ACCA's business case for social mobility

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Team GB's medal haul at the London Olympics was a demonstration of the importance of finding and nurturing talent no matter what the athlete's background.

It is a lesson that should be heeded by the country's professions, according to Andrew Leck, head of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in the UK.

In May Alan Milburn published his review of social mobility, Fair Access to Professional Careers.

It concluded that the professions must do more to increase the diversity of new recruits.

ACCA was founded more than a century ago with the very aims that Mr Milburn identified – widen the access routes into the profession of accountancy.

While accountancy did not make the media headlines back in May, the profession did get a commendation in Milburn's review for having "consciously constructed ladders of opportunity that allow non-graduates to enter and progress in a professional career.".

Mr Leck says there is a strong business case for diversifying the professions.

"People who have been educated in the same way, that have the same background and come through the same institutions tend to have a similar point of view," he explains.

"If you have a more diverse background, the strength of the team dynamic is far greater.

"If you are not getting the brightest people into the economy that is a backward step for the economy, never mind for business."

Mr Leck says all professions should be striving for greater access for people of ability and bringing in untapped natural talent.

"It is important for the profession to say we are not diluting the difficulty of achieving ACCA qualifications, we are not making it easier to become an accountant, you still have to have ability."

For ACCA, the key is to ensure that those from disadvantaged backgrounds are as able to access the professions as those from more privileged backgrounds.

"It is about the benefits of people who have an ability and desire," says Mr Leck.

"With over 147,000 members, ACCA is a massive global organisation that works in 83 countries.

"I have spoken to members across this country and one of the things that attracts them to ACCA is that diversity.

"48% of the ACCA UK student base is female and 48% of ACCA UK's students are non-graduates.

"Members are also well spread in terms of age, gender and ethnicity. That is attractive to employers, they are looking for that.

"It can be dangerous to bring in the same type of people over and over. The tried and tested is good for some aspects but there is also the danger of competition being and left behind."

Alongside other professional bodies and employers such as Channel 4, KPMG, and PwC, ACCA has signed up to the Social Mobility Contract, which was launched in July 2011.

The compact commits its signatories to boosting social mobility as employers.

Mr Leck says professional bodies have more work to do as gateways to the professions.

ACCA is a member of Professions for Good and is working on the Social Mobility Toolkit, advocated by Professions for Good as a means to monitor social mobility progress.

"We have a role to play in ensuring school careers services have the information that they can pass on to students," says Mr Leck.

"We have a school resources pack that is sent to all schools in the UK giving information about the profession and what a career in accountancy can bring.

"We engage a lot with schools through some of our staff by going to careers fairs and talking about the routes into the profession.

"We also take recent recruits along so that young people have someone their own age they can relate to.

"Traditionally new recruits have been through the graduate route and we have done a lot of work to show to schools, pupils and parents that you can enter straight from school.

"We have a suite of qualifications called Foundations of Accountancy which is an introductory level into accountancy and finance. That is useful for someone who wants to start working straight from school. For some employers see that as a more attractive route for recruiting people."

Accountancy's image is not as exciting as some of the other professions. Mr Leck says it is still "a very attractive profession".

"There is a role for professional bodies and Professions for Good to show what good they add to society.

"You could judge the attractiveness of it in the number of people who want to work in it, and we are training people in every sector in the UK and globally.

"We support members and their careers in 83 different countries we work in different parts of the world to grow the profession."

For the professions, there is still a process of "demystify" the image that they are in some way a ‘closed shop'.

Mr Leck says having the professions working together, supporting each other and giving support to careers advisers are all part of the solution.

"Being a professional body we have responsibility. It is up to us to demystify that and engage members in mentoring and working with employers to diversify their recruiting process."

He adds:

"There is no one silver bullet solution - it is an amalgamation of improvements of different things."