Nearly three quarters of Australian accountants have struggled to hire ‘good quality people’ over the last year (70 per cent) and just over half (57 per cent) say they would recommend young people to enter the industry, according to new research released today from online accounting software provider, Intuit QuickBooks.
Further, over one quarter (26 per cent) of accountants say they would discourage young people from pursuing a career in the profession at all.
But whilst 83 per cent of accountants believe negative perceptions of the profession are a challenge for attracting and retaining talent, it comes at a time of renewed optimism within the industry, with 60 per cent stating they expect their client list to grow over the next 12 months.
According to Damien Greathead, Accountant & Advisor Lead at Intuit QuickBooks Australia, “The accountant and bookkeeper community has been stretched over the last few years, but their important work has enabled thousands of Australian small businesses to stay in business. We’re encouraged to see that despite the challenges, accountants believe it will be a year of growth ahead and are excited to partner with them in this.”
Combating the Challenges
According to seasoned Aussie accountants, when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, the top five most effective ways include offering opportunities to obtain qualifications at a reduced rate (34 per cent); having the latest technologies to support day-to-day work (31 per cent); flexible working conditions (31 per cent); opportunities to advance professionally (30 per cent); and offering competitive salaries that reflect changes to the cost of living (30 per cent).
Jimmy Nguyen, senior tax accountant at DKM Accounting said, “It’s pleasing to see how the accounting industry has adapted over the last few years and is now prioritising flexible work and technology adoption to enable us to work from anywhere at any time. This shift not only helps our clients by providing them with more accommodating access to us, but it has had a huge impact on our enjoyment and work-life balance.”
Investing in Tech to Grow
The survey revealed the top technologies that accounting/bookkeeping businesses are expected to invest in to help their businesses grow over the next twelve months, including artificial intelligence (39 per cent), cloud accounting software (36 per cent), blockchain (35 per cent), machine learning (34 per cent) and automation tools (33 per cent).
According to Greathead, investing in technology will be imperative to industry growth while helping advisors address some of the traditional ‘pen and paper’ challenges with the right tools.
“Nearly six in 10 (59 per cent) Aussie accountants and bookkeeprs see technology playing a major role in their growth and expansion for the next year. Tools like AI enable accounting advisors to move up the value chain by removing the grunt work of data entry or identifying anomalies, freeing up time to do valued work like ‘what if’ analysis for their clients,” Greathead said.
“By implementing tech such as AI, automation tools and cloud accounting software like QuickBooks, our accountant and bookkeeper community can win back meaningful time with their clients and focus more on business growth.”
