MANAGEMENT

Can’t Recruit? Retain!

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Other options: outsourcing, M&A, even freelancers with different skill sets.

By CPA Trendlines Research

There’s no good news coming out of the talent pipeline. There are fewer accounting majors coming in at the college end, and fewer coming out at the CPA exam end.

The reasons are legion. Kids these days have little interest in a career reputed to be boring and exhausting. They can make more money in some other area of finance or business. The extra credit hours take too long and cost too much.

MORE: 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 | What Accountants Can Learn from T-Ball | 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 | Why the Dry Pipeline? It’s About Time | Business Model Transformation: Do It or Die | Misperceptions, Corrections, Accountancy and Lemonade
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The 2024 Thomson Reuters State of Tax Professionals Report sums it up with illustrative stats.

  • 39 percent say recruitment will be “highly challenging” in 2024.
  • Another quarter say it will be “somewhat challenging.”
  • 33 percent of firms with four or more employees say talent will be a top priority.

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Is Tech Causing Both CPA Shortage and Low Salaries?

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The number of accounting degree completions from bachelor’s programs from 1994-2021. Source: 2023 AICPA Trends Report

 

There’s a paradox going on.

By CPA Trendlines Research

A working paper by three academics presents a paradoxical contradiction in the accounting industry. Somehow, technology, which is starting to replace some accounting functions, is causing a shortage of accounting professionals. And despite the high demand for the few graduates who major in accounting, starting salaries are lower than in related professions.

MORE: Audit Firms Nervous about New Tech | What Accountants Can Learn from T-Ball | 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 | Why the Dry Pipeline? It’s About Time | Business Model Transformation: Do It or Die | Misperceptions, Corrections, Accountancy and Lemonade | Whole Person Retention: When It’s Not Just the Money | Global Trends Show Many Dissatisfied CPAs | More Big Firms Shut Their Doors to New College Grads
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And in a related paradox, technology’s most powerful tools may be augmenting the accountant’s workload.

How can all this be concurrent?
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Vimal Bava: When Working Smarter, Not Harder, Is the Only Option

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Humans are the most advanced supercomputers, but there’s no user manual.

This is a preview. The complete video episode, with commentary and transcript, is first available exclusively to PRO Members. 
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The Disruptors
With Liz Farr

Like many who start out in public accounting, Vimal Bava didn’t initially question the status quo of our high-stress profession where long hours and little time for self-care are the norm. Part of that stress was a partner who would “chew us out” for mistakes on returns.

MORE PODCASTS and VIDEOS: Dawn Brolin Says Grow Your Firm by Shrinking It | Jason Blumer & Julie Shipp: Move Leaders Out of Client Service | James Graham: Drop the Billable Hour and You’ll Bill More | Karen Reyburn: Fix Your Marketing and Fix Your Business | Giles Pearson: Fix the Staffing Crisis by Swapping Experience for Education | Jina Etienne: Practice Fearless Inclusion | Bill Penczak: Stop Forcing Smart People to Do Stupid Work | Sandra Wiley: Staffing Problem? Check Your Culture | Scott Scarano: First, Grow People. Then Firm Growth Can Follow |

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But when Vimal’s doctor told him he needed to find ways to reduce his stress, he started his own firm. Another wake-up call for Vimal came in 2017 when one of his accountant friends suddenly passed away.

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Nine Reasons Not to Specialize

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Think about what you really want.

By Ed Mendlowitz
202 Questions and Answers: Managing an Accounting Practice

Question: Can you recommend a specialty I can get involved in to generate more revenue for my practice?

MORE: When Board Service Gets Tricky | Yes, You Have to Share Work Papers | Should You Merge? Here’s How to Chart Your Path | Hold Staff Accountable If You Want Them to Listen to You | How to Raise Your Rates | Higher Fees to Start: Ten Ways to Make Your Tax Season Better | Three Ways to Start an Accounting Practice | Free Consultation? Not Always | Referral Fee? Forget It | How Much Is Your Tax Practice Worth?
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Response: My discussion with the CPA indicated that his practice consisted of a large individual tax return practice and many monthly business clients. He thought financial planning or business valuations would be a way to expand his services and make more money. It did not seem he had an intellectual interest in these areas.
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Overworked Accountants Are Racking Up Financial Errors

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Blame understaffing and overwork. And roll in the AI robots.

By CPA Trendlines Research

Eighteen percent of accountants make financial errors at least daily, a third make at least a few financial errors every week, and 59 percent make several monthly errors, according to a new survey that blames “capacity” issues.

RELATED: Hiring Experience Vs. Training Inexperience | To Replenish the Talent Pipeline, Go Back to the Classroom | Beware the Work-Life/Workload Doom Spiral | Why the Dry Pipeline? It’s About Time | Business Model Transformation: Do It or Die | Whole Person Retention: When It’s Not Just the Money | Disruptors: Nicole Davis & JW Davis Show How to Create Your Own Pipeline | More in Staffing & Recruiting

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Is technology the best answer?

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