The charity, which supports the wellbeing of chartered accountants at all stages of their career and into retirement, polled nearly 500 students situated in the UK, Cyprus, Malaysia and Singapore.

Of those who were looking to switch roles, 55% said they were looking to move into a general business role (not necessarily practicing accountancy), with 53% looking to stay in an accounting role. In addition, 12% said they were considering going into further education or teaching.

When asked how long they would wait to move jobs, 63% of ACA students said they would consider leaving their current employer within a year of qualifying.

The majority (75%) of ACA students wanting to leave their current employer said they wanted to work in business. A further 31% said they were looking to work in accountancy practices, and another 27% selected charities or the public sector.

When specifically asked about moving into practice, 64% of ACA students were looking to work in bigger businesses. In addition, 12% were looking to set up their own practice.

Kath Haines, CABA chief executive, said: ‘Businesses spend time and resource on trainees, so losing this investment so soon after qualification should be a warning sign to employers, big and small, to look after the wellbeing of their employees to help increase engagement and enjoyment of their work.’

When asked what engaged employees most about their work-life, a third (30%) of ACA students cited the social opportunities as a major driver of enjoyment, along with client relationships (24%) and the variety of work (23%).

Haines said: ‘Competition for the best talent is rife, so employers need to think about new ways of engaging and valuing their employees to retain talent and knowledge and to help them build their future.’