Blog - How to retain finance professionals in competitive markets

Written by Joshua Swanepoel | Altum Consulting

Property and real estate businesses lose more than a quarter of their employees each year. The sector's annual turnover rate sits at 27.8%, creating substantial financial pressure.

Finance teams feel this pressure most acutely. Specialist roles in accountancy, audit, financial planning & analysis, and management accounting are difficult to fill and harder to retain. Replacing a departing finance professional costs an average of £30,614, with senior finance roles reaching £40,000 to £100,000 per replacement. These figures reflect direct costs like recruitment fees and training, but the indirect impact often proves more damaging: lost institutional knowledge, disrupted financial reporting cycles, compliance gaps, and delayed business initiatives.

Why finance teams leave

Exit data from across the property sector reveals consistent patterns amongst finance leavers. Compensation concerns top the list, with finance professionals citing limited earning potential and lack of competitive benefits as primary reasons for leaving. Qualified accountants frequently move to sectors offering more attractive total reward packages and clearer paths to partnership or equity participation.

Career stagnation compounds the problem. Many property businesses lack clear progression pathways for finance professionals, leaving ambitious individuals feeling trapped in roles without growth prospects. A Finance Manager with five years' experience may see no route to Finance Director without leaving the organisation, whilst financial controllers often find themselves in isolated roles with limited advancement opportunities.

Leadership quality significantly influences retention decisions amongst finance teams. Gallup data shows that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement scores. Finance teams led by directors who understand their technical challenges and support professional development experience substantially higher retention rates, whilst those reporting to leaders who view them merely as cost centres face rapid talent flight.

Our five recommendations

1. Flexible working arrangements

87% of UK employees prefer hybrid or remote working arrangements, and finance professionals increasingly view flexibility as non-negotiable. Most finance activities can be completed remotely, including reporting, accounts preparation, audit coordination, and compliance work. Leading property businesses now offer three to four days of remote work per week, requiring office presence only for essential meetings.

This matters because 71% of employees who prefer hybrid work would likely seek other opportunities if it wasn't available. For property businesses competing with professional services firms already offering flexibility, rigid policies create immediate competitive disadvantage.

2. Professional development and qualification support

Property firms implementing structured development programmes see reduced turnover and improved performance. McKinsey found that organisations providing 75 hours of training per employee annually achieve higher retention rates. For finance professionals pursuing ACA, ACCA, CIMA, or CFA qualifications, organisations that actively support their studies through paid study leave, exam fees, and mentoring demonstrate genuine investment in their careers.

Effective programmes combine technical skills development such as property accounting standards, IFRS updates, and tax legislation changes with commercial and leadership capabilities. We recommend budgeting £2,000 to £5,000 per finance professional annually for external courses, professional subscriptions, conference attendance, and qualification support.

3. Recognition and feedback systems

Finance professionals often work behind the scenes, meeting critical deadlines without the visibility of revenue-generating roles. Recognition programmes that acknowledge successful audits, smooth year-end closes, and process improvements help finance teams feel valued for their contributions. Creating this culture requires commitment rather than substantial financial investment.

Public acknowledgement of successful project completions in leadership meetings, personal thank-you notes from CFOs after demanding close periods, and annual awards recognising technical excellence cost little but generate significant goodwill. Gallup data shows that employees who receive regular feedback and recognition are more likely to stay with their organisation.

4. Competitive compensation and total reward packages

Salary benchmarking information for finance roles is readily available through recruitment market data and professional body surveys. Regular market rate reviews prevent situations where high performers discover significant pay gaps and immediately start job hunting. 44% of organisations experiencing retention difficulties increased pay to address the problem, according to CIPD's 2024 Resource and Talent Planning Report.

Total compensation extends well beyond base salary. Performance bonuses tied to both individual contributions and company results help with retention, as do support packages covering exam fees and professional subscriptions. Professional development budgets, additional holiday allowances recognising long service, private healthcare, and enhanced pension contributions all demonstrate value to finance professionals.

5. Stay interviews and proactive engagement

Rather than waiting for exit interviews, we recommend conducting regular stay interviews with finance team members. These conversations should explore what aspects of their role they find most fulfilling, what frustrates them about systems or processes, and what would make them consider opportunities elsewhere. Coupled with confidential satisfaction surveys, these discussions can identify retention risks before they become resignations.

When multiple finance professionals raise concerns about particular issues, organisations can address problems proactively. For finance teams, common themes include frustrations with outdated accounting systems, insufficient headcount during peak periods, and limited exposure to strategic activities beyond transactional processing.

What to track

Effective retention strategies require measurement. We recommend tracking turnover rates specifically for finance functions, analysing by role level and tenure. High turnover amongst newly qualified accountants often indicates insufficient development support or limited career opportunities, whilst high turnover amongst finance managers with three to five years' service suggests career progression bottlenecks that need addressing.

Employee satisfaction scores for finance teams provide leading indicators. Declining satisfaction typically precedes resignation by several months. Pay particular attention to satisfaction metrics during and immediately after peak periods like year-end close, as burnout during these times often triggers job search activity.

Calculate internal promotion rates for finance roles. Businesses that promote finance professionals from within retain institutional knowledge and demonstrate commitment to development. If most Finance Director positions are filled externally, talented managers will look elsewhere for advancement. Measure cost per hire for finance replacement positions as well. This metric helps quantify the ROI of retention initiatives. Spending £5,000 on study support that prevents replacement costs of £30,614 to £40,000 is obviously worthwhile.

What you gain

Property businesses with strong retention strategies for finance teams gain measurable advantages. Stable finance teams maintain deep institutional knowledge about company structures, historical transactions, tax positions, and reporting requirements that take years to acquire. New finance hires require six to twelve months to reach full productivity, during which existing team members carry additional burden whilst training replacements.

Audit efficiency improves significantly with stable finance teams. External auditors develop working relationships with finance staff over multiple cycles, understanding systems and controls without repeated explanation. High turnover forces auditors to rebuild this knowledge annually, extending audit timelines, increasing fees, and raising control environment questions that can affect audit opinions.

Business transformation and systems implementation success depend heavily on stable teams. Finance system implementations and process improvement initiatives require sustained effort over multiple years. High turnover disrupts these projects, forcing repeated knowledge transfer and potentially leading to abandoned initiatives when institutional knowledge departs. Recruitment costs decrease significantly when retention improves. Businesses spending £30,000 to £100,000 per senior finance role replacement can redirect those funds towards study support, systems improvements, or additional team members.

Reputation in the finance talent market improves as well. The property sector's finance community is relatively small, with professionals maintaining networks through qualification bodies, industry forums, and previous colleagues. Organisations known for developing talent, supporting qualifications, and providing clear progression attract higher-quality candidates when positions do open. Property businesses with reputations for high finance turnover struggle to attract experienced professionals who correctly interpret frequent vacancies as warning signs.

Altum Consulting is a specialist search and interim management firm, focused on Accountancy & Finance, Change & Transformation, Human Resources and Audit, Risk & Compliance professionals.

www.altumconsulting.com