We know how difficult it can be for smaller firms to retain key senior staff. Staff who are ready to enter junior management roles tend to move to larger organizations. After making significant investments of time and money into these individuals small firms tend to lose them right at the point when they could start taking workload off the partners and really contributing to the growth and profitability of the firm. Although there is no one solution to these issues there are a lot of ways to better support staff who wish to stay in public practice.
In managing our own CPA firm and working with hundreds of other CPA firms across western Canada we find the following are significant factors that lead to poor senior staff retention at smaller firms:
Smaller firms lack the resources to develop and deliver the soft skills training that junior managers require. As part of their transition from file preparers to file reviewers these individuals need to know how to manage and communicate with clients and staff members. Time management skills become essential with the increased demands.
In order to be competitive in the CPA student market small firms must invest in their young employees by assisting them through the CPA School of Business. Achieving the CPA designation is a milestone event in a young professional accountant’s career but it is just the beginning. Once they have successfully completed the CPA program the best young accountants are looking for more. Large firms provide staff with additional training programs to coach them throughout their career but this is something most small and even mid-sized firms lack.
We have seen many young CPAs come and go throughout our careers. We find that one of the principal causes is not that the work-load is too demanding but that the stress-load is unbearable. Employees want to do a good job and often spent a considerable amount of energy worrying about the quality of their work. Lack of continued development of technical skills, as well as a lack of focus on the key metrics in the business of public practice,can be a primary cause of this stress. Small firms need to continue to invest in the technical skills of their CPA staff to ensure that they have the confidence to take on increasingly complex work.
If you are not regularly discussing your employee’s future with them then they are likely having these conversations with others, perhaps your competitors. Think of the trajectory of a young CPAs career in steps, it is very clearly laid out for them. An example could be as follows: Step 1 – Get into business school, Step 2 – Obtain business degree with all of the required accounting pre-requisite courses, Step 3 – Secure employment with a CPA firm with a pre-approved training program, Step 4 – Enroll in the CPA program, Step 5 – Successfully complete the CFE and obtain CPA designation. As you can see these individuals have gone through almost a decade in an extremely structured and predictable process. Once they get their CPA designation, then what? If you don’t have an answer to that question then you might not have that employee for much longer!
Launching into our Second year of the Manager Coaching Program
We developed the Manager Coaching Program to help firms invest in and empower their senior staff to grow both in their careers and within their current organization. Enrollment in Year 1 of our program “From Doer to Reviewer” or Year 2 “Behind the File Work” is now open.
Download our brochure to learn more about the Manager Coaching Program. Still have questions? Consult our frequently asked question page for more information.
A multi-year educational, coaching and networking program for new managers in small to mid-sized public practice firms. The Manager Coaching Program can help take a new CPAs career in public practice to the next level.
Improve staff retention by developing your employee’s post CPA qualification skills. Obtain the benefits of leveraging trained managers in your firm.
