survey respondents offer their strategies.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the most shocking stat to come out of early results in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 outlook 2024 emerging issues, opportunities and trends survey is also the most painful.
it’s this: 42 percent of responding firms are turning away work for lack of staff.
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that’s a big ouch for firms that have spent time, effort and money on marketing, only to find that they can’t reap the results.
data is still coming in from firms across the continent (and a few from across the ocean), but the trend is definitely toward critical. and the prognosis isn’t good.
according to the center for audit quality, the number of graduates majoring in accounting has dropped by 36 percent since 2010, and, in 2020, 75 percent of cpas were at retirement age.
this problem isn’t going away. it’s getting worse.
the verge of burning out
only 27 percent of the outlook 2024 respondents say staffing is not a problem at their firm.
almost as many – 24 percent – say they are on the verge of burning out.
the best that these overworked, understaffed practices can do is
- upgrade compensation and benefits, now under way at 22 percent of firms, and/or
- look for a merger or acquisition opportunity, now under consideration by 11 percent, and/or
- outsource at least some work, practiced by 24 percent, and/or
- lay their heads gently upon their desks and weep for what might have been.
other strategies
a few firms are adopting other strategies.
卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 contributor and withum emeritus partner edward mendlowitz suggests “more focused training.”
paul g. grossi, a partner with sme, is keeping people on board by “making sure that the existing staff are motivated and properly compensated.”
one anonymous contributor is taking a stance, telling us “we will not hire someone just to hire someone. it is like taking a square peg and trying to fit it in a round hole.”
here are some suggestions from firms grappling with this chronic problem.
sylvie cote-hasegawa, a shareholder with florida’s strategis cpas and consultants, has a big suggestion: “be more selective about which clients they take on. we are no longer taking on 1040s or tax-only work.”
an unnamed respondent, one who is hiring an additional accountant while “disengaging” some problem clients, offers a longer-term general solution that might be worth discussion.
“be vocal with profession leadership,” the respondent says, “to remove the 150-hour rule, which is clearly an impediment to students entering the profession.”
along those same lines, another says, “look for non-traditional sources to hire and train (i.e., non-accountants).”
giancarlo grassini, with the international accounting workforce firm sapro, suggests solving the shortage without new staff. he says, “ask staff to improve their processes so that they don’t need to spend significant time on repetitive tasks.”
among other solutions:
- use remote specialists.
- be more efficient to cut costs.
- release lower-level work.
- leverage technology.
- automate as much as possible.
- spend less time talking to crap clients.
- struggle.
joshua standley, with dkk accounting, has identified part of the problem and found a theoretical solution. his firm is “not charging high enough fees to hire staff.”
and ultimately, standley implies the only real, long-term solution: to increase fees dramatically, pay staff dramatically more and hope that college students will follow the money. the burden, ultimately, will have to fall on the businesses that pay those fees.