Accent 'associated with hard work'
Actor Sean Connery's accent exudes success, according to a poll
Scottish accents are strongly associated with hard work, success and reliability, according to a poll.
Only voices from the south east of England and the United States were more commonly associated with success in the survey of business executives.
Indian and Asian accents were the only ones to score higher, in terms of perceived work ethic and reliability.
Communications firm The Aziz Corporation interviewed 300 business executives.
Company chairman Khalid Aziz said: "The Scottish accent is well liked, with many positive associations. This is consistent with a similar survey we carried out six years ago."
Kirsty Young and Gordon Brown scored high on a list of individuals' voices which was topped by celebrity businessman Peter Jones and sports presenter Clare Balding.
According to the poll, the worst voice for a top job would be a "working-class" Essex accent.
David Beckham's cockney accent also fails to impress executives, with 49% believing his accent could present a problem in business.
The next least popular male accent is that of Prince Charles, with nearly a third of business leaders admitting they would have second thoughts about employing an executive who sounded like him.
The Liverpudlian accent scored lowest overall: around 40% of survey respondents associate it with a lack of success and 38% relate it to a lack of hard work and reliability.
Press Association
