Organisations opt for internal controls

SEVENTY-FIVE per cent of large global organisations plan to invest more in internal controls after seeing significant business benefits. According to a survey across 17 countries and 140 large companies which are not bound by Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, the drivers for future internal control investments were:

Enhancing underlying control structures 89%

A better understanding of major risk areas 86%

A positive influence on investor confidence 50%

For financial controls, areas of potential concern were in contract accounting (48 per cent), deferrals (37 per cent) and tax (37 per cent).

Source: Ernst & Young

Young bosses see Baby Boomers step aside

THIRTY-ONE per cent of Australian workers currently work for a boss younger than themselves. As a result, 30 per cent are not happy taking orders from bosses that are often at least a generation younger. The survey revealed that for 25 per cent of bosses in the 30–40-year-old age bracket and for 8 per cent in the 25-30-year-old age group, the biggest hurdle was convincing older people that they actually do know what they are doing. As the younger boss/older employee dynamic becomes more common, 29 per cent said older people should give way to the younger generation and not prevent them moving up the corporate ladder.

Source: Linkme.com.au

Gen Y aims high

SIXTY-EIGHT per cent of generation Y workers expect social events to be part of their employment packages. A recent survey revealed the younger generation also had expectations of further education and training (66 per cent) and travel opportunities (59 per cent).While 42 per cent expected a graduate salary of between $35,000 and $45,000, 98 per cent expected at least one non-salary incentive to be included in their package.

Source: APM Training Institute

Minor pay increases and recruitment difficulties expected

PAY RISES are set to remain at a modest three per cent, and of the 40 per cent of employers planning a pay review in the current quarter, 36 per cent expected pay to rise in their organisation by 3 to 3.5 per cent. A survey found that there has also been a rise in recruitment intentions, with 85 per cent of employers intending to recruit in the current quarter. The continued strong demand for labour is one contributing factor in the rising proportion of employers anticipating recruitment difficulties in the current quarter, which was reported to be 48 per cent. 

Source: CIPD/KPMG

Redundant Aussies left hanging

ALMOST HALF (49 per cent) of Australians have been made redundant at some stage in their careers. The 1,734-respondent survey revealed that 27 per cent of those that had been let go could not find a new job for more than four months, while a further 32 per cent claimed their payout only covered them for 10 weeks or less. Within one month of being made redundant, 41 per cent of females were able to find a job compared to only 27 per cent of males. Furthermore, it took 30 per cent of males more than four months to find work in comparison to only 21 per cent of females.

Source: Talent2

CEOs to smarten up

FIFTY per cent of CEOs are not in the right job, according to a survey of 357 mid-tier and large corporations across the globe. It found that 52 per cent of business owners in Australia started their businesses because they wanted to be their own boss and not because they had the management experience. Management problems arose when companies grew from being a small to mid-sized business, where the CEO is often required to move from being a business owner and implementer to more of a manager and coach.

Source: Shirlaws

Aussies look for bigger, better deal

THIRTY-FOUR per cent of Australians live from pocket to mouth, while 25 per cent are looking for a job that pays more money, a survey has found. Respondents revealed they had to tailor their lifestyles to suit their level of income, including cutting back on luxuries in order to survive (61 per cent). When it came to their finances, respondents said they:

Would like to better plan them 82%

Can’t avoid unexpected expenses 30%

Source: Linkme.com.au

Self employed share similar ambitions

THIRTEEN per cent of all working Australians are self employed, while 82 per cent of jobseekers are interested in owning their own business at some stage. Similarly, the popularity of the franchising sector grew at a pace of 13 per cent between 2004 and 2006, and is now worth more than $128 billion annually. The survey found there are five main groups of potential self-employed: those that are ‘cashed up’; lifestyle seekers; aspirants; flexible workers and rising stars.

Source: Mortgage Choice

Employers value personality over knowledge

TWENTY-SEVEN per cent of employers across Australia rate attitude and cultural fit higher than ability when choosing a new recruit. Employers ranked the following attributes as important:

Cultural fit 27%

Ability 20%

Behaviour 13%

However, a combination of characteristics should be taken into consideration when making a recruitment decision, and organisational psychologists warn that cultural fit alone will not be advantageous unless reviewed in unison with ability, past experience and job fit.

Source: OneTest