The shortage of newly qualified accountants is creating a real talent gap and imbalance in the workforce, according to the latest Reed accountancy and finance salary guide.
Reedâs Alan Myers said this shortage is partly due to disruptions in professional training during the pandemic years, as training contracts were delayed, and professionals chose alternative career paths.
It all means there is a surplus of senior professionals, but insufficient entry-level talent to sustain long-term growth. Myers felt that addressing this gap âwill require renewed focus on training and development to ensure a robust pipeline of talent for the futureâ. Firms that prioritise upskilling are more likely to retain the workforce and maintain a competitive edge in the marketplace.
Dr Ian Gregory, CTO at Advancetrack points out that 74% of accounting firms are struggling daily with staff shortages, and 42% of partners are working an additional day every week just to keep their heads above the water!
He said the AdvanceTrack Accounting Talent Index found while three quarters of firms reported significant staff shortages, some 20% still had no concrete plan to address it!
The real issue, however is the undergraduate and postgraduate accounting enrolment pipelines. The talent index found between 2010 and 2023 domestic student enrolments into tertiary accounting programmes declined by an average of 56% across the UK, US (61%), Canada (54%) and Australia (51%).
The Accountancy Talent Index said: âTo call the talent crisis an existential threat is far from a shrill overstatement. Accountants and the accounting profession underpin the trust which sits at the foundation of global capitalism. Without them it is more than possible that the entire system could collapse.â
This is a global concern too. Joanna Perry (pictured) from Australia recently posted on LinkedIn: âWe are facing a massive talent crisis in accounting and nobody is talking about it.â
She feels the reality is weâre heading towards a 3.5 million global shortage of accountants in 2025.
This, she stressed, isnât a staffing problem, it is a business crisis waiting to happen!
And, Perry says it is time to reimagine the entire profession!
She says we need to show young professionals the true scope of modern accounting careers (âMake Accounting Great Againâ).
Perry feels the shortages mean unprecedented opportunities for students. âYou wonât just find a job â you will have your pick of roles, industries and work styles!â
As she explained: âThe talent crisis in accounting isn’t coming â it’s here.â
That LinkedIn post already had over 8,000 likes, 879 comments, and 748 reports when we saw it!
Over in the US former CFO Howard Katzenberg said companies there are raising accountantsâ salaries by over 10%. With many struggling to find suitable candidates he claimed major firms like EY are throwing money at the problem: âEY pledged $1bn to boost salaries.â And for him the bottom line is simple, rare skills will equal higher salaries.
