Research by ACCA suggests that in future the most attractive finance and accounting positions are likely to be concentrated in just a handful of 'super hub' cities around the world.

Its report, The Future of Finance Talent predicts the rise of finance delivery 'super hubs' designed to provide a range of shared services, outsourcing and global business service operations.

Jamie Lyon, ACCA head of corporate sector and co-author of the report, said: 'Much of tomorrow's finance talent and perhaps some CFOs of the future in the largest businesses may emerge from these super hubs, where shared services and outsourcing is established in a handful of cities that become magnets for career progression.'

However, ACCA warns there could be a downside to the emergence of finance epicentres. Other cities which aspire to build a reputation as good locations in which to base transactional finance processes - because of the numbers of local graduates - may find it difficult to compete with the market leaders.

Lyon said: 'New contenders may be excluded from the finance delivery map. Young finance professionals in these aspiring "hubs" might find fewer opportunities as the largest businesses concentrate in a few key cities for most of their finance operations.'

The report also suggests that when it comes to deciding where to locate the 'super hubs', access to talent may take precedence over cost. As a result, there could be significant changes in the demographic profile across global finance functions.

Co-author Deborah Kops, managing principal of sourcingchange.com, said: 'We are already seeing 24-year-olds in India and Malaysia taking on job responsibilities that it took baby boomers in the West 20 years or more to learn. There will be more pressure on finance organisations to be more proactive in giving these new professionals the skills needed to become complete finance professionals and one day emerge as finance leaders on the global stage.'