four areas ripe for change.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
five ugly facts your firm may need to deal with:
- seventy percent of cpas are at or near retirement age.
- the numbers of accounting graduates and cpa exam candidates are both dropping.
more: global trends show many dissatisfied cpas | more big firms shut their doors to new college grads | seven enticements to keep talent on board | employee retention is easier than attraction | let interns fix the staffing shortage? | disruptors: talent crisis? what talent crisis? | accountants’ advice: be careful, quick, creative … and lean | top performers lead in leverage, culling, outsourcing | firms culling clients as staffing woes persist | compensation’s up, but up enough to retain staff? | are accountants charging too little?
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- gen z (ages 20-30) is transforming the labor market with new values on workplace environment, compensation, benefits, leadership, dei policies, culture and corporate mission.
- the majority of current cpas have no interest in becoming partners.
- roughly half of current cpas might consider finding another firm, and almost 15 percent wouldn’t mind leaving the profession altogether.
no silver bullet
in other words, in the immediate future, your firm is going to dwindle to a skeletal crew. new hires will be hard to come by. current staff may well wander off.
according to a survey and report from the pennsylvania institute of cpas, there is no silver bullet for resolving these ugly facts. the necessary actions are so comprehensive and radical that they constitute a complete transformation of the accounting firm business model.
and it isn’t going to be easy.
to get started, the report recommends a careful examination of four areas:
- balancing pricing and billing with staffing and scheduling
- ownership and governance
- building a pentagon, not a pyramid
- investing in strategic planning
transforming the overarching business model requires transforming these four areas. the report suggests various ways.
transformation of pricing
move from hourly rates to value-based billing, subscription service or other nontraditional model.
transformation of staffing and scheduling
overscheduling the best staff, poorly planned engagements, unprepared clients and failing to proactively identify workload red flags are all “gasoline on a retention fire.” use software to help avoid these problems. let staff pick their clients and means of working with them. think about holistic team wellness.
transformation of ownership and governance
the partnership structure is becoming obsolete. consider nontraditional ownership to incentivize staff. consider private equity funding, employee stock ownership plans, early-career lower-investment partnership options and other ideas. consider moving to a modified corporate-style governance, with a ceo rather than a managing partner.
transformation from the pyramid firm to the pentagon firm
the obsolete pyramid: a few owners at the top, a greater number of managers under them, even more experienced staff supporting them and even more entry-level staff at the bottom.
given the difficulty of finding staff, picture a pentagon structure that goes from narrow to wide to narrow. a few owners at the top. below them, highly compensated non-equity experts. below them, but in fewer numbers, experienced staff and managers. at the bottom, in even fewer numbers, entry-level staff. the lower numbers at the bottom are beefed up by outsourced professionals on one side, more productive technology on the other.
transformation of strategic planning: doing the same as last year is no longer a sustainable strategy. partners need to look for and accept change. the firm and individuals may need to specialize in certain industries or service lines. models for compliance work may not be efficient for noncompliance work. rethink where to invest in changes.
the ugly facts of the present and immediate future don’t have to mean the demise of accounting firms. rather, they are a wakeup call for necessary changes. firms that can plan for the future rather than for the past are the firms that will thrive in the ongoing – and unfinished – cultural, social and economic upheaval.