One of the greatest challenges for accountancy firms and businesses in 2023 is recruiting and retaining talent in their teams. Like other industries, the accounting and financial landscape has been radically altered by the global pandemic, which precipitated changes in the workforce mentality. If you need help recruiting top accountancy and finance professionals, contact our team today.
In this article, we consider why it’s important to address talent shortages in the sector and suggest top tips for recruiting and retaining accountancy and financial professionals.
Why is it important to address the skill shortage of accounting and financial experts?
Accountants and financial experts are essential for businesses. They manage financial processes and reporting within companies and are often responsible for drawing up budgets and making financial predictions. There is a huge demand for accountants in every sector of the business world, and talent shortages in the sector threaten to impair business growth and compromise the integrity of businesses. Consider the following reasons why the talent gap is an urgent issue:
Compliance. Regulatory requirements and compliance have become more important today with the rise in incidences of fraud and money laundering. Without accountants, thorough auditing checks may be overlooked, leading to fraudulent activity.
Deadlines. Without professional accountants working for businesses, financial tax returns and filing deadlines can be missed, often leading to economic chaos and impacting company investments.
Tax Advice. Companies need up-to-date tax advice to manage risk without curbing innovation. New areas in finance have emerged, requiring financial controllers to advise on taxation and forward planning.
Trends. One of an accountant’s key roles is identifying financial trends to promote company growth. Without an accountant’s insight, businesses risk stagnating and not reaching their full potential.
Cryptocurrency. The rapidly growing cryptocurrency sector is an area that demands scrutiny and understanding. Businesses and investors need financial advice in this exciting sector to move forward.
Fintech. The rise of fintech demands finance professionals with a good knowledge of financial technology and cutting-edge applications to move forward. Accountants will play a key role in the development of fintech in the future.
8 Tips for Recruiting Accounting and Finance Talent
Companies must prioritise recruitment and develop ways of attracting new talent in a competitive arena. High salaries and appealing packages are essential, but there are other ways of attracting the right talent to your team. Understanding the hiring needs of your business and getting to know what the new generation of finance professionals want in the workplace are also key elements. Consider the tips below:
1. Digital Technology. Invest in training in up-to-date digital technology and provide training on how to implement it. Data-driven analytics and business intelligence software have become essential in accountancy teams as financial experts now take on a more advisory role. Recruits may lack the expertise to use the latest tech, but they will expect to have the opportunity to access the most cutting-edge tech to advance in the profession.
2. Company Culture. You need to ensure that your firm is an appealing and fulfilling place to attract people to work there. Companies with a positive company culture boast higher recruitment rates and better employee productivity. Use social media sites to raise brand awareness and reach out to potential candidates.
3. Career Page. Having an up-to-date career page helps attract candidates and lets your company share highlights and positive aspects of working in your company. It can be a great place to showcase teambuilding events and share any fundraising initiatives that your company has organised. Providing a salary guide on your career page is also a good way of showing interested candidates what you can offer them.
4. Social Listening. Data analytics can enable you to evaluate the success of your job listing on social media and help you to tweak your advertisement to target the right candidates. Responding to comments and input on your social media sites can also help you get to know what the new generation of candidates expects from a firm and how you can appeal to them.
5. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). DEI has been a goal in recruitment in recent years, and having a diverse team boosts company success and employee engagement. Use inclusive language in your job listing and advertise your position on platforms that more diverse candidates frequent. Embrace Neurodivergency in Business (NIB) and reach out to neurodiverse candidates who often bring excellent problem-solving skills and ideas to the workplace.
6. Older Experts. Focus on attracting older workers and retired financial professionals to your team. One of the effects of the pandemic was an increase in the retirement of accountants and financial experts. The digital transformation and shift in mentality meant more highly experienced workers left the profession earlier than planned. Consider targeting this demographic and offer upskilling opportunities or work in areas of the company where their expertise would be valuable.
7. Offer Flexible Working Opportunities. Accountancy professionals now expect the possibility of flexible working patterns for better work-life integration. Companies also need to ensure that hybrid and remote workers stay connected to their teams and places of work. They need to foster team spirit and organise team events to include all workers. They also need to provide equal opportunities to workers both at home and in the office.
8. Show how your company has invested in Learning and Development. Most employees consider career progression an important factor in their job today. Investing in training and upskilling and including the opportunities your company offers in your job description go a long way today in attracting new talent.
4 Tips for Retaining Accounting Professionals
Once you have appointed the right professional to the position, the next priority is keeping them in the role. Follow the four tips below to boost retention:
1. Digital transformation. Cutting-edge tech can be an essential factor in easing the workload of monotonous tasks and boosting employee productivity. Gen Z and newer recruits to accountancy seek challenges and exciting roles. It also allows professionals to work in a more advisory and problem-solving capacity.
2. Create an effective onboarding process. Ensure that new staff members are welcomed into the team and given all the information they need to start working productively. Positive onboarding processes have been proven to improve staff retention rates. Appoint a staff member to work with the new recruit and help them settle in.
3. Reward employees for hard work. Encourage feedback when employees need support. Communicate with new employees and seek input from them regularly while they are settling in. Act on information to help boost their productivity and support them at work.
4. Professional development. This is an important area for new hires. Give them access to information on career development and progression. Discuss their career goals with them and how the company can help them meet them.
Contact Accelerate Recruitment today for any help you need in recruiting Accounting and Legal professionals.