For generations of accountants, starting a career in public accounting followed a familiar path. A new graduate might join a firm in audit or tax, spend the next several years learning the work and gradually take on more responsibility. By the time they get to the senior or manager level, often within 3 to 5 years, that experience could open doors throughout public accounting or into industry.
CPA firms have long been very good at giving new accountants experience that opens doors. As AI and automation change some of the routine work people do early in their careers, firms can think differently about where those doors lead.
What could a career in public accounting look like when professionals have more opportunities to apply their experience in advisory work and substantive conversations about a client’s business and strategy?
Technology can handle more of the routine accounting and compliance work. That can give professionals more time to work directly with clients on questions about their businesses and where they are headed. Many accounting professionals are looking for more of that advisory and client-facing work.
For CPA firms, those changes are closely connected. The technical experience professionals build early in their careers can prepare them for deeper client work as their judgment and understanding of the business grow. Making that progression visible can also give professionals a clearer picture of what a long-term career in public accounting could look like.
How AI is expanding career opportunities in public accounting
Someone who spends several years in audit or tax builds technical knowledge that becomes increasingly valuable with experience. Technology can create more opportunities to apply that knowledge to the issues clients are working through.
Consider a client evaluating its technology needs. An accounting package upgrade may be the immediate issue, but the conversation can quickly extend to what the business will need from its technology over the long term and how those decisions support where the company is headed.
That kind of conversation still depends on accounting expertise. The professional who understands accounting can bring that knowledge to the discussion and help the client think through what comes next.
For CPA firms investing in AI, efficiency will always matter. So will what professionals are able to do with the time technology gives back. More direct interaction with clients can deepen those relationships and give professionals more opportunities to apply their expertise.
Building the skills for advisory work
Moving closer to advisory work builds on the technical expertise accountants already have. What changes is how they are expected to use it.
Technology can give professionals more information and help them analyze it faster. But someone still has to understand what that information means in the context of the client’s business and be able to explain why it matters.
That helps explain why critical thinking is becoming so important. Robert Half research found that 64% of finance and accounting leaders identify critical thinking and problem-solving among the soft skills most needed to guide and implement AI-driven solutions. An analysis of finance and accounting job postings also shows employers value data and business analytics.
Much of that judgment comes with experience. An accountant who understands the technical issue can begin to recognize when it points to a larger business question. Greater client exposure can help professionals develop that perspective and become more comfortable asking questions that move the conversation forward.
CPA firms can help that development happen in the work itself. Bringing professionals into client conversations earlier and giving them opportunities to contribute allows them to see how experienced advisors approach those discussions and begin applying their own accounting knowledge in a broader context.
That is how technical expertise can grow into advisory value.
Developing advisory talent from within
Finding experienced talent remains a challenge for many finance and accounting organizations. Robert Half research found that 61% of finance and accounting leaders say finding skilled professionals is more difficult than it was a year ago. Skills shortages are already affecting priority work, including AI and automation implementation and financial planning and forecasting.
For CPA firms, some of the talent they will need may already be inside their organizations.
Someone several years into audit or tax has built technical knowledge and experience working with clients. Giving that professional more exposure to client discussions can help them learn how experienced colleagues approach broader business issues and where their own expertise can add value.
That development can begin well before the next promotion or title change. Professionals can contribute when they have relevant expertise. As their experience grows, so can their role in those conversations and their responsibility for the issues clients bring to the firm.
For employees, that creates another way to see how their career can grow within public accounting. For CPA firms, it can help build advisory talent from within when experienced professionals remain difficult to find.
Making advisory work part of the career path
Audit and tax remain important foundations for a career in public accounting. But a career within a firm doesn’t have to follow a single path. As professionals build technical knowledge and a deeper understanding of their clients, they can begin contributing to broader client discussions and working alongside experienced advisors. Over time, that experience can prepare them to take on more advisory and consulting work. CPA firms can help professionals make that progression within the firm while continuing to build strong audit and tax teams.
Those possibilities need to become visible early. Firm leaders also need to ask people where they want to go. Not everyone will want the same next step, and leaders shouldn’t assume they do. Regular conversations about the work employees want to take on can help firms give them the experience and development to get there. Someone beginning in audit or tax should be able to see how the experience they are building today can lead to greater client responsibility over time. Career growth becomes easier to picture when professionals can see it in the work they are trusted to do and the responsibility they are given along the way.
That progression can benefit clients as well. As professionals gain experience, they bring a deeper understanding of the accounting and greater familiarity with the client’s business. They can begin taking a larger role in discussions where that combination of knowledge matters.
Public accounting has long given professionals experience that can take them almost anywhere. As AI changes some of the work along that journey, CPA firms can think more intentionally about where that experience can take people within the profession and within their own organizations.
For firm leaders, what’s next is already here. Giving professionals a clearer path into advisory work can deepen the expertise clients receive and give talented people more reasons to stay and build their careers. That can be good for clients, good for professionals and good for building a stronger CPA firm.
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Steve Saah is the executive director of the finance and accounting permanent placement practice at Robert Half, the world’s first and largest specialized financial talent solutions service. The company has more than 300 locations worldwide. He is responsible for leading U.S. operations, based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. He was named executive director in 2017, previously serving as director of permanent placement services.
Saah has been with the company since 1998, where he started as a recruiting manager, following a career as an internal auditor and assistant controller. He is a noted expert, author and presenter on career, management and hiring trends, particularly those affecting the accounting and finance fields. Saah earned a finance degree from Virginia Tech.
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