As corporate accountants complete and power through year-end closes and annual reporting, FP&A teams make sense of the numbers and guide future plans, and CPA firms gear up for audit & tax season, the accounting profession faces a more structural challenge this winter – projections of 120,000+ openings/yr in accounting and audit + fewer new CPAs entering the field = a worsening talent shortage. Declining student enrollment, shifting expectations around flexibility and work-life balance, and higher retirement rates have left teams understaffed and stretched too thin. Relaxing the 150-hour CPA requirement as many states have will help, but how much?
Retirement rate trends grab your attention—20% of CPA firms expect over 50% of their staff to retire in three years, and the AICPA projects 75% of the profession will retire within 15 years—far outpacing new entrants.
Given my 19 years in public and private accounting – half spent managing small and large teams as a hiring manager, coupled with 15 years sourcing and qualifying talent for open Accounting, FP&A / Finance and Legal roles for my clients, I can attest that roles are open longer, causing workloads to intensify, close cycles to slow, and burnout risks to rise. A skills gap also exists, as hiring managers generally want and need experienced, tech-savvy accountants, but many early-career professionals lack hands-on experience.
Dollars do matter but raising salaries and bonuses isn’t enough. Automating manual tasks can be effective but technology alone won’t solve the shortage. In this market, dollars and automation must be paired with smarter hiring and retention strategies that also align with candidate wants: up-to-date pay benchmarks, flexible schedules, remote options, hiring for potential and transferable skills, investment in training, reasonably clear career paths, effective systems and processes to help avoid double-work, and leveraging consultants / contractors to cover peak periods and departures, prioritizing retention over rushed hiring – losing experienced staff is more disruptive than waiting for the right new hire.
With capable hands on all these levers, and the right investment of resources and effort, financial stewards can attract and retain strong teams and accomplish more with less.
For more information, contact:
David Rivard – Director of Recruiting
Office Direct: 631-498-5774 | Cell: 631-745-8455
