Industry Insights

The Staffing Strategies report from the Center for Accounting Transformation highlights key challenges and solutions in closing talent gaps within accounting firms. While many firms acknowledge burnout due to high workloads, they also believe they maintain strong team collegiality. To address staffing shortages, firms commonly rely on hiring, offshoring, demand management, and technology.

This blog discusses best practices for hiring university and college graduates, particularly in accounting and bookkeeping. Since graduates often lack extensive work experience, employers must assess their potential through testing.

The blog emphasizes the importance of testing and assessment in hiring decisions, particularly for support-level roles that are often overlooked despite their significant impact on business operations. While businesses commonly invest in assessments for middle-level roles (e.g., managers, accountants), and sometimes neglect higher-level roles due to overreliance on track records, they rarely assess support staff, citing cost concerns.

The blog discusses the benefits of using testing as part of the hiring process for accounting firms, addressing concerns that candidates might be deterred by the idea of testing. Firms often worry that tests may drive away good candidates, but those that do use testing report improved candidate engagement and more focused discussions.

The blog discusses the importance of succession planning and developing future leaders in accounting firms, particularly guiding aspiring staff into senior management or partnership roles. It emphasizes that career development is a long-term process that requires careful planning and measurement.

A typical hiring process that incorporates AI tools like ChatGPT for drafting job descriptions and refining resumes and cover letters. The process begins with the creation of a job description, followed by advertising the job and receiving applications, some of which are enhanced by AI. This leads to variable quality in applications.

From TikTok to non-profit organizations, Gen Zers opt for a wide range of career paths, marked by flexibility and creativity. However, it seems tha...

In the race to attract top accounting talent, recruiters top the list as the preferred choice, closely followed by networking and social media. Discover key strategies to streamline your hiring process, from highlighting your firm's unique perks to maintaining a positive online presence.

An accounting graduate, transparent about their lack of experience, faces overwhelming tasks and no support in a residential remodeling company. This illustrates the repercussions of inadequate hiring practices and the necessity for comprehensive onboarding and training programs to prevent stress on employees and risks to business integrity.

Explore the advantages of incorporating pre-employment assessments in accounting and bookkeeping firms' hiring practices. Research indicates that candidates who perform well in assessments are more inclined to complete them, enabling firms to pinpoint high-quality applicants efficiently, thus enhancing the hiring process.

Navigating salary negotiations with accounting candidates demands careful strategy. It's crucial to strike a balance between offering competitive compensation and adhering to budget constraints. By emphasizing factors like market rates, transparency, growth opportunities, and company culture, employers can manage negotiations effectively and secure top talent.

Recent studies have actually put the financial cost of a bad hire in third place for its negative impact on an accounting businesses, behind lower morale and reduced productivity. “Stanley” was recently hired by an accounting firm in Los Angeles. His resume showed the experience he’d had with a reputable medium sized firm in a staff accountant role. He was personable and confident at interview, and was hired. The cracks showed within days...