Global ambitions leave country short of accounting talent

China is experiencing a shortage of accountants, as more young professionals are sent by employers to work abroad, according to a new report.

CPA Australia, one of three major accounting training bodies in that country, polled 252 of its senior members based in China with many claiming that faced with tougher accounting standards in some overseas markets, Chinese companies are having to employ more skilled accountants.

Many added the situation is only likely to get worse as companies bid in the future for contracts under the country's "Belt and Road Initiative", which could see hundreds of Chinese companies potentially tackling contracts throughout Asia and Europe.

Half of those polled in the CPA's China Human Capital Survey, released on Thursday, agreed there is a shortage of skilled accounting professionals in China.

The organization has 150,000 members globally, of which 16,000 are working in the Chinese mainland.

Are sounding 43.7 percent of respondents said there is now a growing mismatch in the number of accountants being trained and the demand for staff.

Kenny Lam, president of the East and Central China Committee of CPA Australia, said Chinese companies at home and those working abroad are having to be more sophisticated in their accounting compliance requirements.

Just over one-quarter of the respondents, whose companies are investing overseas, said they had been unable to source sufficient accounting talent to support their foreign ambitions and expect the situation to get worse.

Statistics provided by the Ministry of Commerce show more than $100 billion worth of outbound direct investment was made by Chinese companies last year, making it the world's third-largest source, and that is expected to grow 10 percent annually over the next five years.

"The latest policies such as the internationalization of the renminbi and the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect program have encouraged more Chinese companies into overseas markets," said Lam.

"But as China's economy enters its 'new normal' (of slower and sustainable growth), outbound investment grows, and the strategy of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road starts making a contribution to economic growth and transformation, our survey detects a number of companies are having difficulty attracting the talent they need to expand and compete effectively."

Given the lack of available talent, job prospects are understandably good for young accountants, said respondents, again driven by higher requirements on new and different skill sets, and the urge to enter new markets.

Forty-five percent of interviewees said their companies will hire new accounting professionals in the second half of this year, while 35 percent said their numbers will remain steady. Kevin Ng, a Deloitte China board member and president of the North China Committee of CPA Australia, said the demand for accountants is especially high, too, because of the large number of manufacturing companies having to tighten their belts and review their operational plans amid tough market conditions.

As demand grows and the supply of accountants tightens, Ng said salary expectations are also rising, with professions in the sector now expecting higher wage increases than those in e-commerce and healthcare sectors, other professional areas also in hot pursuit of top talent.