4 Top Client Concerns – A recent podcast from Ryan Lazanis at Future Firm shared that the four things your clients care about the most include:
Financial Gain – Typically, this can be achieved by increasing profits or reducing costs and taxes, which makes clients willing to pay premium prices for such outcomes.
Time Savings – Overwhelmed clients juggling multiple responsibilities are typically willing to pay for services that free up their time.
Risk Mitigation – Clients seeking to protect their assets and wealth value firms’ service offerings that help mitigate related risks.
Emotional Improvement – Clients desiring relief from the stress and anxiety associated with managing their finances value firms that can make their accounting or tax process simpler and easier to manage.
Entry-Level Staffing Tips – To help overcome this shortage of new accounting graduates, CPA firms can:
Diversify and Enrich Internships and Entry-Level Roles – By diversifying and enriching the nature of internships and entry-level roles, CPA firms can make positions more attractive to new graduates. This can involve incorporating more challenging or varied tasks or projects that allow new hires to see the impact of their work.
Process Improvement – Streamlining processes and using automation where appropriate can reduce the time entry-level hires need to spend performing menial work, which makes these roles more attractive to new graduates.
Increase Practitioner Involvement in Education – Someone from your firm could speak to accounting classes at local universities to explain the benefits of working for your firm specifically and the benefits of joining the accounting profession more broadly.
Shamrock Agility – The “shamrock organization” approach allows CPA firms to be more agile in adapting to changing market conditions by having a flexible approach to staffing. It is comprised of the following three parts:
Core Staff – These are the full-time, permanent employees who form the central part of the organization and are responsible for its primary functions and operations.
Contractual Fringe – This part consists of individuals or organizations that are contracted on a flexible basis. They provide specialized services or perform specific tasks on a temporary or project basis.
Flexible Labor Force – This includes part-time, temporary, or freelance workers. They provide a flexible workforce that can be scaled up or down according to the organization’s changing needs.
Firm Survey Highlights – The 2023 NYSSCPA-Rosenberg Survey identified the following key trends:
The rise in outsourcing/offshoring/onshoring,
Client culling due to staff shortages,
Technological integration,
Hiring beyond accounting graduates,
Growth in advisory services, and
The increasing average age and gender mix of partners
Client Resource Hubs – A client resource hub on your website with FAQs, articles, and relevant links can reduce the number of inbound client questions your firm needs to address.
When it comes to informing clients about updates, accounting firms are increasingly moving away from email and are adopting client resource hubs instead.
These are web-based platforms that serve as 24/7 central information repositories including FAQs, articles, and relevant links.
Benefits include:
Reduced staff workload through a reduction in individual client questions and
Increased client clarity regarding your offerings
“By providing a resource that clients can engage with at their own pace, accounting firms are utilizing resource hubs to foster stronger, better-informed client relationships.”
Recent research from the San Francisco Federal Reserve that measured changes in productivity during the pandemic indicates that remote work has a negligible impact on productivity.
The 2023 NYSSCPA-Rosenberg Survey provides insights into the challenges and trends faced by CPA firms, including economic pressures, staffing shortages, technology challenges, and competition.
The survey highlights the firms’ increased profitability and growth in 2022, with revenue up by 11.4% and income per partner by 11.8%.
Key trends identified include:
The rise in outsourcing/offshoring/onshoring,
Client culling due to staff shortages,
Technological integration,
Hiring beyond accounting graduates,
Growth in advisory services, and
The increasing average age and gender mix of partners
The survey also discusses:
The importance of leverage (staff-to-partner ratio) for profitability,
The impact of busy season on income per partner,
The nuances of mandatory partner retirement, and
Tends in audit work, partner buyouts, and client retention
CPA firm leaders can address the talent shortage through:
Adopting a holistic approach to talent management that considers the broad impact of each talent decision.
Embracing flexible work and nontraditional staffing models, such as the “shamrock organization” model, can attract and retain talent.
Accelerating strategic investments in advanced technology, such as AI, to improve efficiency and overcome staffing gaps.
Effectively managing a multigenerational workforce by understanding and addressing their diverse needs.
The “shamrock organization” model allows organizations to be more agile in adapting to changing market conditions by having a flexible approach to staffing. It is comprised of three parts:
Core Staff – These are the full-time, permanent employees who form the central part of the organization and are responsible for its primary functions and operations.
Contractual Fringe – This part consists of individuals or organizations that are contracted on a flexible basis. They provide specialized services or perform specific tasks on a temporary or project basis.
Flexible Labor Force – This includes part-time, temporary, or freelance workers. They provide a flexible workforce that can be scaled up or down according to the organization’s changing needs.
The four things your clients care about the most include:
Financial Gain – Typically, this can be achieved by increasing profits or reducing costs and taxes, which makes clients willing to pay premium prices for such outcomes.
Time Savings – Overwhelmed clients juggling multiple responsibilities are typically willing to pay for services that free up their time.
Risk Mitigation – Clients seeking to protect their assets and wealth value firms’ service offerings that help mitigate related risks.
Emotional Improvement – Clients desiring relief from the stress and anxiety associated with managing their finances value firms that can make their accounting or tax process simpler and easier to manage.
Firms that fail to position themselves effectively in these areas may end up competing for lower-quality clients that are only willing to pay relatively low prices.
Within the next two years, EY plans to increase its Global Delivery Services (GDS) workforce in Manila by 50% to 7,500 employees, up from 5,000 at the end of 2023.
EY is also growing its cybersecurity operations in Cebu to help meet the increased demand for cybersecurity expertise due to recent data breaches in the Philippines.
Between 2016 and 2022, the number of new graduates from undergraduate accounting programs in the U.S. declined by 18.3%.
To help overcome this shortage of new accounting graduates, CPA firms can:
Diversify and Enrich Internships and Entry-Level Roles – By diversifying and enriching the nature of internships and entry-level roles, CPA firms can make positions more attractive to new graduates. This can involve incorporating more challenging or varied tasks or projects that allow new hires to see the impact of their work.
Process Improvement – Streamlining processes and using automation where appropriate can reduce the time entry-level hires need to spend performing menial work, which makes these roles more attractive to new graduates.
Increase Practitioner Involvement in Education – Someone from your firm could speak to accounting classes at local universities to explain the benefits of working for your firm specifically and the benefits of joining the accounting profession more broadly.
Experts in tax, accounting, law, and technology believe the partnership between generative AI systems and experienced tax professionals can mitigate the CPA shortfall and drive the industry toward enhanced efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and flexibility.
Benjamin Alarie, a law professor at the University of Toronto and founder of Blue J, a legal technology company utilizing AI in tax research, believes AI can significantly boost the productivity of accountants and enhance the value they provide their clients. However, he emphasizes that AI cannot substitute human intuition and the skill of asking perceptive questions.
The staffing crisis is the primary strategic issue for many CPA firms.
Matt Rampe at Rosenberg & Associates stated, “many partners are struggling with how to manage staff who are putting in fewer hours, who may not be as productive remotely, and who tend to prioritize their personal lives over work.”
The decline in workplace ambition, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, reflects a broader shift in work preferences post-pandemic.
Some strategies to improve staff performance include:
Clear communication of expectations,
Provision of necessary tools and knowledge, and
Fostering a safe environment for honest discussions
Also, performance improvement plans (PIPs) may be necessary for those who still underperform.
