct influence over responsible business growth, ethical practices and financial stability.”

He adds that this role is often under-recognised. “It’s still quite rare to see social motivation outlined in a finance job description,” he explains, “but demand for ESG reporting is helping to change that.”

Across all contributions, advisory services emerge as the central mechanism through which social impact is expanding. Rather than reacting to decisions after the fact, accountants are increasingly involved before capital is committed, shaping outcomes at source.

“As organisations place greater emphasis on workforce resilience, responsible procurement, community impact and long-term sustainability, these considerations are becoming board-level priorities rather than issues confined to ESG teams.” – Danielle Aberg, head of social value at Thrive

Lyon describes this as part of a broader transformation in the profession’s identity. “The profession needs to tell a different story about what accountants do. One that highlights commercial decision-making, creativity, advisory skills and the ability to create long-term value for organisations and society.”

He adds that lived experience will reinforce this shift over time, “As younger accountants gain experience working on sustainability reporting and responsible business initiatives, their real-world contributions will help reshape perceptions of the profession.”

Looking ahead, experts broadly agree that the relationship between accountancy and social impact will become more explicit, more regulated and more embedded in decision-making processes. Aberg points to increasing scrutiny of organisational claims and rising demand for assurance, while Lyon highlights the continued evolution towards strategic partnership. Wichelow emphasises the importance of grounding these developments in real financial decisions that affect businesses and communities.

Despite differences in emphasis, the direction of travel is consistent. Accountancy is moving beyond a narrow definition of financial reporting towards a broader role in shaping how value is created, measured and distributed. Social impact, in this context, is becoming one of its central functions.