GROWTH STRATEGIES

ANALYSIS: Local Firms Worldwide Are Losing the Wars for Talent and for Clients

Getting new clients tops the list of chief concerns for local firms worldwide. But the staffing shortage surges into second place. via IFAC

The eight moves smart firms are making today to win tomorrow’s battles.

By Rick Telberg
CPA Trendlines Research

Does the tax and accounting profession have a role to play in global peace, harmony, and understanding?

You may think so, based on a new CPA Trendlines analysis of a global survey of small, local, and mid-size accounting firms.

The study paints a picture of a global community of local firms with shared aspirations, expectations, challenges, and opportunities – despite (or perhaps because of) rising nationalism, protectionism, and conflicting political regimes.

MORE on TALENT MANAGMENT: Global Tax Talent Shortage Mounting into ‘Perfect Storm’  |  Accountants without Borders: Tight Talent Pool Drives Salary Increases Nationwide  |  How to Create a Talent Management Strategy |  SURVEY FINDINGS: Talent Wars, M&A Frenzy Continue  |  Why Job Descriptions Matter  |  How to Develop Home-Grown Future Leaders  |  New Staffing Strategies for the Next-Generation Accounting Firm

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In fact, the research finds that the talent shortage plaguing Unites States firms is now turning into a global problem. That is, by no means, a good thing. But it is another item all firms across the globe can share in common. And it is another chink in the armor of the so-called traditional business model of the owner-operator accounting firm because most of the issues flow from two overriding factors: Rampant under-pricing or owner greed (or both) that fails to build up capital reserves for re-investment in the business, and the lack of access to other sources of funding.

It’s enough to make us wonder if solutions to global problems are beyond the ability for individual nations to solve alone. Instead, multi-national worldwide strategies may be required. Maybe that’s part of the reason the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is rebranding itself as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (still, just the “AICPA” to most).

But today, owning, operating or working in a perfectly “average” firm is not necessarily a sign of success. Instead, “average” seems doomed to obsolescence in irrelevancy – and on a global scale never before seen in the profession.