The Rise of Female Accountants in the Public Sector: Saudi Arabia Case

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) Case Study

In 2016, Saudi Vision 2030 was announced by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman to create a vibrant society, thriving economy, and ambitious nation. As part of the vision, the government aims to increase the female workforce from 22% to 30% while striving for transparency and effective government.

The accountancy profession in KSA was faced with a challenge. Many competent professional accountants and auditors were retiring from public service, while simultaneously KSA struggled with a shortage of young accountants and auditors to fill the gaps. To address this, over the past five years, the Saudi Organization for Chartered and Professional Accountants (SOCPA) held free training courses for around 4,500 students to prepare them for the market. During the webinar MENA: Connecting the Accountancy Education Ecosystem, Dr. Mosaab Aljuaid, Executive Director for Membership and Professional Qualification at SOCPA, described the collaboration with government and other stakeholders. Dr. Aljuaid reported that aligning accountancy education outputs with the accounting labor market in KSA according to the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 resulted in qualified graduates in accounting for both the private and public sectors.

Also, in direct support of the 2030 vision, SOCPA launched initiatives dedicated to empowering women in the profession to help KSA achieve their ambitions to build a prosperous national economy. One such program was launched in 2021 to enhance accounting and auditing skills in the public sector. The program includes several tracks, including training and qualification, leadership courses and employment.

As a result of these efforts, female accounting professionals are more strongly represented in non-profits and the public sector in KSA than in the private sector. Interestingly, female professional accountants are now over-represented among newly qualified accountants.

According to Saudi Arabia’s Family Affairs Council (FAC), Saudi female participation in the economic sector reached 33.2% by 2020, exceeding the target set in the National Transformation Program of 25% by 2020.

“There is no doubt that all these successes achieved by women in the accountancy profession and other sectors are the result of the wise decisions that the leadership in Saudi Arabia has made, it is also an affirmation of the importance of the role of Saudi women in promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth and building society,” Mashael Al-Shalan the Assistant Director of Entrepreneurship and Professional Support of SOCPA, comments.

…and this is just the beginning!