The report, in which more than 3,200 people from 122 countries were surveyed, also found that while many young finance professionals are happy to embark on a career in finance, over half of them want a career path outside traditional finance roles. This aspiration, combined with the fact that they are eager to progress quickly in their careers and confident about moving elsewhere if their expectations aren't met, makes them a challenging generation to manage, says Lyon.

The survey suggests that companies may need to develop new approaches if they want to retain their young workers. One third of respondents said they wanted to leave their company at the present time, while half said they did not expect to be with their current employer in three years' time. Lyon says the key to retaining the best Generation Y talent, especially as the economy improves, is providing challenging work, having "honest career conversations" and giving them opportunities to move around the business.

"In terms of developing future finance leaders in the organisation, it's making sure they have got a really strong technical grounding, giving them the breadth of exposure around the business, proactively setting up secondment opportunities or opportunities to rotate around the business," he says.

It's their world now

Matthew Hanwell at Nokia encourages CFOs to follow his company's example by having an open culture and engaging with their team. Nokia tries to create a "Generation Y-friendly environment," he says, supporting things like flexible working and using social media tools within the company that allow employees to engage with senior executives.