more problems: tax complexity, seasonality, and succession.
via aicpa
finding and retaining staff are the top issues facing cpa firms this year, and talent pool challenges are expected to have the biggest impact on public accounting practice operations over the next five years, too, according to new aicpa research.
“finding qualified staff” was the no. 1 issue in every firm-size segment except sole practitioners, where it ranked no. 3, according to the 2017 cpa firm top issues survey, sponsored by the aicpa’s firm practice management section. likewise, “retaining qualified staff” was a top 5 issue in every grouping except sole practitioners. recruitment and retention were leading concerns the last time the survey was conducted in 2015, too, but the challenge appears steeper as the profession continues to gain strength in a growing economy.
“high demand for services is a great situation for cpas as a whole,” said carl peterson, the aicpa’s vice president of small firms “from a firm management perspective, however, it poses some significant challenges.”
the private companies practice section cpa firm top issues survey is conducted every two years and results are segmented by firm size, since the perspectives of a small firm cpa are often dramatically different from someone employed by a top 100 firm. the different segment lists often reveal trends across the profession, however. survey respondents are asked to rank the impact of 91 issues divided among seven practice areas on a 1-5 scale, with one being “minimal” and five being “extreme.” they then are asked to rank their top five issues from among their highest-scoring items.
besides staffing, other common top 5 issues this year include succession planning, acquisition of new clients, workload compression, and keeping up with tax law complexity. some issues have faded in the past few surveys: “fee pressure/pricing of services”—a concern during the great recession—is only a top 10 issue in the 6-10 professional segment, while “retention of current clients” has fallen out of the top 10 for all groups.
for the first time, respondents were asked to rank eight issues expected to have the greatest impact on how their practice operates over the next five years. staffing was the top answer for all segments but sole practitioners, while technology was the no. 2 answer for the same grouping. sole practitioners, meanwhile, ranked technology no. 1 and contending with the regulatory environment no. 2.
topline survey results were announced at aicpa engage, a premier event for the profession that incorporates five aicpa conferences devoted to public accounting, plus the association for accounting marketing summit.
one response to “survey: staffing problems dominate cpa firms”
charles
instead of “finding qualified staff,” maybe the attitude should shift to “training qualified candidates.” are cpa firms expecting qualified staff to show up gift-wrapped at their front door? i’ve been in public accounting now for seven years and i’m shocked at the lack of training. if all you want to do is the technical work, then maybe you should be a career manager. if you really want to be a partner, then you need to get dirty with all that is required of a business owner, including training staff. instead of recruiting a 4.0 student from ivy league college who you don’t need to train but will leave the profession in three years, what about hiring the 3.0 student from public college university who might need more guidance the first few years, but is passionate about our industry and may be a better long-term fit? public accounting professionals are willing to work long hours when it comes to technical work, but unwilling to work long hours to properly train their employees.