At The Access Group, we work with accounting practices every day, providing smart and scalable accounting practice management software that grows with their firm. Working with firms every day means we hear of recruitment challenges firsthand. Accounting professionals are leaving jobs in record numbers or starting their own accounting practice in search of greater autonomy, and there is a shrinking pool of qualified accountants in Australia and New Zealand.
In this article, we address how to get in front of the talent you need in this difficult era of recruitment by adopting a talent acquisition strategy for your accounting firm. After reading this, you’ll have tips to help reframe your approach to retaining and hiring an accountant in your practice.
What is talent acquisition and why is it important?
Talent acquisition is a strategic approach for successfully attracting, onboarding and retaining accountant job talent. The aim of a talent acquisition strategy is to bring the right accounting job candidates through the door to eliminate the talent crunch.
An accounting practice is only as successful as the people it attracts – so talent acquisition is fundamental to the success of the firm and it's organisational structure. Talent acquisition considers the bigger picture, such as accounting practice values and long-term firm strategy, to identify and acquire the right people.
For talent acquisition to add true value, it needs to be considered in the context of the whole employee lifecycle. For example, employees that experience an engaging and fulfilling culture from the start of their journey with your accounting firm are more likely to stay, contributing towards higher productivity, reduced attrition and improved retention. Reports have shown that focus on onboarding retain 50% more new employees than those that do not, demonstrating just how important it is to provide the tools accounting talent need to do their job well from the start.
By 2025, it is predicted that millennials will represent 75% of the working population, which means that the expectations of employers have and will continue to change. There is now a strive for better work-life balance for Gen Z and millennial accountants, so being able to offer flexible options will attract the most suitable candidates and keep them developing within their roles.
With the growing competition for talent, it is unsurprising that many accounting practices are choosing to structure their talent acquisition strategies around flexible skills when advertising for new accounting roles, helping them build a more adaptable, agile and future-ready accounting workforce. In fact, 59% of HR leaders prioritise building critical skills and competencies.
What is the difference between talent acquisition and recruitment?
Talent acquisition is about finding the right talent to meet your accounting practice’s needs, deliver objectives and take accounting firms to the next level. Talent acquisition is a more holistic, longer-term strategy designed to bring the most suitable people on board and build the workforce of the future.
Common elements of talent acquisition include:
- Employer branding,
- Diversity and inclusion,
- Accountant job candidate and employee experience, and
- Key performance indicators and metrics.
Recruitment is more focused on active hiring to fill open positions. It tends to involve activities such as creating job descriptions, advertising roles, and conducting outreach to get in front of suitable candidates.
Managing talent effectively is often made easier with defined strategies and tools that can help to automate often lengthy and complex tasks and ensure that talent acquisition and recruitment processes are aligned.
For ideas on alternative accounting staff hiring solutions for your accounting profession, be sure to check out our guide: Accounting outsourcing vs. Hiring an accountant: what does your practice truly need?
The landscape of work for Australian accountants
Hiring an accountant in-house has been the most significant ongoing challenge for accounting practices in Australia over the past few years.
“Demand is currently very high for accounting professionals. It is the most competitive the market has been in years,” says Kate Peasley, National Marketing Manager from Sharp & Carter, who are accountant recruiting specialists sourcing outstanding roles for all levels. “There is a shortage of skilled accounting professionals in Australia and candidates are spoiled for choice in picking and choosing roles.”
Jason Crimmins, APAC Business Manager for The Access Group agrees. "Having worked in the recruitment industry for over 17 years and now leading our recruitment team at The Access Group, in my experience, there has never been a more challenging time for accounting practices looking to attract and hire an accountant.”
There are several factors influencing current accounting recruiting challenges, including:
- Unemployment rates in Australia have been trending lower since the downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A highly competitive market – an over saturation of roles compared to the amount of accounting job applications.
- Rising inflation and cost of living affecting candidates’ salary expectations.
- Visa changes and a shortage of skilled accounting professional migrants.
- An increasing demand in flexible working arrangements, including working from home.
- A lack of accounting tools and technology to retain top accounting candidates, such as accounting practice management software.
- The reluctance for accounting practices to hire inexperienced but educated candidates.
Additionally, recent workplace developments directly impact accounting recruiting and retention.
1. The Great Resignation
‘The Great Resignation’ is a term coined during the COVID-19 pandemic by organisational psychologist Anthony Klotz during an interview with Bloomberg.
The basis of Klotz’s discussion was the record number of employees resigning from their jobs, due to an evaluation of their work-life balance and why they work. The great resignation has been gradual in Australia, with a shifting attitude toward work, life, and careers. The push for change has come with COVID-19, as employees have become more self-serving, making it easier for employees to take the opportunity to review, reset and move.
A recent survey by CPA Australia highlighted the significance of The Great Resignation in the accounting profession. The survey showed more than 70 per cent of accountants were either looking for or thinking about exploring a new job opportunity. With more accountants looking to move on, or start their own accounting practices, this poses both an issue for talent attraction, and retention.
The pressure is on accounting practices to deliver talent acquisition strategies that focus on retaining existing talent. Pay could be reviewed against benchmarks, but it is important for accounting firms to think more holistically about their total employment offering. Non-financial incentives such as offering flexible work arrangements, and how you develop employees internally will all accommodate the desire for job fulfilment and reduce employee turnover.
2. Quiet quitting
Another potential challenge for accounting firms is ‘quiet quitting,’ in which employees 'disengage' from their work. Having employees who perform at the bare minimum has serious implications for an accounting firm’s growth, profitability, brand, and reputation. Gallup State of the Global Workplace study reported that disengaged employees cost the economy $7.8 trillion.
Reasons for accountants quiet quitting their roles include:
- Long working hours,
- Repetitive accounting work,
- A lack of recognition for efforts, and
- Workloads that are unmanageable.
A recent survey by McKinsey estimated that 11 per cent of Australian employees are experiencing very high-degree employee burnout, which leads to employees feeling resentful about being expected ‘to go the extra mile’ and in fact, they are now simply doing the job they are paid to do.
A survey conducted by Gallup found that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement. By investing in the leadership skills of their managers and giving employees autonomy over how, when, and where they work, accounting practices can address quiet quitting.
Additionally, obtaining regular feedback from your accounting firm employees to gauge employee sentiment and building a culture of feedback and recognition is going to help employees to feel valued and heard, leading to a happier and healthier accounting practice workforce.
Read our article, avoiding employee burnout for accounting firms, for more information on improving employee wellbeing and reducing the chance of quiet quitting.
3. Digital skills gaps
According to a report by CPA Australia, technological innovations, such as the Internet of things, smart sensors, cloud computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence in accounting, have the potential to turn the accounting profession on its head.
The accounting firm of the future will need to employ digital-first accountants, and digital skills are just as imperative to accounting firms right now. A report by ACCA, recently uncovered that 89% of accountants think digital skills are necessary to their industry.
But whilst digital-first accountants are in high demand, there is still a talent shortage, with a lack of digitally skilled candidates for the increasingly digital-first roles being recruited for. Those with digital skills are more often snapped up quickly, meaning candidates in Australia must consider upskilling or reskilling to meet the needs of a changing environment.
For more details on why digital transformation is vital for accountants, read our blog: embracing the digital workplace in your accounting practice.
4. Generational expectations and challenges
One of the biggest challenges in hiring employees comes from the failure of accounting practices to fully understand the expectations held by different generations of accounting job applicants.
By 2025, millennials are forecast to represent 75% of the working population. Generally born in the 80s, millennials will have grown up during a period of rapid technological advancement, having what could be described as an ‘analogue childhood and a digital adulthood’.
While Gen Z accountants, born in the 90s, will be digital natives. More traditional recruitment approaches just will not cut it for these tech-savvy, switched-on digital generations. According to Deloitte although salary is still the most crucial factor when choosing a job, gen Z values salary less than the other generations, “If given the choice of accepting a better-paying but boring job versus work that was more interesting but didn’t pay as well, Gen Z was fairly evenly split over the choice.”
In addition, Generation X accountants – born in the ‘70s – were the first to have widespread access to the internet and mobile phones and therefore not usually afraid of using accounting practice management software, and other tools and software for accountants. Your firm’s approach to accounting practice software should be a big consideration in your talent acquisition strategy.
For more on hiring the next generation of digital-first accountants, read our guide: How to recruit Generation Z accountants for your practice.
How to build an effective accounting practice talent acquisition strategy
A successful talent acquisition strategy is particularly important in today’s highly competitive job market. This is why we have put together a list of key steps involved in some of the best talent acquisition strategies.
Top strategies to hire the best accountants
Getting talent acquisition right will vary between accounting firms which is why it is important to consider your objectives first, and tailor your approach accordingly.
Some common processes involved in successful talent acquisition strategies for accounting firms include:
1. Implement effective employer branding and review your firm reputation
Research suggests that organisations, including accounting firms that implement an effective employer brand have been able to cut their cost-per-hire in half and attract more than three times as many applicants per vacancy.
Whilst salary may be a major factor for most, there are many other considerations candidates for accounting jobs will have:
- Aligned values. According to a Deloitte Millennial Survey, “millennials and Gen Zs, in general, will patronise and support companies that align with their values. Younger generations are putting their money where their mouths are when it comes to supporting businesses that make a positive impact on society. Many say they will not hesitate to lessen or end a consumer relationship when they disagree with a company’s business practices, values or political leanings.”
- New talent will likely value transparency and authenticity so let them see some of your people enjoying what they do. You could demonstrate your practice’s workplace culture across your social channels – from behind-the-scenes footage of your firm on Snapchat and Twitter to photos of your working environment and events on Facebook to employee quotes and interviews with existing employees on LinkedIn. For more on this topic, check out our guide on marketing for accountants.
- The recruitment experience: a branded recruitment portal is a terrific way to improve the accountant job candidate experience from the first touchpoint with your accounting practice, enabling potential employees to see a window into your firm, and get an idea of culture.
- Employees as advocates. Once candidates become employees, they will expect to live the brand they experienced during the accounting staff hiring process, so it must closely align with your true workplace culture and employee experience. When it does, your new hires will become engaged and passionate members of your accounting team and the best advocates of your accounting firm, helping you acquire more talent.
Think about what kind of culture you have to offer to attract talent, and how you can develop and communicate this externally to form the foundation of your firm’s talent acquisition strategy.
2. Prioritise a digital-first approach to hiring an accountant
Accounting job candidates today can interact with your firm in so many ways. Each of these interactions provides a unique opportunity to personally engage with an accounting job candidate who could become one of your future leaders.
Millennials and Gen Z candidates are used to getting information as and when they want it, and you should be able to offer this right through your employee lifecycle – from recruiting to employee development and beyond.
Think about the following digital considerations for your accounting job candidates:
- Candidates research employers before applying for accounting jobs - Websites like Seek (which allows employees to anonymously review their own workplace) may form part of this research so it is worth checking out whether your existing employees have contributed and what they might say to a new candidate about your employee satisfaction rates.
- Accounting firms hiring can advertise via social networks - Social networks are one of the most powerful ways of attracting and acquiring talent, with the ability for accounting firms hiring to design targeted ads for your ideal accounting job candidates and as a way for potential talent to get an idea of your accounting firm’s brand and your values.
- Pre-employment screening - Automated pre-employment screening ensures secure verification of candidate credentials and background checks, making this process quicker and easier too. Pre-employment screenings can help firms remain compliant, whilst speeding up the process to hire an accountant.
- A slick onboarding process - HR interactions should be slick and efficient throughout the onboarding phase too, as studies have shown that focusing on onboarding can help companies retain 50% more new employees than those that don’t.
Digitally connected employees can be the secret weapon in talent acquisition. Everyone wants to work for an accounting firm where morale is high, employees are happy, and satisfaction is positive. Accounting practices need to truly embrace technology when looking to attract and acquire talent. This is not limited to the recruitment and onboarding processes; it also includes leveraging accounting practice software to track and measure employee productivity, create automated workflows, and understand your employee data to make data driven decisions.
3. Consider the generational expectations of hiring accountants
As explored above, it is important that accounting firms are adopting a talent acquisition strategy that caters to the expectations held by different generations of accounting job applicants. Whether your talent pool is typically Gen Z, Millennials (Gen Y) or Gen X, your strategies for attracting and hiring an accountant could potentially be different.
Most millennials and Gen Z accounting candidates will aspire to a better work-life balance and tend to see gig-economy flexibility combined with traditional employee stability as a positive mix. Gen X, known for their entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic, will also be engaging in the debate on how to achieve a positive work-life balance, so firms with the ability to accommodate flexibility will fair best in attracting and retaining talent across all generations.
As the generation most likely to switch jobs, and be on the lookout for new opportunities, millennial accountants aren’t likely to be tied to the same job for long if they’re not satisfied or they feel underappreciated so the types of incentives you offer, along with your accounting firm’s employee engagement tools, workplace wellbeing strategies and employee development opportunities will need to be communicated from the outset during accounting staff hiring process, and available throughout the employee lifecycle to support retention for your firm.
Gen X on the other hand is more likely to stay longer with an accounting firm. According to Indeed, a commonality of Generation X candidates is the value placed on autonomy, self-improvement, clarity, and flexibility. They are also more likely to use LinkedIn and Facebook to search for a job. Many accountants in this group will have accumulated a wealth of experience – with skills that go beyond what they use in their current role – and are more likely to be looking for management or leadership roles. Acknowledging the potential for these transferable skills can help recruiters craft the best recruitment ads to attract Gen X accountants.
4. Create career progression and development opportunities
Millennials have strong expectations when it comes to career progression, with a PWC report finding that millennials would rather choose to work for a company that can offer a route to rise through the ranks, over one paying an initially attractive wage. A Gallup survey highlighted that when millennials are not challenged, they become complacent, disengaged, and leave.
Building a culture that supports employees’ ability to move around within your accounting firm, along with digital tools to enable their growth as accountants, such as accounting practice management software, for example, will help support both talent acquisition and retention.
A mentoring programme is an ideal way to encourage skills transfer across generational groups and ensure important knowledge is retained within the accounting firm when individuals leave, helping to ensure succession plans are also built into your talent acquisition strategy.
Skilled accounting firm employees should be provided with opportunities to best utilise their continued professional development (CPD) points each year and progress their career, helping to embed an accounting firm culture that all employees can be inspired to work in. For more information on the ways accountants can maximise their continued learning and development, check out our article: the best free CPD resources for accountants.
In summary
Despite the recruitment challenges in the accounting profession that have been discussed in this article, a robust talent acquisition strategy is the surest way that your firm can attract and retain the best accounting job talent.
Remember that hiring an accountant for your practice is an ongoing process, which means continuously reviewing and refining your talent acquisition strategy to help your accounting firm adapt to changing needs in the accounting job market.
Your accounting firm should also consider ways to incorporate efficient and reliable accounting practice software that can help support your talent acquisition strategy by improving the retention of your accounting team members.
We have helped many firms implement accounting practice management software to deliver a better employee experience for accounting professionals in Australia and New Zealand. Talk to one of our specialists today to see what will work best for your accounting practice.