Open the conversation
Some SMP leaders are already working on this – for example, using social media, running blogs and communicating with educational institutions. But there is a need, too, for broader collective action to ensure the sustainable future of SMPs.
Conventional wisdom says that professional accountants looking to further their careers in practice should go large – the bigger the firm, the better the opportunities. But a new report from ACCA and CA ANZ, Careers in small and medium sized practices, is aiming to turn that notion on its head.
Drawing from interviews with senior leaders in small and medium-sized accounting practices (SMPs) around the world, the study suggests that a number of factors, including increasing digitalisation and the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic, are coming together to create ‘brilliant’ opportunities for career development at the small end of the practice spectrum.
‘While some may think smaller means lesser, when it comes to accounting firms, they couldn’t be more wrong,’ says Anthony Matis, CA ANZ’s general manager of strategic engagement and development.
‘These firms are buzzing with talent, innovation and tailored expertise that deliver results for their clients time and time again.’
Professionals are increasingly looking for more purposeful and meaningful careers, especially during the new Covid-19 era
The top 10 of talent attraction
The report identifies a number of factors that are combining to create an environment within which SMPs, and their staff, can flourish. These include digitalisation, changing business models and client expectations, and culture.
But SMPs themselves need to work hard in areas such as branding and talent management in order to reap the benefits.
There are, the report suggests, 10 areas for talent attraction, shown below.
Taking on the Big Four
While top graduates are targeted by the Big Four, they are also attracted to emerging industries and entrepreneurialism, and SMP accountancy needs to be positioned in that light.
SMPs also have a clear purpose of helping small businesses achieve their objectives and growth targets, and provide recruits with the opportunity to see the concrete results of their work – a component that is often missing in big corporations.
While SMPs vary widely, there are more commonalities than variations in talent management traits across different practice types and regions.
Each business model will be directly affected by wider changes in the profession. A previous ACCA report, Future Ready: Accountancy Careers in the 2020s, identified 20 trends that are transforming the world of work.
Particular trends that are especially relevant for SMPs include the changing meaning of work, increasing connectivity, emerging technologies and the rise of data, the impact of Generation Z, growing demand for CFO-like advice and the evolving need for continuous development.
SMPs, the report argues, have the flexibility and creativity to match the velocity of change.
Get your branding right
The career implications are clear – harnessing and understanding digital developments allows those working in an SMP environment greater opportunities and wider experiences in value-added advice services.
But the report also stresses the importance of getting the branding right. As Alastair Barlow, co-founder of London-based flinder, says: ‘Most firms work on marketing for the purpose of bringing in clients. But in the early stages we realised that the biggest challenge isn’t winning the clients; it was bringing in the right people. So, we essentially said our key target is potential team members.’
As such, according to the report, ‘it is essential for the SMP leaders to ensure that the purpose and values communicated by the recruitment brand stay true in the practice and are embedded in the culture, and that employees have a clear understanding of how those values translate into concrete behaviours’.
‘Now more than ever SMPs need to show their wider contribution to society, and professionals are increasingly looking for more purposeful and meaningful careers, especially during the new Covid-19 era,’ says Aleksandra Zaronina-Kirillova, the report’s author and ACCA head of SME professional insight.
‘SMPs are becoming even more a lifeline to small businesses. Purpose, and not just the pursuit of profit, is fundamental to all organisations and SMPs are no exception.’
Straight to work
Many UK-based practices are also reporting success with taking on school leavers, who are often employed under the UK government’s apprenticeship scheme. The ability to bypass a degree and the associated debt is attractive to many.
SMP employers need to consider not only how they will supply their own needs, but how they can support the wider profession and SMP sector as a special niche.
