All too often, CPA firms focus the bulk of their efforts on lead gen, which tends to create compromises in other critical areas of the business – namely recruiting exceptional accounting talent.
Lead gen is crucial to growing any company, no one will deny that. However, if there isn’t strong talent in place, all the leads in the world could be rendered useless.
CPA firms – by nature – deal with extremely sensitive information that has a direct impact on their clients’ livelihoods. That said, reputation is paramount to a firm’s success. A CPA firm that clearly prioritizes leads and sales over client experiences and results won’t last long.
A-level results start with A-level people – a reality that applies across the business world.
CPA firms have several unique challenges in recruiting top accounting professionals. In this post, we want to explain four common hurdles and the solutions to overcome them.
4 Major Recruiting Challenges & Solutions for CPA Firms
Challenge 1: Attracting A-Player Accounting Professionals
Attracting A-players is a challenge for any business – but growing CPA firms tend to have an especially difficult time. Year after year, the accounting industry is plagued by a scarcity in high-quality workers – with more open positions than people to fill them.
A survey commissioned by QuickBooks (and reported on CPA Practice Advisor), found that 9 out of 10 accounting firms struggle to find quality job candidates.
But what exactly is an “A-player” for a CPA firm?
The best accountants have more than just great financial skills; they are proficient in the industry’s latest technology innovations, analytical thinking, and have excellent communication skills. In other words, they bring a strong mix of hard and soft skills to the table – and these qualified candidates don’t grow on trees.
Moreover, the few professionals that meet these criteria tend to lean towards the larger CPA firms with established reputations (and bigger budgets) – leaving the small to mid-sized firms in fierce competition for talent.
Solution 1: Build an A-Player Employer Brand
Believe it or not – there are A-player accountant candidates who will work for smaller firms.
Some professionals prefer to be a big fish in a smaller pond, rather than a small gear in a giant machine. While smaller CPA firms typically can’t compete with larger firms in terms of budget – they can offer an opportunity for A-level talent to be a key player in how their firm grows.
To do this and attract top accounting talent, smaller public accounting firms need to develop a reputation as an A-player employer brand. Creating this perception is crucial to appeal to ambitious, highly skilled accountants seeking a challenge.
A strong, positive reputation signals that the firm values quality work, maintains ethical business practices, and prioritizes employee well-being. This is a perception that needs to be created from day one.
Challenge 2: Retaining A-Players
Attracting A-player accountants is one thing; retaining them is a completely different ballgame. More than 80% of accounting managers list retaining valuable employees as their top concern.
There are many challenges to retaining A-players in CPA firms.
For one, the nature of the accounting industry is characterized by heavy workloads (especially during tax season), long hours, and high stress. Smaller firms may not have the budget to bring in more employees – which can quickly lead to burnout and high turnover.
Secondly – to echo the last point – larger firms tend to offer better compensation and benefits to high-level employees, which can easily lure an overworked accountant away.
Third, A-player accountants do not work for smaller CPA firms to stagnate. They need fresh challenges and opportunities to meet their career goals. Plain and simple, if you cannot provide these, you give them no reason to stay.
Solution 2: Implement & Promote Employee Development Programs
When top accounting talent joins your firm, they’re likely doing so to play an instrumental role in growing the company. To do this, they need a vehicle to hone their skills and grow in their role.
Smaller firms can help keep these high-level employees around by investing in development programs that keep them ahead of industry trends, learning new skills, and taking on leadership roles.
Now, you’ll need to do more than just verbalize the career plans for your A-players. You’ll need to have a documented employee journey plan with benchmarks and KPIs. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
The most important factor is you have a clear trajectory for their role in your company from day one. By doing this, you are signaling that your firm values its employees and invests in their professional growth.
Challenge 3: Balancing Cost Versus Quality in Recruitment
Shifting gears to the recruiting process itself, it’s no secret the costs are high – no matter what industry you’re in.
Advertising, recruitment agency fees, and all the time spent screening and interviewing candidates add up fast. This challenge is exacerbated in firms trying to attract A-players. Once a firm hires a candidate, there are a plethora of additional costs – onboarding, training, etc.
Moreover, if an employee leaves the firm, this creates more financial strain, due to the costs of replacement and the potential loss of client relationships.
The good news is CPA firms today are in a much better position than firms were 10 years ago. There are many, many ways to reduce costs during the recruitment/hiring process to make sure you find a good fit.
Solution 3: Outsource and/or Automate Certain Recruitment Processes
Automation and outsourcing have never been more accessible to small businesses than it is today.
Mundane, time-consuming tasks like candidate sourcing, resume screening, interview scheduling, and communication can be automated. There are plenty of AI-powered recruiting tools to do this.
Additionally, outsourcing to professional CPA recruitment agencies can play a huge role in accessing extensive networks – which improves the chances of finding A-player candidates. These agencies have specialized recruiters to manage the early phases of the process – so the CPA firm’s HR team can focus on later-stage tasks, like candidate evaluation and engagement.
It’s important to realize that CPA firms are not alone when it comes to recruiting.
Even for firms on a shoestring budget, there are plenty of ways to be more efficient in the recruiting process and find expert employees.
Challenge 4: Navigating Remote Work Opportunities
Thanks to the pandemic, remote work has become the norm in the accounting industry. With no end in sight, the increasing trend of work-from-home setups adds a new layer of complexity to CPA recruiting.
Finding top candidates goes beyond professional skills. The hiring manager needs to assess their ability to work independently, manage time wisely, and communicate effectively in a virtual workflow.
Additionally, the applicant pool is no longer limited to location – and remote workers can come from all over the globe. While a larger talent pool isn’t a bad thing, it can make the screening process much more overwhelming.
To put it bluntly, recruiting for remote work requires a nuanced approach to identifying candidates who can thrive in a non-office setting.
Solution 4: Create a Remote-Friendly Culture
Most (if not all) duties of a CPA can be done without coming to an office.
The truth is many A-player employees value the convenience of working from home – no commutes, no fancy dress clothes, and working in the comfort of their own homes.
CPA firms cannot resist the work-from-home workplace culture.
The best option is to embrace it and develop dependable remote workflows, training programs, and opportunities to connect with other people on their team.
The flexibility and convenience of remote work can be a significant draw for many candidates, especially those seeking a better work-life balance. By embracing remote work, CPA firms can significantly enhance their attractiveness to a broader range of talent.
The Wrap
Without A-level employees, a CPA firm’s days are numbered.
The early stages of running a firm are the most crucial. No one will deny that exceptional talent comes at a premium cost – and it’s extremely challenging to find good people with a limited budget. However, it’s important to think from a long-term perspective.
Focusing on recruiting talented workers over lead gen is a temporary setback. Once you have the right people and processes in place, you’ll be in a better position to accommodate those leads and create lifetime value for clients.
The post 4 Recruiting Challenges for CPA Firms (And the Solutions) appeared first on Accounting Insight News.
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By: Leo Ebbert of CPA Digital Pro
Title: 4 Recruiting Challenges for CPA Firms (And the Solutions)
Sourced From: www.accountex.co.uk/insight/2023/08/16/4-recruiting-challenges-for-cpa-firms-and-the-solutions/
Published Date: Wed, 16 Aug 2023 10:42:19 +0000
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