INTHEBLACK April 2026 - Magazine - Page 8
NUMBER CRUNCH
WORDS SUSAN MULDOWNEY
176,000+ A$19b
CPA Australia’s global membership as at the
beginning of 2026.
The amount of lost and unclaimed superannuation
waiting to be claimed by more than seven million
Australians.
FA S T F O C U S
Source: Australian Taxation Office
FINANCIAL WELLNESS
PROGRAMS IN DEMAND
As cost-of-living pressures continue to bite,
financial wellness programs are on the rise
across workplaces in Australia.
The 2025 Australian Benefits Review from
Mercer shows 33 per cent of employers in the
country now offer these initiatives,
which is almost double the
number in 2023. Mercer’s
Workforce 2.0 report also
shows that employees
spend, on average, six
hours of work time per
month worrying about
their finances. This
suggests that financial
wellness programs are
also good for employee
mental health and
productivity.
Meanwhile, financial
wellness programs are
highly valued by employees in
Singapore, but tend to be overlooked
by employers, according to results from the latest
AIA Corporate Wellness Study. While employers
are meeting employee demand for physical
wellness offerings (92 per cent), the demand for
financial wellness programs is underprovided
for, offered by just 51 per cent of employers.
Read the review
8 INTHEBLACK APRIL 2026 SPECIAL EDITION
GREEN GOALS DRIVE
COMPETITIVE EDGE
Sustainability remains a key focus for companies
around the globe, with the Global Sustainability
Services Survey 2025 from BDO showing
87 per cent include this pillar in their business
strategy. Almost 85 per cent of respondents view
sustainability as a competitive advantage and
most companies are maintaining or increasing
their budgets in this sector for the year.
However, implementing a sustainability
strategy presents challenges. Respondents in
the Asia-Pacific region cite cost and investment
barriers as the biggest obstacles. Data collection
and management is a challenge faced by large
companies, while insufficient resources and
expertise present a hurdle for small and medium
companies, along with change management
and internal resistance.
Read the report
