Four Major Changes Shaping Accounting Careers
The accounting industry looks different, and your career prospects have never been brighter.
Salt Lake City, October 17, 2024
Navigating today’s accounting job market comes with lots of decisions. Are you only interested in working at a Big Four firm? Are you hoping to land at a local firm where you can see how a small office runs? Do you eventually want to own your own small firm? Or are you looking for something in between –maybe a regional firm where you’ll work on a few big clients?
Only you know what truly matters in your employment search and what makes sense for your career. But as a talent acquisition specialist who has worked in this industry for more than a decade, I have many thoughts on how to maximize your potential and opportunities in today’s landscape. I’ve seen the industry continually shift, as demographics change, new technologies emerge, and new models of operation have been created. Here are four dramatic changes I’ve seen that should be taken into consideration as you navigate a job search at any stage of your career.
Bigger firms might not be able to compete with the flexibility of different models.
While national, brand-name firms give you a great name on your resume and allow you to immediately specialize in specific industries or entity types, many folks don’t want to work the long hours, feel limited to a handful of clients, and aren’t interested in working in a rigid corporate structure for the rest of their lives. While small firms used to have limited opportunities for career advancement, this no longer has to be the case. With the influx of private equity in the space and more and more small firms joining broader collectives or getting bought by larger organizations, the opportunities have opened up immensely. Even if you began at a national firm and gained valuable experience and exposure, shifting to a boutique firm can open up a world of new possibilities.
Whether you start as a tax manager in Napa Valley or an administrative assistant in New York City, working within an ecosystem like ours at Platform Accounting Group means there are support systems and resources that can allow you to advance into a leadership role earlier in your career than ever before. Boutique firms that are part of a broader group can often provide vast amounts of flexibility and opportunity, including relocating or specializing in a specific sector. The opportunities, if you find the right group, are plentiful and customizable, in ways that traditional national firms cannot provide.
Linear, rigid career paths have been replaced with merit-based opportunity.
With record numbers of accountants retiring, there is a massive need for current and future leadership in the industry. While the industry looks vastly different than it did five or 10 years ago, particularly in smaller firms with a limited number of roles, times have changed. With staffing shortages and firm owners retiring, many firms are looking for staff who can handle their own client accounts, and even help manage and run the firm. As younger generations of workers demand remote work, flexibility, and better work/life balance, firms have no choice but to support those needs.
With innovative models like ours, there are now endless ways to grow both personally and professionally. Some firms have multiple locations, which means if one office doesn’t have advancement opportunities available, there is the option to transfer someone into a leadership position within another office, whether it be local or remote. Don’t write off smaller firms before you investigate what working there would actually entail and provide to you.
Accounting Firm Consolidators / private equity is changing the landscape – but not all are created equal.
While the industry looks different than it did five years ago, and will continue to change rapidly, that doesn’t mean everything that is happening in accounting is positive. With an influx of private equity and consolidators of small firms, opportunities are shifting for employees and owners… but not every group is invested in ensuring their people are well taken care of and supported the way they should be.
It’s important for those navigating the accounting workforce to really investigate what they’re getting into – if they’re joining a small firm, is the small firm owned by someone else? If they’re leaping into a national firm, who are their clients? Will they actually have client relationships? What will their day-to-day look like? What is the group’s position on AI? Does the firm value more than just billable hours? Joining a firm owned by a consolidator can offer big opportunities and chances for expansion and flexibility, but you first need to make sure the group shares your values, invests in their people, and is building something sustainable.
Your career is your career – you don’t have to try to fit it into a career path that doesn’t work for you.
Don’t let other people decide what your career should look like. Rigid corporate systems, or the idea that “this is the way things should be done” often don’t serve those who want to design a career that matches their lifestyle needs. Given the immense need for great people in the accounting industry, workers have the upper hand. Think about what you want from your career, what you want your day-to-day look like, and know that in today’s industry you can make it possible.
I strongly believe there’s never been a better time to be in this industry, and the opportunities will continue to be plentiful and customizable. There are companies out there, like Platform Accounting Group where I lead talent acquisition, that give their teams the ability to work directly with clients and become a leader early on. We offer the opportunity to be part of a bigger ecosystem and network while still getting to work with a close-knit team, and provide merit-based opportunities for advancement and the flexibility to relocate or specialize in what you’re actually interested in. I love placing people in jobs at Platform because no longer do job seekers have to make the same tradeoffs – in today’s industry, models like ours offer the opportunity for you to get the best of all worlds.
About Chris Shafer
Chris is Senior Director of Talent Acquisition at Platform Accounting Group, a collective of 35+ local accounting firms across the United States. Chris joined the firm from a Midwest-based staffing agency and has spent almost a decade recruiting tax and accounting talent. He focuses on bringing high-level talent to the company while maintaining a fun and thriving work environment. If you’re interested in a career at Platform, check out the possibilities at platformag.com/careers.