OUTLOOK & ANALYSIS

The Power of Community in Accounting

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nine businesspeople talking at conference social hour

When you can’t figure it out on your own.

By Seth Fineberg
At Large

Accounting may have long been considered a community of professionals, yet not many have felt the true sense of what that means or have bothered to take advantage of it. Moreover, there’s been no greater need to recognize and utilize community in accounting than now.

MORE: Does Firm Culture Still Matter? | Accounting Needs a ‘Rethink’ Not a ‘Rebrand’ | Big Change Comes with Deep Reflection | 3 Ways to Raise the Bar for Your Business | Make It ‘Productive Season’
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As the profession moves its way through yet another point of inflection, one not likely seen for decades, the list of factors impacting how accountants work and why they do what they do is growing:

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Desperate CFOs are Outsourcing Accounting Functions

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25 percent of CFOs will be looking for staff accountants. Personiv

Can CPA firms take advantage?

By CPA Trendlines Research

CPA firms have long been aware of the worsening talent shortage. Fewer students are majoring in accountancy. Fewer are pursuing CPA certification. And baby boomer leaders of accounting firms are retiring more often than ever.

MORE: Does Firm Culture Still Matter? | Tax and Accounting Jobs and Salaries Show Strength | Tax Law is Driving Practice Development | Olympics of Outsourcing and Offshoring for Accountants | New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries | Turnover Timebomb: 4 of 5 Senior Managers At Risk | Are Client Services a Fourth-Rate Priority? | Revenues Rising as Pricing Models Evolve | 150 Credit Hours: Helping or Hindering? | Can’t Recruit? Retain! | The Accountant as a Strategic Business Partner | Report: Efficiency Still the Top Priority for Accounting Firms
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Now financial leaders in the corporate sector are feeling the pinch. A survey issued by personnel agency Personiv finds that 83 percent of senior corporate leaders recognize the accounting talent crunch, way up from 70 percent in 2022 and 63 percent in 2020. And 10 percent say the shortage is getting worse.

No surprise, then, that 90 percent of CFOs who responded to the survey say they have outsourced at least some accounting functions.
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Tax and Accounting Jobs and Salaries Show Strength

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Overall accounting profession employment hits a glitch.

Hourly earnings fluctuate.

By Beth Bellor
CPA Trendlines Research

Despite a slowing increase in employment for the U.S. economy in general, the nation’s tax and accounting sector is improving on most fronts, marking more than four years of solid year-over-year gains.

MORE: New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries | More Big Firms Shut Their Doors to New College Grads | Seven Enticements to Keep Talent On Board | Payroll Leads Job Gains in Tax & Accounting Sector
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To be sure, tax and accounting employment nudged slightly down in July, according to the latest data available to CPA Trendlines Research. But it remains ahead of last year’s figures. And record highs are popping in key hiring segments, including staff, CPA firms and payroll services. Is talk of staffing shortages overblown, or would growth be even stronger if more qualified candidates were available? READ MORE →

Tax Law is Driving Practice Development

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Virtual communication, hybrid work environments still pose challenges.

By CPA Trendlines Research

New laws and regulations now rank as the primary management challenge at accounting practices around the world, according to a report from Caseware.

MORE: Olympics of Outsourcing and Offshoring for Accountants | New Study: Strong and Steady Growth for Accountant Jobs and Salaries | Turnover Timebomb: 4 of 5 Senior Managers At Risk | Are Client Services a Fourth-Rate Priority? | Revenues Rising as Pricing Models Evolve | 150 Credit Hours: Helping or Hindering? | Can’t Recruit? Retain! | The Accountant as a Strategic Business Partner | Report: Efficiency Still the Top Priority for Accounting Firms | Is Tech Causing Both CPA Shortage and Low Salaries? | Audit Firms Nervous about New Tech | Staffing Tops List of Woes at CPA Firms | To Replenish the Talent Pipeline, Go Back to the Classroom | Beware the Work-Life/Workload Doom Spiral
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And though the difficulty, and even impossibility, of meeting all legal requirements is a massive challenge, meeting that challenge is a driver of rapid change in the industry. This is evidenced by the second-most serious challenge, adopting new technologies – technologies directly or indirectly aimed at meeting legal requirements.
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