You need solutions to capacity challenges

With a low unemployment rate, fewer students attending college or sitting for the CPA Exam, and more work to fill client and company needs, accounting firms and corporate finance teams are feeling the talent crunch.

Managing Editor Jill Edmonds disclosures@vscpa.com

Disclosures is published four times a year by the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA). The magazine’s mission is to communicate information of value to VSCPA members, including professional issues and VSCPA initiatives. The materials and information in Disclosures are offered as material only and not as practice, financial, accounting, legal or other professional advice. Statements of fact and opinion are made by the authors alone and do not imply an opinion on the part of VSCPA officers, members or editorial staff. Publication of an advertisement in Disclosures does not constitute a VSCPA endorsement of the product or service. Copyright © 2023 Virginia Society of CPAs.

We’ve heard you loud and clear. With the help of a special Board of Directors capacity task force, we are developing resources to help you make sound decisions around talent and capacity.

In February, we released our 2022 Compensation & Benefits Survey results. The report is an invaluable tool help you evaluate your organization’s salaries and benefit packages against similar organizations around the state. One anonymous comment encapsulates the survey findings: “New hire salaries [are] much higher; average raises for 2023 [are] significantly higher (10%) to account for increased inflation.” You can read more about the findings on page 12 or visit https://www.vscpa.com/2022-compsurvey

The Compensation & Benefits Survey is also useful to help you consider innovative options to finding capacity, such as outsourcing and offshoring. We’re discovering a significant number of accounting firms are already outsourcing certain services — or at least thinking about it.

And for the first time ever, we’ve released a VSCPA Recruitment Guide. This 34-page document is easily navigable, allowing you to glean information in the areas you need the most help.

A large section on direct recruiting includes guidance on how to use online job boards and social media for job posting, as well as how to recruit students and more diverse hires. If you’d like to engage professional recruiters, we have tips on how to navigate the relationship.

If you have candidates but need help getting them over the finish line, a section on hiring dives into hiring practices, the interview process, assessments and onboarding. And if you’d like to think beyond the hire to alternative solutions, you’ll find information on outsourcing, offshoring, creative hiring and upskilling. You can find this comprehensive resource in the Capacity Resource Center at https://www.vscpa.com/capacity

Stay tuned; we know recruitment is only one half of the puzzle. A detailed Retention Guide is coming shortly. What else can we do to help you? I’m all ears! n