staff

Growth Slowdown: Tax & Accounting Hiring Rates Hit Headwinds

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Women leaving payroll agencies in huge numbers.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines

Growth in the tax & accounting sector continues, but at a snail’s pace, with figures like 0.3 percent dotting the plus side.

MORE ON JOBS: Steady Gains in Hiring at Accounting Firms | Accounting Wages Set New Record |  All Staffed Up? New Tax Prep Hiring Stalls on Eve of Busy Season | The Myth of the Staff Shortage | Wages Up, Headcounts Down at Tax & Accounting Firms
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In this report, CPA Trendlines highlights:

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

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Why Non-Compete and Non-Solicitation Covenants Matter

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Businessman sitting in office and reading documentsBONUS: A sample agreement.

By Marc Rosenberg

“Non-compete” and “non-solicitation” are two terms often used interchangeably. Though they are similar, there are important differences.

MORE: Why You Might Want an Executive Committee | How to Specify Managing Partner Duties | When Votes Must Be Taken, What Are the Options? | Ownership Percentage and Capital Accounts | 5 Key Reasons to Have a Partner Agreement
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For the sake of brevity, we use the term “non-competes” to refer to both covenants.
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Tax Prep Services Slash 10,000 Jobs as Busy Season Begins

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Even as headcounts rise at CPA firms.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines

Employment figures in accounting are running hot and cold, with new highs seen in earnings overall, for staff and at CPA firms, as well as in CPA firm employment.

MORE ON JOBS: All Staffed Up? New Tax Prep Hiring Stalls on Eve of Busy Season | Hiring and Pay Trends in Tax & Accounting | What’s the Profession Going To Do with 79,000 New Accounting Graduates? | Tax & Accounting Salaries Increase 2.8% | Regional CPA Firms Go Head-to-Head with Big Four in Talent Wars
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Tax preparation, meanwhile, is bleeding jobs in the double digits.

In this report, CPA Trendlines analyzes:

  • Current hiring trends in each of the bookkeeping, payroll, tax and CPA segments of the profession,
  • Average hourly earnings for each segment,
  • Average hours worked per week by segment and
  • Trends regarding women in the accounting workforce.

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Where the Jobs Are (and What You Need to Get Them)

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Salaries, job openings and unemployment rates
Salaries, job openings, and unemployment rates

BONUS: Salary ranges and top markets.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines

Everyone knows there are jobs to be had in the accounting profession. But exactly where are they, and how much do they pay?

MORE ON JOBS: CPA Firms Post 5% Growth Rate | How to Set Your Firm Apart to Recruits
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According to new CPA Trendlines research, the number of accounting and finance jobs available now tops 200,000. Where they geographically vary by position.
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CPA Firms Post 5% Growth Rate

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Tax and accounting industry hits 1 million workers, capping more than 25 years of sometimes volatile expansion. Shown: Workforce in thousands, monthly, 1990-2016.

Tax & accounting hiring trends for 2017:
Join the survey, get the results 

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines

It’s still a great time to be an accountant, according to new CPA Trendlines research. But watch the long-term trends carefully. All the gains are not always what they seem at first.

MORE on STAFFING: The 16 Biggest #FAILs in Delegation |  SURVEY RESULTS: Effective Stay Interviews for CPA Firms |  SURVEY: Work-Life Balance: According to Whom? |  NEW SURVEY RESULTS: Two Ways Your Strategic Plan Can Reduce Turnover  |  Managing Partners’ Favorite Staffing Strategies  |  NEW RESEARCH: CPA Firms Hiring More, Paying Less  |  JOBS REPORT: Hiring Up. Wages Down.  |  The 12 Reasons Your Staff Hates Your Firm

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Year over year, CPA firm staffs are growing by 4.7 percent while payroll overall is increasing at a 4.6 percent rate. The number of tax preparation employees is falling, however, 12.5 percent for the latest month,  but up 3.2 percent for the year. Women are making some large year-over-year gains as well – 4.8 percent at CPA firms and 12 percent at payroll services.

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SURVEY: Offshoring On the Rise

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Illustration of two businesspeople against world mapReal-time accounting is in client demand.

By Chris Frederiksen
The Rosenberg MAP Survey

It’s been was another good year for accountants, with demand for services continuing to outrun supply, thus allowing for price increases.

MORE FROM THE SURVEY: Technology Will Solve Labor Shortages | Firms Must Build Their Benches | Mergers Spur Growth | Talent Wars, M&A Frenzy Continue | Do You Have a Firm or a Co-op? | Accountability, Equity, Compensation Are Concerns
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Firms continue to struggle with the issue of finding enough “good” people to get the work done, so we observed two simultaneous trends.
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The 12 Reasons Your Staff Hates Your Firm

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BONUS WORKSHEET: Calculating the high cost of turnover.

By Marc Rosenberg
On Staffing

Let’s examine the state of CPA firm professional staff turnover.

Chart on staff retention
Staff Turnover Rates, Annualized, by Firm Size. Source: Rosenberg Map Survey at Store.CPATrendlines.com

MORE ON STAFFING: 8 Keys to Keeping Staff Engaged | How to Create a Talent Management Strategy | What Happened to the Relevancy of the CPA Profession? | Staffing: What CPA Firms Are Learning the Hard Way
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The high cost of turnover

Much has been written about the high cost of turnover. Almost all estimates range from 1 to 1.5 times an employee’s annual compensation.
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Accounting Firms Expand at 5% Rate

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cpatrendlines jobs report tiltBut why is hiring up and wages down?

By CPA Trendlines

Accounting employment in most sectors once again hit new highs, according to new CPA Trendlines research.

Gains over 5 percent were seen year over year in overall staff employment; CPA staff employment; women overall, at CPA firms and in payroll; payroll overall and staff numbers; and payroll staff hours. Unfortunately, that last group saw their earnings swing down even more.

The CPA Trendlines Monthly Jobs Report has been following a decline in wages and a simultaneous increase in headcounts, which may signal a new dynamic at play in the industry. Robert Fligel, president and CEO of RF Resources, the leading New York CPA firm M&A broker and executive recruiter, suggests several factors may be the cause. “I think firm are hiring more lower level people, like more new college grads; more home-grown talent; and the effect of outsourcing.”

In this report, CPA Trendlines highlights:

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

GoProCPA.comExclusively for PRO Members. Log in here or upgrade to PRO today.
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