Experienced Staff Are Leaving Accounting in Droves, and People Are Furious
Matt Rampe / Nov 28, 2023
When I wrote this post on LinkedIn in September, I had no idea it would get over 300,000 views, 1,800 reactions, 132 comments, and 103 reposts! Clearly, it hit a nerve.
Here is the original post, and what I learned from the 132 comments.
Here are the major themes from the LinkedIn post comments and my thoughts on each:
1. Compensation needs to increase.
Accounting majors and experienced staff have difficulty staying with accounting if it doesn’t pay them at least as well as other options.
2. Clients who create challenges or late submissions should be “fired.”
A firestorm of comments highlighted the pent-up frustration around problematic clients. Staff want their firm to stand up to these lackluster clients. Currently, clients are a lot easier to come by than staff – so choose who you are willing to lose.
3. Education requirements need to be adjusted.
The requirements to become a CPA need to be revisited – as do the topics that will prepare people for their future in accounting.
4. Non-traditional career paths and remote work options should be available.
Some firms resist this, but the shift in work preferences applies continued pressure. To keep as many good workers as possible, these options need to be seriously considered or, better yet, assertively pursued.
5. Work-life balance and flexible schedules are a priority.
This genie is out of the bottle and probably for the better. That said, partners are having challenges finding enough hours across their firm to get the work out the door. Even so, this is now table stakes for keeping people.
The new, expanded second edition of our book, CPA Firm Staff: Managing Your #1 Asset, addresses • talent management • retention • flexibility • importance of the boss • mentoring • leadership development • advancement • performance feedback • recruiting, and other issues.
6. Opportunities for continued education and mentoring must be provided.
Staff want to be invested in. They want to learn – both technical and leadership/business skills. Saying you’re too busy to invest here is short-sighted, and staff aren’t waiting around anymore for ‘someday’ to come.
7. The billable hour model should be replaced by value-based pricing.
A narrow focus on only billable hours as the measurement of a staff’s worth misses the mark. Staff feel they are being punished if they are more efficient. Staff want to know why CPA firms don’t charge their worth (regardless of how many hours it took).
8. The profession should open up to non-accounting graduates and embrace diverse skill sets.
We need all the help we can get. Searching beyond the traditional places is not only advisable, it’s a must.
9. A positive workplace culture is non-negotiable.
It bears repeating that in any industry, people want to be at a firm with a positive, engaging culture. There are many flavors of this, but you know it when you see it. Staff also sense when it’s not there. If you’re not sure, ask your team for feedback. Leaders need to continually invest here as it’s the foundation for the other pieces.
10. Pressures in the industry are causing concern, particularly during the last few years.
Staff and partners alike have been in what seems like a pressure cooker over the last few years. I think it’s safe to say we need significant changes in the accounting industry to turn around our retention issues and to create a more sustainable and appealing work environment.
View the original LinkedIn post and comments.
Read the full Wall Street Journal article.
Tell us what you think about CPA exit rates and staffing challenges in the comments.
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CPA Firm Staff: Managing Your #1 Asset, 2nd Edition
In an era of tight labor supply and high turnover, the old ways of managing staff no longer work. Today’s firms need to address retention, staff engagement, recruiting, training, mentoring, recognition, leadership development, advancement, performance feedback and work-life balance; here’s your complete guide.
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One major exclusion is the amount of overbearing new rules and regulations FASB has generating. Starting with the revenue recognition standards, moving to the absurdity of the leasing standards and so forth the profession has lost its way. Most of the newer regulations do not apply to the vast majority of privately held companies. This constant pounding of newer and more complex rules and regulations is not encouraging people to remain in the profession. Audits of financial statements are completely out of control. Private clients will not pay for the additional time as they see no value added. This forces the firms to pressure the staff to complete more and more complex tasks within tighter and tighter budgets. Ultimately the professionals get tired and burnt out and look to other areas to earn a living. Look at the declining number of accountants in recent graduating classes. The industry needs major change or it will continue to self destruct.
Sniping at the Lease Standard (Topic 842) seems to miss the mark of the necessity of recognizing liabilities. Just book the asset and book the liability and move on. It doesn’t have to be overly complex. In fact, as a profession, we might think about why is there complexity in the standards. Could it be that we are trying to prevent fraudulent financial reporting and the myriad “work-around” shenanigans that seem to be concocted even before a new standard, that is designed to recognize a liability, is even out of the box?
I am a seasoned CPA who choose early in my career to work in a non-public setting. I have a staff of non- CPA’s who work with me in a Non profit setting that is both rewarding due to our mission and still challenging. But we also have trouble hiring staff who want to learn and meet deadlines. I have been fortunate to have a core group with me for years, but also have experienced a turnover in staff accountants- some due to pay, others because they felt we expected too much of them. (We encourage and allow overtime when needed but do not mandate it ) There are easier jobs than accounting but then there are harder ones too!