ACCA spotlights neuro-divergent talent and how its strengths can be unlocked

ACCA's latest report 'Neurodiversity in accountancy: navigating your career' says the narrative around neurodiversity is changing. Organisations are beginning to recognise the significant strengths of neurodivergent individuals and the contributions they make to the workplace. More importantly, neurodivergent professionals themselves are reclaiming their own stories, reshaping expectations of what workplaces should provide, and proving that when the environment changes rather than the person, everyone benefits.

This Neurodiversity Celebration week, stories and insights from neurodivergent accountancy professionals navigating the workplace are in the spotlight. The research explores not just individual experiences, but the conditions that enable success. The report also shares some of the practical strategies organisations can adopt to support neurodivergent employees better, as well as advice for individuals themselves.

The report identifies five key areas where individual action creates conditions for success and reflects on some of the strategies explained by our interviewees in this research:

1. Understanding your own cognitive profile: for many neurodivergent professionals, formal diagnosis provides transformative reframing
2. Making strategic disclosure decisions: disclosure is not an obligation - it's a choice.
3. Leveraging technology: the right technology can amplify your capabilities and make you strategically resourceful.
4. Advocating individualised support: the most effective workplace support is co-created, not prescribed.
5. Building your own personal support system: you can't control organisational culture, but you can build a personal system that enables you to thrive.

Jamie Lyon, Global Head of Skills, Sectors and Technology at ACCA, said: 'The narrative is moving from 'what can neurodivergent people do for organisations?' towards 'what systems need to change to enable everyone to work effectively?' This reframe matters because it shifts responsibility: individuals should not need to adapt to the workplace - the workplace needs to be designed better. But the gap is still far too wide.'

Tania Martin, Neuro-inclusion Consultant, Trainer and Speaker at PegSquared said, 'As someone who has navigated my own career with ADHD, I know how much a small change in environment or approach can transform someone's working day. This research is a reminder that neuro-inclusion is not about grand gestures - it's about the practical steps that make a real difference to real people, right now.'

The stories and insights in this report paint a clear picture: neurodivergent professionals bring immense value to the accountancy profession, but their success depends on a fundamental shift in how we approach inclusion. Moving from awareness to action requires work at both organisational and individual levels, with neither alone being sufficient.

The question isn't whether workplaces will become more neuroinclusive - it's how quickly, and which organisations will lead and which will fall behind.

Read the report here.

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About ACCA

We are ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), a globally recognised professional accountancy body providing qualifications and advancing standards in accountancy worldwide.

Founded in 1904 to widen access to the accountancy profession, we've long championed inclusion and today proudly support a diverse community of over 257,900 members and 530,100 future members in 180 countries.

Our forward-looking qualifications, continuous learning and insights are respected and valued by employers in every sector. They equip individuals with the business and finance expertise and ethical judgment to create, protect, and report the sustainable value delivered by organisations and economies.

Guided by our purpose and values, our ambition is to lead the accountancy profession for a changed world. Partnering with policymakers, standard setters, the donor community, educators and other accountancy bodies, we're strengthening and building a profession that drives a sustainable future for all.

Find out more at: www.accaglobal.com