audit troubles meet staffing shortages; uh-oh.
by carrie steffen
the rosenberg map survey
editor’s note: every year, the rosenberg map survey asks the industry’s top consultants to share their observations from cpa firms across the country. how do you think the next 12 months will unfold? also, how would you assess the last 12 months?
there are a couple of interesting stories on the horizon. first is the public company accounting oversight board’s crackdown on audit deficiencies and how that will play out vs. a push to ease some of the requirements to become a cpa.
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with a perception of the quality of audits declining and the number of cpa candidates dropping, how will the profession reconcile the pressure to improve quality with fewer people to do the work and the proposed solution of lowering the threshold to become a cpa?
i don’t know the answers, but it will be interesting to see what happens. the key probably lies somewhere in automation and artificial intelligence, which has yet to become widely adopted among audit practices.
the other trend is in the changing business model of the accounting profession. private equity, changes in ownership structure and ultimately the splitting of practices are some of the ways in which early adopters are reimagining what public accounting will look like. big questions about the effect on firm culture as well as career paths within firms still remain. i personally hope the trend around focus will continue as i have always believed that a more narrowly defined target market and deeper specialization will win every time vs. casting a wide net and dabbling in a lot of different areas. specialization is the future.
if i had to select a word to describe the trends i saw in the past 12 months it would be intentional. firms of all sizes and shapes have become much more intentional about nearly every element in their business. capacity issues have driven a lot of that, from more intentional hiring practices to being mindful and intentional about firm culture as it relates to inclusivity and belonging. the trend toward more profitable, managed topline growth includes more focused practices around marketing and sales and a concerted effort to move toward becoming more specialized and choosing which clients and segments in which to invest, which is a path to developing more advisory services.
in terms of processes and client experience, firms are looking at all the ways in which they interact with clients, from the external branding process to onboarding practices, and client services all being carefully defined and aligned. technology investments are becoming more strategic. every firm is organized to produce the result it has produced for decades and next-gen leaders and practitioners are no longer satisfied with the result. we’ve started to see some major shifts in a firm’s understanding of what the future of public accounting looks like and for the first time in my 25 years of consulting we see the beginnings of change among many firms. not every firm is embracing every area of transformation, but there are certainly various elements playing out in nearly every firm we work with and many that we don’t.
it’s exciting, but we know it’s only the beginning. firms will need to change faster than they may be used to and may need support in change management to ensure the people in the firm who are demanding change stick around the firm and the profession long enough to see it.