Staffing needs dominate latest AICPA survey

The AICPA’s private company practice section’s Top Management of an Accounting Practice Issues Survey underscored the staffing crisis facing the accounting profession.

The survey, which listed retention as a separate issue for the first time, found that as a firm grows, retaining employees becomes more important. For sole practitioners, tax complexity and concerns about standards and technology dominate the list, with work/life balance another important consideration, according to a news release.

Succession planning is a major concern for all firms with six or more professionals, and developing new partners is

an issue for firms with 11 or more professionals.

For practices with at least 21 professionals, chief issues are those that involve human capital.

CPAs also are concerned with maintaining their technical competence and locating and retaining high-quality staff.

“CPAs can use (survey data) to benchmark their own experiences against those of other practitioners in firms much like their own,” said Jim Metzler, AICPA vice president, small-firm interests, in the release.

“They can confirm that similar practices are facing the same challenges and identify trends that will affect their own firms as they grow,” he added.