By Anton van Heerden, CEO, DNA EOR
Anton van Heerden is the CEO of DNA EOR, a South Africa-specialist Employer of Record serving UK and Dutch businesses hiring South African remote talent.
New research from executive search firm Croft & Co in their Inside the Minds of Dealmakers 2026 report, found that senior UK finance professionals are becoming more selective about the roles they pursue and that salary is no longer the deciding factor. Of the 100 UK finance professionals surveyed, all earning above £100,000 per annum and working across investment banking, private equity, M&A, and corporate finance, 28% said they would accept a lower salary in exchange for stronger deal exposure (direct involvement in live transactions: M&A, private equity, fundraising rounds) while 27% had already turned down a role because the opportunity did not offer the right quality of work.
I read those findings with recognition. The dynamic they describe on the UK side is playing out in parallel among the South African finance professionals that UK and Dutch companies are increasingly building their teams around.
What selectivity looks like in the South African finance market
Johannesburg and Cape Town are South Africa’s financial centres, producing qualified accountants, FP&A specialists, financial analysts, treasury professionals, and corporate finance practitioners with international-standard training and, in many cases, Big Four backgrounds. They evaluate the employer, the quality of the work, and the stability of the engagement on its own terms, not simply because the salary converts favourably. They evaluate the employer, the quality of the work, the stability of the engagement, and what the role does for their career over a two- to three-year horizon.
The South African Chartered Accountant designation sits at the centre of this. The CA(SA), awarded by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), is one of the most demanding accounting qualifications in the world. Candidates complete a relevant undergraduate degree, a postgraduate diploma in accounting, and a three-year training contract at a SAICA-accredited firm, which for many means three years at Deloitte, PwC, EY, or KPMG. They then sit two board examinations before the designation is awarded. The result is a finance professional with deep practical experience across audit, tax, financial reporting, and IFRS – trained in the same frameworks that UK and Dutch finance teams operate within.
SAICA’s reciprocal recognition with ICAEW means a CA(SA) steps directly into UK financial reporting without a qualification gap – the technical fit is immediate, and UK and Dutch companies that experience it once tend to build from there.
The Croft & Co research describes UK candidates assessing “the overall quality of a platform, the calibre of leadership, the sustainability of the role, and the opportunities it creates for future growth.” South African finance professionals are making the same assessment from the other side of the conversation. In my experience, the candidates who stay the longest in international roles are those who choose the role for reasons that go beyond the exchange-rate advantage.
For Dutch companies, this resonates particularly. The Netherlands is facing a structural shortage of qualified finance professionals at the mid- to senior level. Dutch businesses that need a finance manager or FP&A lead with IFRS experience, tax knowledge, and Big Four training are competing for a small and expensive local pool.
A South African CA with identical technical credentials, often from the same global firm, represents a significant talent advantage – and at a fraction of the Amsterdam market rate due to the favourable exchange rate. The Dutch finance teams we work with consistently comment on how quickly South African hires integrate, both technically and culturally. The working rhythm fits, and the depth of qualification is not a compromise. South Africa is not the first market Dutch companies think of, but it tends to become one of the first they return to.
The burnout finding and what it says about the South African opportunity
The Croft & Co research found that 75% of senior UK finance professionals had considered leaving a role because of burnout, and 95% had experienced at least some symptoms. Leanne Elliott, chartered occupational psychologist and co-host of the Truth, Lies & Work podcast, noted that in high-performance cultures, exhaustion has become reframed as commitment.
South African finance professionals working with international employers describe a different experience. The timezone alignment with the UK and Netherlands means collaboration happens in normal working hours, without the drift into early mornings or late evenings that cross-timezone roles often demand. Cape Town and Johannesburg offer a quality of life that is genuinely difficult to replicate in London or Amsterdam at comparable cost. The work carries international scope and exposure without the personal cost that tends to come with working inside a high-pressure financial centre.
This is part of why 82% of UK finance professionals in the research who said they would consider relocating overseas cited lifestyle as a significant factor in that decision. South African professionals have been making a version of that calculation for years, choosing to work remotely with international companies while remaining in South Africa. The EOR model makes that structurally possible.
What this means for how you hire
The Croft & Co research concludes that firms competing for experienced finance talent need to demonstrate strong leadership, meaningful work, and a well-run hiring process alongside competitive pay. That applies equally when the talent sits in Johannesburg or Cape Town rather than London or Amsterdam.
A South African finance professional who has options – and strong ones do – will assess the engagement structure as part of their decision. How you structure the employment agreement communicates something. A compliant South African contract, on-time payroll, and a responsive point of contact each send a clear signal about whether the employer treats the engagement as a genuine commitment or an administrative convenience.
An Employer of Record structure that handles the employment properly sends a different message than a loosely managed contractor arrangement. An EOR structure signals genuine commitment to the relationship. A loosely managed contractor arrangement tells the same professional that the employer is keeping their options open, and most finance professionals read that clearly.
Finance professionals, whether they are in London, Amsterdam, or Johannesburg, notice the difference, and they make decisions accordingly.
If you are building a South African finance function for your UK or Dutch business, book a call with the DNA EOR team and we will help you structure the engagement in a way that attracts and retains the right people.
