recruiting

Industry Employment Surge Shows No Signs of Slowing

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Chart showing number of employees in the accounting industry according to Bureau of Labor Statistics
All employees in the accounting and bookkeeping industry; numbers reported in thousands

Record highs seen in overall employment, staff wages, CPA firm employment and staff, and more.

By CPA Trendlines Research

The U.S. tax, accounting and bookkeeping industries show no signs of slowing down, according to CPA Trendlines sources.

Here CPA Trendlines reports on:

  • Current hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, tax, payroll and CPA segments of the industry.
  • Average hourly wages for key segments.
  • Typical hours worked per week.
  • And trends concerning women in the accounting workforce.

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Top 100 Firms Report Solid Growth Amidst Staffing Challenges

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Top 100 overall revenue chart
Source: AccountingToday

Attest, M&A and SALT lead top trending niches.

Accounting Today’s annual listing of its Top 100 firms reflects what the industry as a whole is seeing: Business is good and it’s getting better.

Overall growth was a healthy 8.44 percent, similar to but slightly higher than recent years.

Firms with revenues between $100 million and $1 billion outpaced the others in growth mode, although mergers had a great deal to do with that.

The most difficult challenge cited was – no surprise – recruiting and retaining qualified staff, especially those with three to five years of experience. Pressure is being put on the talent pool by retiring Baby Boomers only exacerbates the problem. Tools to counter it include: READ MORE →

Accounting Salaries to Rise 3.5%

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RHPublicAccountingSalaryChart2Top trends: Flexible staffing, retention challenges.

Accounting and finance professionals can expect starting salaries to rise an average of 3.5 percent in the coming year, according to a study from a leading staffing services company.

Creative and marketing professionals are on the same pace, while information technology workers lead the work force gains at an anticipated 5.7 percent overall increase. Overall, U.S. starting salaries for professional occupations are projected to increase an average of 3.8 percent next year. READ MORE →

CPAs Salute the People Who Shaped Their Lives

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Today’s best career advice: join the survey; get the answers.

by Rick Telberg

At 20 years old, the world was a blank canvas with vast opportunities for Sal Inserra. He thought he knew exactly what he wanted in life.

“Until,” he once told me, “I was set straight.”

Like many CPAs, Sal owes much of his career and success to a few key mentors who guided him early on.

Today — as the kids head back to school and college, and as the rest of us wind up our summers and look ahead to the fall — it may be a good time to salute the mentors who help steward a great profession to the next generation. READ MORE →

18 Pieces of Today’s Best Job Advice

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Get certified. Apply early and often.  Join the survey; get the results.

By Rick Telberg

I’m looking over the early responses to our new CPA Careers survey and one stands out for its practicality and wisdom. This from a veteran senior finance manager at a Fortune 1000 company is, I think, 18 pieces of the best advice I’ve ever heard.

1. For the accountant who is not a CPA yet: If you’re not  a CPA already, make it a goal.

2. If you need hours, apply to every accounting firm that you could drive to or are willing to move close to.

3. Apply beginning in mid-April, after busy season, when accounting firms clean house. READ MORE →

Back to the Future: Staff Shortages Re-Emerge as Top Worry for CPA Firms

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A sign of economic recovery and increased competition.

Bringing in new business and finding top-notch staffers to handle anticipated growth are emerging as the new, most pressing challenges for CPA firms today.

With a rebounding economy, the AICPA says in its new PCPS “Top Issues Survey” that client retention, which had been a significant concern for firms in the 2009 survey, has been overtaken by a tilt toward growth issues.

“Finding qualified staff” was a top issue from 1997 to 2007 for all but the smallest firms, but disappeared entirely from Top 5 lists in 2009. Now it’s back.

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Accounting Staffers Show New Signs of Job Restlessness

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Some 37 percent of finance and accounting workers say they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, an increase from 33 percent last quarter.

Fifty-three percent say they are not likely to job search, falling five percentage points from the previous quarter.

Confidence among U.S. finance and accounting workers decreased 2.4 points to 53.4 in the first quarter of 2013 after rebounding in the last quarter of 2012. READ MORE →