Young employees are more concerned with their company's CSR performance than ever before and the quality of a firm's CSR record is becoming a determining factor in attracting and retaining staff, according to a new study from accounting recruitment firm Robert Half and the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

The report, based on a series of roundtables involving 60 senior finance professionals, found that the finance department now broadly accepts that a firm's CSR record influences its commercial performance. Consequently, finance directors are working increasingly closely with CSR departments and are " demanding better measurement and reporting in order to identify best practice, set targets and demonstrate the value of corporate responsibility to shareholders".

The report, titled Corporate Responsibility and the Modern Business Leader, argues that the link between CSR and commercial performance is particularly apparent in its ability to influence employee retention and attraction.

Finance directors claimed that younger employees are particularly interested in their firm's CSR agenda, with many environmental and ethical initiatives being driven "from the ground up".

Phil Sheridan, UK managing director of Robert Half, said that companies could expect to be held to account by their employees as much as by their customers if they failed to adopt good CSR and environmental processes. "Companies which implement effective corporate responsibility practices enjoy very real and tangible business benefits in terms of employee morale, motivation and ultimately retention," he added.