Sharing our perspective on the latest trends impacting talent acquisition in the accounting industry.
Market Trends: Professional Growth Becoming More Important to Candidates; Can Employers Deliver?
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More Candidates are Prioritizing Upside
- What are candidates looking for in a new position? Recently, the most common candidate answers have been “a fully remote position” and “work/life balance.”
- Over the last few months, though, an increasing number of candidates have prioritized “career advancement”, “higher level work”, and “opportunities to mentor and manage staff.”
- Go-Getters = An Opportunity AND a Challenge for Employers
- Candidates hungry to move up the ladder are often high performers, BUT retention can be challenging. They aren’t likely to stick around if advancement opportunities don’t materialize in short order.
- It’s also important to carefully evaluate culture fit. We’ve seen several high-performing, growth-oriented candidates leave employers because the company/firm wasn’t sufficiently organized or well-run (in the candidate’s opinion).
- So, be sure to have a plan in place before hiring an advancement-oriented candidate. You will likely get a high-performer, but they’ll likely also have high expectations of YOU. Be prepared!
Salary News: Starting Salaries for Recent Hires by Accountingfly Clients
Here’s a snapshot of recent hires by Accountingfly clients. Let us know if you want more data or details on market-rate salaries!
- Remote Senior Accountant
- CPA in process
- 3 years in public accounting
- Hired at $75K
- Remote Client Relationship Manager
- Heavy business tax experience
- 3 years in public accounting
- Hired at $70K
- Remote Accountant/Tax
- EA
- 10 years in public accounting
- Hired at $80K
- Remote Senior Accountant
- CPA
- 5 years in public accounting
- Hired at $102K
- Remote Tax Reviewer
- 20+ years of tax experience
- Complex business return prep experience
- Hired at $115K
Meta-Trends to Watch: Staffing Shortage Math; What Gen Z Accountants Want vs. What Employers Offer
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Back of the Napkin Staffing Shortage Math
- There are currently ~1.5 million accounting jobs in the US. (2022; US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- The USBL projects about 126,500 job openings for accountants and auditors each year for the next decade with “many of those openings… expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force.”
- But only 47,000 new accounting grads per year enter the market. (Journal of Accountancy)
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The Gap Between What Gen Z Accountants Want and What Employers Are Selling
- 46% of accounting students say a top motivation in pursuing an accounting career is “career stability and comfortable lifestyle”.
- 75%+ ALSO want to participate in community engagement, have a positive impact on environmental/social/governance issues, and work in a diverse team/work environment.
- But… less than 40% of accounting executives are promoting community engagement, etc., as a selling point to attract employees. (all data from EY Survey)
Working with Accountingfly
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