bolstering reports of a suddenly surging profession with a high demand for top talent, a new survey of colleges and firms by the aicpa shows that cpa firms are hiring a record number of graduates.
at the same time, the pipeline of accounting students is bulging, suggesting to some that the continuing high demand for new recruits can be met by newly minted graduates for the next few years.
this will come as good news to firms facing growing new-business opportunities, tougher competition and a growing need for entry-level staff.
it does not, however, help alleviate the catastrophic stall in growth dating back to the 1990s with the spread of the so-called 150-hour rule that has left the profession with a gaping hole in its succession and business continuity strategies. the profession, already facing a succession crisis due to the aging-out of the baby boomers, now finds itself with a dearth of 40- and 50-something senior managers and junior partners to take over management and control – a fact that a record supply of new graduates won’t correct for 10 or 20 years, if ever.
the good news for hiring: pipeline fills with huge supply of talent.
a leading measure of overall confidence among u.s. finance and accounting workers, rose 5.4 points to 55.8 in 4q 2012 — ending a two-quarter decline, according to new data reported by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.
the new survey finds growing confidence in job availability and in workers’ personal employment situations, despite continued tepid sentiment in the strength of the economy.
but many cpa firms appear to be missing out on the recovery.
by rick telberg 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the nation’s tax and accounting industry appears to have re-started expansion with new hiring in january, after a two-month pause at the end of 2012 in november and december, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research. but the gains appear to be concentrated in non-cpa-owned offices.
analysts are attributing the 2012 year-end economic stall to two major storms which slowed economic activity: one, hurricane sandy, and, the other, congress, which has been gridlocked under a bubble of hot air.
survey of college professors provides clues for successful recruiting.
internships and social networks speak loudest when new college accounting graduates weigh their first jobs offers, according to a new public accounting report survey obtained by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.
the study ranks the relative importance of factors to students when choosing a job offer, including:
access to latest technology
compensation and benefits
desirable location or geographic base
long-term career opportunities
technical reputation
the firm’s long-term business outlook
the firm’s quality of life in terms of an employee-friendly environment
whether the offer is from a big four firm
workplace diversity
and the survey reveals the companies and cpa firms soon-to-be graduates are hoping to join:
a company in private industry
any big four firm
any top 25 firm
a local firm
bkd
deloitte
e&y
grant thornton
kpmg
pwc
the survey also shows how many undergrads have actually worked in a public accounting firm before graduation, and the top 10 corporations would recommend as employers. but the most closely followed part of the survey are the rankings of the top 25 undergraduate accounting programs.
the responses are tabulated in the following charts with analysis by the survey’s author:
accounting and bookkeeping services, via www.g005e.com
by rick telberg
the u.s. accounting and bookkeeping sector of the economy added 3,500 new jobs in august bringing the full-time workforce in the industry to 955,000, a new all-time record high for the month, according to preliminary new data obtained by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间.
marks 16 months annualized expansion. but cpa firms are a different story.
accounting and bookkeeping services, all employees in thousands, thru july 2012
the accounting and bookkeeping industry, which includes cpa firms and payroll agencies, added a statistically meaningless 500 jobs in july, according to new data sourced by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. july ended with 953,200 fte’s, up from june’s 952,700.
but it’s in the year-over-year gains where the trend is more clear. and the story at cpa firms is much different.
if your staff recruiting effort is overlooking social media, then some of the best candidates may be overlooking you.
new college graduates are embracing social media as a job-search tool, according to a new study. approximately 41 percent of 2012 college graduates in the market for a job are using social media to help them land one.
marking the fourth consecutive month of decline, the bookkeeping and accounting industry contracted in june, shedding 4,200 full-time employees from may, ending at total employment of 954,800 workers and professionals, according to new data available to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间. still, june’s … continued
cpa firm decision-makers hammer out the best clues to identify partner-potential professionals and how best to recruit, develop and retain them at a strategy session in milwaukee.
hint: it’s not about how smart they are or hard they work.
by rick telberg
how do you spot the hidden rock stars on your staff?
and what do up-and-coming tax, accounting and finance professionals need to know to get ahead in today’s profession?
rick telberg leading the strategy session
these aren’t idle questions. many firms and individuals are struggling with these issues right now. but don’t take it from me. just listen to the decision-makers from a dozen firms i met with in a milwaukee hotel recently. the mission: learn how to deal with a looming new staff shortage. some took away solid action plans. “our firm,” said one, “is trying to develop our rock stars and this showed me we need to be doing more.” another said, “excellent! it gave us the details and the ‘how-to.’”
green team's top talent indicators notes
interestingly, the milwaukee group’s conclusions and recommendations closely parallel our related research findings. so we can be fairly certain that we’ve obtained some of the profession’s favorite strategies.
you could probably adapt one of our methods for your firm. in milwaukee, we divided the group into two teams, the green team and the blue team. after some preliminary coaching, each team hammered out a list of the top five talent indicators – the clues in an employee’s behaviors and attitudes that demonstrate the highest likelihood of the best roi for a firm’s time, energy, and money in training, coaching and mentoring. then the group filled several flip chart pages with their lists and hashed them out with each other. after identifying the key indicators, we moved on to identifying the best strategies for recruiting, grooming and retaining top talent.
blue team's top talent indicators notes
by far, the top predictive indicator across all firms is the trait, “they are always trying to improve.” it comes in a few flavors or variations. for instance, the green team at the milwaukee strategy meeting favored a passion for “continuous learning.” the blue team preferred, “they do ‘extra credit’ – things that the partners wouldn’t normally expect from someone at their level.” but they add up to the same thing.
the tax, accounting and bookkeeping services industry is cracking a new record high in persons employed full-time.
the nation’s economy as a whole added 115,000 new jobs in april pushing the unemployment down by one-tenth of one percentage point to 8.1%.
but employers in the tax, accounting, payroll, and bookkeeping industries added 2,000 new jobs last month, marking the ninth month in a row of growth for public practice, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 analysis. read more →
the tax and accounting industry is extending a two-year expansion by adding 2,500 new jobs in the latest month, according to 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research.
rebound in confidence after two quarters of decline. 
if your staff recruiting effort is overlooking social media, then some of the best candidates may be overlooking you.
