Accounting firms advised to look beyond traditional talent for new hires

Recent MYOB research indicated that seven in 10 (72 per cent) of accounting professionals felt that there was a talent shortage in the sector, with CA ANZ last year finding that taxation accountants were at the highest risk of a talent shortage, estimating a 6,000-accountant shortfall by 2030. Demand for accountants, auditors, and finance roles is also forecast to rise by approximately 28,000 roles by 2029.

With the talent shortage discussed in the industry for the last 30 years, firms have employed various strategies to hire and grow their businesses, such as offshoring; however, this comes with potential risks, Scott said.

“While some firms have found success with this approach, results tend to vary. Quality control is a common challenge with outsourcing, and we found it wasn't the right fit for our firm. It's also worth noting that as AI continues to develop and automates many graduate and junior-level tasks, outsourcing may become a less attractive option for firms,” he added. 

“Next is offering flexible working arrangements. There is a whole untapped market of professionals, for example, those returning to work or raising children, who bring excellent accounting skills and experience.” 

“Remote and hybrid working has normalised flexibility across the profession, and firms that embrace this have access to a wider talent pool.”

For Scott, the most important skills that firms should look for are soft skills, including the ability to “confidently communicate to clients and prove to them that you understand their business and their goals”.

“Once the right person proves themselves to be a good cultural and operational fit, they can always commence further study,” he said.

Scott added that these non-accounting talents could be upskilled through CPA and CA ANZ bridging courses, but needed a strong base of soft skills.

“Can you pick up the phone and explain a tax concept simply to one of our clients? When sending a document or presentation, do you think about how the other person will consume the information and respond? Can you solve a problem independently and report back?”

“If you go to the UK or Ireland, the Big Four firms almost never hire from purely accounting backgrounds. Australia can learn from this approach that there is a very deep talent pool of professionals with transferable skills that are well placed to move into the profession,”

“As AI starts to replace the repetitive, button-pushing tasks, the job of accounting professionals should hopefully become more interesting.”