beware the work-life/workload doom spiral

man on spiral staircase

five strategies for keeping your firm out of it.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

is your firm in a doom spiral?

more: 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 | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | three ways to raise the bar for your business | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

here’s what it looks like:

  1. a cpa quits or retires.
  2. the firm can’t attract a replacement.
  3. the firmwide workload remains constant.
  4. increased workloads get redistributed.
  5. a cpa quits because of stress.
  6. workloads increase again.
  7. someone else quits. no one gets hired.
  8. the firm turns away clients.
  9. revenue drops. salaries stagnate.
  10. uncompetitive salaries hinder hiring.
  11. a cpa quits or retires.
  12. repeat.

read more →

why the dry pipeline? it’s about time

serious young man studying

and it’s about time the profession took action.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

it’s been with us from the beginning. we can measure it but we can’t see it. it’s our friend and our enemy. it’s infinite, yet we never have enough of it.

and it may be the big leak in the cpa pipeline.

more: 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 | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | three ways to raise the bar for your business | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean
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yes, it’s time.

so concludes the illinois cpa society’s 2024 “re-decoding the decline” survey and report on why the pipeline of incoming accounting talent has been going from dribble to drip.
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business model transformation: do it or die

pair of diagrams
adapted from aicpa and other sources.

 

four areas ripe for change.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

five ugly facts your firm may need to deal with:

  1. seventy percent of cpas are at or near retirement age.
  2. the numbers of accounting graduates and cpa exam candidates are both dropping.

more: global trends show many dissatisfied cpas | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean | top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff? | are accountants charging too little?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

  1. gen z (ages 20-30) is transforming the labor market with new values on workplace environment, compensation, benefits, leadership, dei policies, culture and corporate mission.
  2. the majority of current cpas have no interest in becoming partners.
  3. roughly half of current cpas might consider finding another firm, and almost 15 percent wouldn’t mind leaving the profession altogether.

read more →

misperceptions, corrections, accountancy and lemonade

woman mentoring teen girl

five notions you can help correct.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the national pipeline advisory group is worried about the pre-professional pipeline that takes in students at one end and, years later, pumps cpas to a business world that desperately needs them.

more: 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 | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | three ways to raise the bar for your business
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

and there’s plenty of reason to worry. the number of students majoring in accountancy is in steady decline, dropping from 75,153 diplomas in 2018 to 62,318 in 2022.

the number of candidates for the cpa exam is also dropping. it dipped 6 percent in 2023 after a 7 percent dip the year before.
read more →

whole person retention: when it’s not just the money

bar chart

thirty-eight ways to retain personnel.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

a survey conducted by the pennsylvania institute of cpas has come up with some disturbing data.

the survey report almost seems to spin bad news into good. when cpas in pennsylvania who have three to 10 years of experience were asked how strong is their desire to stay in public accounting, 56.7 percent rated their desire at five (out of seven) or higher.

more: global trends show many dissatisfied cpas | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | 3 ways to raise the bar for your business | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean | seven steps to a stronger future
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

is that good news or bad? if about half of cpas are reasonably happy with their jobs … what about the other half?
read more →

global trends show many dissatisfied cpas

unhappy man moping in front of screen

do talent stats bode well for your firm?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

accountants are unsettled. some are even afraid. so says the report global talent trends 2024, issued by the acca (association of chartered certified accountants, a globally recognized professional accounting body), based on data from 9,889 finance professionals in 157 countries.

more: more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | seven steps to a stronger future | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff? | cpas needed to help small biz adopt ai | survey shows that tech remains the great divide | will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility? | accountants bullish on income

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the statistics depict an industry sector on the move and ready to move. only 57 percent of respondents across the industry, which includes a broad spectrum from academia to large corporation to accounting firms large and small, are working full-time in an office. but only 8 percent are full-time remote.

and wherever they are, a lot of them aren’t very happy.
read more →

seven enticements to keep talent on board

bar chart
more than 85% of those surveyed who have a high desire to stay in public accounting responded that their firm actively
supports their career development.

 

time is a concern, and so is performance.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the pipeline of incoming accounting professionals isn’t exactly gushing these days. to the contrary, it has slowed to an inadequate dribble.

the scarcity of qualified professionals makes talent retention more important than ever. it’s far easier and less costly to keep current people on board than to attract and onboard new people.

more: employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | seven steps to a stronger future | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

but what do they want? what keeps them happily at their current job?

well, for one thing, money.

but these days, that’s not enough.
read more →

more big firms shut their doors to new college grads

some 88.7% of top firms rate problem-solving skills among the most important criteria in hiring new college grads. technical skills rank fifth, at 67%. (nace)

firms that overhired in the covid-19 boom are now trimming their ranks.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

despite widespread concerns in the profession about a talent shortage, the largest accounting firms in a new survey are cutting back on their hiring of new college accounting graduates by 16.1 percent this year.

more in staffing & recruiting: employee retention is easier than attractionpayroll leads job gains in tax & accounting sector |  disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? |  letting staff go after tax season? bad idea |  firms culling clients as staffing woes persistcompensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff?

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

reflecting broader economic uncertainties and budgetary constraints, half of all the biggest firms surveyed are gearing down for a recession, marking a sharp turnaround from the hiring spree sparked by a global pandemic that forced industries across the globe into transformational change, often staffed and driven by the biggest accounting and consulting firms.

read more →

employee retention is easier than attraction

four people seated around table

five conclusions from a new report.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the accounting talent pipeline problem isn’t going away. it isn’t even improving.

but it isn’t hopeless.

more: let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | 3 ways to raise the bar for your business | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean | seven steps to a stronger future | accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | auditing standards ‘yellow book’ updated | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | revenue up at 59% of accounting firms … and more good news | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

 

a recent report from the pennsylvania institute of cpas points out that, though the problem is big and the obstacles many, cpa firms can, with enough effort, hold on to the talent they’ve got.

and retaining talent is a lot less expensive than trying to attract it.
read more →

let interns fix the staffing shortage?

source: iia

critical demand for data analytics, cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence skills.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

internships could play a pivotal role in addressing the talent needs of the profession, according to a new study.

more in talent & career development: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | why would anyone become a cpa? | five questions about facing challenges | it’s time to prepare the next generation | fifteen strategies for first-time supervisors | measure knowledge gaps (then close them)

goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

with 74 percent of internships designed to lead to permanent employment, these programs are not just supplemental but foundational to preparing students for professional roles.

still, only 28 percent of college programs make internships integral to the curriculum. read more →

accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean

businessman giving advice to female coworker

survey respondents look beyond tax season.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

just about every small business has an accountant, and smart business owners tap their accountant not just for tax prep but for general business advice.

and smart accountants offer smart advice. because what’s good for the client is good for the accountant.

more: seven steps to a stronger future | accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | are accountants charging too little? | revenue growth is top priority for small firms | is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline? | accountants cozy up to clients with cas
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 2024 busy season barometer has harvested quite a bit of smart advice with an open-ended question about the best advice for small businesses.

responses bounced all over the business ballpark, but a lot of them warned of change and economic turbulence.
read more →

seven steps to a stronger future

six people in business clothing lined up at start of athletic track

fees and business lines of course, but what about an operations person?

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the aicpa’s national management of an accounting practice (map) survey took a good look at a lot of data – revenues and profits, staff turnover and professional salaries, services and fees.

more: accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally | top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | revenue up at 59% of accounting firms … and more good news | chatgpt for the reluctant accountant | survey shows challenges, priorities shifting | accountants torn over 2024 economy, offer advice | survey: are you offering the right services?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

and then, toward the end, it says, “but all the data in the universe won’t do you any good if you don’t do something with it.”

it then calls on cpa firms to evolve if they want to survive and thrive through seismic shifts in technology and marketing.
read more →

accountants bullish locally, bearish nationally

one-quarter of accountants see trouble ahead for the source of their bread and butter.

by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research

the trendlines 2024 busy season barometer is unearthing a perplexing paradox.

it seems that most cpas think their firm and their clients will do better this year – or at least no worse than last year, which itself was a pretty good year.

more: top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | auditing standards ‘yellow book’ updated | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff? | cpas needed to help small biz adopt ai | survey shows that tech remains the great divide | will unclogging the accounting pro pipeline kill mobility? | accountants bullish on income | survey: which niche’s the best niche?
goprocpa.comexclusively for pro members. log in here or 2022世界杯足球排名 today.

at the same time, they tend to see things getting worse for the national economy and small businesses in general.

what’s going on?
read more →