In evolutionary theory, species evolve through multiple generations, so if there is no new generation, there is no change and growth. The current staffing crunch and the imminent retirement of the Baby Boomers represent significant challenges to the accounting profession's ability to change and grow. We asked the Top 100 Most Influential People how to handle them, both now and for the future.
ADAPTATION TODAY
Association for Accounting Marketing president Neil Fauerbach offered a simple solution to the current staff woes: "Pay them well and they will come."
Advertisement
But surprisingly few of the Top 100 were ready to start handing out cash; instead, they offered up a range of best practice strategies.
* Keep who you've got. "Retention is as important as attraction," noted tech guru L. Gary Boomer. Work/life balance in all its guises was the battle-cry here. BDO Seidman CEO Jack Weisbaum noted that flex programs and women's initiatives had "greatly reduced turnover" at his firm. Besides flexibility, though, firms need to offer more certainty: "Better-defined career ladders for the younger generation of CPAs, which will move them upward in the firm at a quicker pace, are imperative," said Brady Ware shareholder Rita Keller. Also, "We need to resist the temptation to work to death those we do have," said AICPA vice president Tom Ochsenschlager.
* Leverage technology. By implementing the latest and best technology, "Firms can do more with less staff," said CPA2Biz CEO Erik Asgeirsson. Better still, "Technology can also alleviate the exodus of women in the profession at top levels," said Thomson Tax & Accounting vice president Teresa Mackintosh, since remote access can make it easier to balance work and family.
* Find alternatives. Women were a major part of another solution that cropped up frequently: finding alternatives to the full-time staffer. "Women make up 60 percent of accounting graduates, yet 15 percent of partners," said consultant Gale Crosley, and firms need to attract and keep them with part-time work and alternative partner tracks.
Besides courting women, firms need to "redesign work assignments to provide flexibility and incentives for Baby Boomers to transition gradually into retirement," according to FASB Chairman Robert Attmore.
* Go global. Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting CEO Kevin Robert suggested accountants look for "viable candidates within some of the industries they currently serve," while others, like NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson, want to go even further abroad to "expand the recruitment of qualified accounting professionals in other global locations."
* Change the work. If your firm finds itself with too much work and not enough staff, "Start outsourcing a significant percentage of your 1040s," said practice management expert Marc Rosenberg. In addition to sending work of all kinds abroad and taking low-skill or administrative work out of the hands of highly skilled professionals, "A short-term solution would be to cull unprofitable clients," said firm advisor August Aquila. "Firms would have less work, but do more profitable work."
