Companies must develop the careers of their financial staff, or they risk losing them to competitors.

That's the warning from research released today by Robert Half Finance & Accounting, a specialist finance and accountancy recruitment consultancy.

The survey of 1,100 finance professionals in the UK revealed that more than half of finance professionals are seeking a new job and of these one in five are actively looking to move.

Better career development was cited as the main reason for staff looking to change companies. This finding is particularly strong among the younger age group, with 76% of those aged 25 or under seeking career development

opportunities. Regionally, finance staff in the Home Counties, the North and London were the most likely to want to leave their job for improved career prospects.

The second reason that finance staff would leave their current job is for a pay increase (46%), which may reflect the fact that 43% of those surveyed are only expecting pay increases in line with inflation in their

current job.

Finance professionals are not afraid to move jobs, with more than a third of them having worked for five or more organisations during their careers, the research found. Men are particularly mobile, with the figure standing

at 40% compared to 33% of women.

Dave Jones, UK Managing Director of Robert Half Finance & Accounting, warned that employers in the finance sector must pay close attention to the career development of staff or face losing them.

"The demand for finance professionals has never been greater. Promotion and career development is the biggest factor they should look at - ahead of pay increases. Employers must put new practices and systems in place, such as training to help team members build new skills.”