six ways work becomes more engaging with the right tools.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
one of the accounting industry’s most persistent and worsening problems is the difficulty in hiring and retaining professionals. according to the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 business barometer, 48 percent cite staffing as a critically problematic issue.
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the pipeline is part of the problem. the supply of graduates with majors in accountancy has been dropping since 2015.
accounting firms can’t do much about the dwindling supply of professionals, but they can take action to attract those who are new to the trade.
the trick: technology.
more engaging work
the young are famously interested in and adept at new technologies. they seem to have been born with digital abilities, and technology has been part of their lives since their earliest days.
a new intuit quickbooks accountant technology survey finds that 85 percent of accountants – including those in cpa practices and the general industry – believe that technology could entice more young professionals by offering more engaging work.
the more engaging work comes in various forms, each linked to technology:
- new kinds of services for clients
- the challenges of new technologies
- the reduction of rote, repetitious tasks
- higher pay for better technical skills
- a shift from retrospective analysis to real-time insights
- less screen time, more face-to-face time
happier staff
out of 2,000 respondents, a full third agreed that technology helps improve employee retention and acquisition, and almost as many – 31 percent – say that tech helps produce a happier and more engaged staff.
while the survey didn’t try to determine which types of tech are most attractive to job candidates, it’s a safe bet that rapidly evolving developments in artificial intelligence will jingle the chimes of whippersnappers. to them, ai is a new frontier begging for exploration.
with 48 percent of 1,073 respondents foreseeing investments in automation tools, and just as many expanding into ai, and 42 percent expecting to invest in machine learning, the profession may finally be shaking off the misperception of number-crunching drudgery.
and while there is still a certain amount of administrative drudgery involved in administrative tasks, 48 percent strongly agree that financial management systems can
- reduce administrative tasks and
- allow more opportunities for innovative work that attracts younger talent.
look at the difference between misperception and actual experience. while 39 percent of current accountants think negative perceptions make talent attraction more challenging, 69 percent of those who are actually in the profession report overall job satisfaction.
a tool of attraction
technology is also a tool that can attract more personnel by expanding services beyond traditional tax and audit work. that’s what clients want, and that’s what young talent is looking for.
one such expansion in the accounting industry is the shift from historical accounting – using audits and tax work to look back at what has already happened – to real-time financial insights. sixty-six percent of respondents said that real-time financial insights are “very important” to business success, and another 27 percent grant that they’re “somewhat important.” and more than half (51 percent) report that the top benefit of tech-enabled real-time insight is being better positioned to provide advice to clients.
advanced technology attracts not only clients, but the talent needed to serve them. it’s no wonder that accountants expect their firms to spend an average of $15,800 on technology improvements and upgrades in 2023. more than ever, it’s the survival tool that will take the industry into the brave, new world of tomorrow.