The National Pipeline Advisory Group released its Accounting Talent Solutions Draft Report, which includes results from its survey of students, accountants, CPAs, educators, and state-society members.
The report identified six recommendations for the accounting profession to address the ongoing talent shortage, which include the following:
Address Education Time and Cost – Consider competency-based licensure models to reduce education barriers
Tell a More Compelling Story – Focus on the positive aspects of the profession (e.g., helping clients) rather than on less glamorous data points (e.g., sometimes grueling hours)
Make Academics More Engaging – Transform introductory accounting courses to make the profession more appealing, and provide support for challenging coursework
Grow CPA Exam Candidate Support – Offer flexibility, simplify processes, and provide financial incentives
Prioritize Underrepresented Group Strategies – Expand programs, engage more with diverse campuses, and review materials for bias
Enhance the Employee Experience and Culture – Raise salaries, manage workloads, and clarify advancement opportunities
While clients typically value outcomes, accountants have historically anchored to a paradigm where effort expended equals value provided.
This has contributed to a disconnect between the value that clients and accountants place on services.
Therefore, it can be beneficial to avoid pricing your firm’s services based on effort (e.g., hours worked), which forces clients to focus on something they don’t value.
If you take this approach, avoid the obstacle of feeling guilty about charging what a service is worth if it took little effort for your firm to perform.
Some benefits of this approach include the following:
It can make it easier to get your clients to pay you what they owe you because they will see a greater connection between the value you provided through an outcome and the amount they need to pay you.
It allows for greater profitability because you would be paid a specific amount based on the outcome you provide even if you find a way to complete the work much more efficiently.
In response to the severe shortage of new recruits to the accounting profession in the U.S., the AICPA has dropped its opposition to reducing the amount of credit hours needed to obtain the CPA certification.
Recently an AICPA advisory group recommended a competency-based licensure model not tied to university credit hours.
The AICPA plans to recommend an alternative to the current CPA licensure requirements by this time next year.
In an effort to maintain adequate qualified staff to serve its clients, a Main-based accounting firm increased its rates by 20%-25% this year, and it expects similar increases next year.
