A new global report shows that many financial professionals are putting in more hours on the job than just two years ago, but exactly how much time varies widely by country.

The Robert Half International research also suggests a trend toward increased accessibility of financial managers outside of the office.

Forty-seven per cent of Canadian finance managers surveyed said their hours have increased over the last two years. Among those, close to two-thirds (64%) said they now work an additional five to 15 hours a week.

Canadian respondents cited working an average of 42.5 hours per week, more than the 40.9 hours reported in the United States but below the average 43.2 hours worked in Australia, 43.8 hours in Italy and 47.1 hours in Japan.

Forty-four per cent of Canadian finance professionals said they take work calls or check e-mail in the evening at home. The results were 10 percentage points higher than the global average, double the results in Germany and were second only to Netherlands (46%).

Only 29% of Canadian practitioners said they never work weekends, versus 65% in Spain and 55% in France.

One-quarter of Canadian finance professionals say they work three or more weekends each month.

Nearly four out of 10 (38%) of Canadian respondents said they sometimes or always take their laptops or PDAs with them on vacation, as compared to 16% in Ireland, a country near the top of the list in hours worked.

The report was based on a global survey conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Robert Half International, the world’s first and largest staffing services firm specializing in accounting and finance. The study includes responses from more than 2,200 financial managers across four continents, representing 17 countries.

“Finance and accounting managers have taken on new roles and responsibilities due to company expansion and the emphasis on corporate governance and compliance,” said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International, in a release. “This clearly has resulted in heavier workloads — and, in many cases, the need to work longer hours.”