Firm Management
Struggling to Recruit Top Talent? Start Re-Recruiting!
Virtually every manager has been asking themselves the same question: How can I keep my best employees from leaving?
Paul McDonald
Paul McDonald is senior executive director at Robert Half, the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm. He writes and speaks frequently on hiring, workplace and career-management topics. Over the course of more than 30 years in the recruiting field, McDonald has advised thousands of company leaders and job seekers on how to hire and get hired.
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Payroll
Struggling to Find Talent?
There are actions you can take today to kick-start the process of finding and hiring talent. Consider these five tips.
Firm Management
Return to the Office: How to Ready Your Team for the New “Disruption”
CPA firms are taking varied approaches to the comeback. Some have adopted a very hardline approach and aren’t even entertaining the thought of a hybrid work model for their employees. Other firms are keeping things flexible about the “where” of ...
Firm Management
Developing Executive Presence Starts Earlier Than You May Think
Executive presence is what a leader projects when they excel in soft skills like communication, empathy and calmness under pressure. Think of it as something similar to the “it” factor we often associate with Hollywood celebrities.
Firm Management
How to Craft a Remote-Friendly Recruitment and Retention Strategy
It was hardly a foregone conclusion that professionals would embrace remote working after the pandemic struck. Many people struggled through the early days of improvised desks and work-life conflicts. If COVID-19 had come and gone in a matter of ...
Accounting & Audit
How a Learning Culture Can Transform Your Practice
One of the challenges associated with team learning is that everyone is at a different level. Some people are great with technology; others know everything about compliance. And sometimes, people don’t want to let others know they’re struggling with a ...
Contributors
Staying Ahead of the Curve: What’s New in Accounting for 2022?
Despite the upbeat outlook, accounting firms still face challenges in employee recruitment and retention. A shortage of skilled professionals is allowing the best candidates to receive multiple job offers and the ability to command top salaries.
Contributors
Hiring Remotely? Here’s What You Need to Know
Before 2020, remote hiring was nearly foreign in finance and accounting fields. In-person interviews and meetings — getting face time — was ingrained in the business culture.
Contributors
Workforce 2025: 3 Trends Shaping the Future of Accounting
It’s said that digital transformation is a journey rather than a destination. But it’s not all a smooth, consistent ride, as the pandemic has proven. It was digital technology that was forced into rescue mode as it helped us adapt quickly to ...
Contributors
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in CPA Practices: Is Everyone Accounted For?
Savvy accounting leaders understand DEI runs much deeper than demographics, but many still wonder how they can implement lasting change. Whether you manage a small firm or a big department, here’s why diversity matters ...
Contributors
How a Hybrid Work Model Can Help Your Team in the New Normal
The last year-plus has been tough on everyone, so don’t be surprised if your employees are worried about returning to the office — in whatever form it takes. This is where leadership matters. Go to your team with a clear plan and a positive ...
Contributors
9 Ways Accountancy Consultants Can Benefit Your Small Businesses
To keep costs low and productivity high, businesses must be agile and innovative — particularly during times of systemic disruption, such as a global pandemic. As the COVID-19 crisis has forced accounting firms and departments to refocus their services...
Contributors
Onboarding and Offboarding Employees: Why Getting it Right Matters
In the age of remote working and no-handshake protocols, exemplary welcomes and farewells may seem harder than ever. But just as routines and cultures have changed, so have best practices for orienting new employees, and, as a manager, it’s important...
Contributors
Hosting Video Calls in a Changed Business World
Doing business during a pandemic is a new experience for everyone and there isn’t a rulebook for how to navigate this new normal. Many virtual meetings can be frustrating and ineffective, but with a little thought and preparation they can be made ...
COVID-19
Finance Employment Trends in the COVID-19 Era
There’s no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has redefined how we work and caused accounting and finance managers to rethink their recruitment, staffing and retention strategies. The changes may have been sudden, but many of them are ultimately ...
COVID-19
Pandemic-Era Burnout: How to Protect Your Finance Team
The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 one of the most stressful years ever for finance workers — and has led to a rise in burnout. Many staff are classified as key workers and have been toiling around the clock to deliver essential services, often with ...
COVID-19
11 Tips for Hiring Remotely
Nobody knows how long the pandemic will last or what will happen next. But firms that have been able to update their hiring processes, harness the full potential of their remote workforce and create meaningful, lasting change can position themselves to...
Contributors
No Pane, No Gain: The Benefits of Windowed Working
Windowed work means breaking up your business day into two or three separate time slots, or windows. Traditionally, this hasn’t been possible. When people have a long commute to the office, it’s not practical to work multiple daily shifts.
COVID-19
The Future of Finance: Hiring Tips And Trends For 2021
From the sudden expansion in remote working to new client service requests, the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant effects on how CPA firms do business. And while many disruptions might be behind us, the aftershocks will rumble on for some time.
Firm Management
Hiring and Managing Paraprofessionals in the Age of Remote Working
As accounting firms refine their business strategies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s likely that paraprofessionals will loom large in their plans. There are few things more important today than an adaptable workforce...
Contributors
8 Tips for Boosting Morale in Remote Teams
In this new reality, managers need to be mindful of issues particular to remote work that might impact morale, be it a communication breakdown or employees feeling disconnected and isolated. Here are 8 tips for boosting team morale from a distance.
Human Resources & Payroll
How Financial Transparency Can Level Up Business for Private Companies
How much financial information do you share with your employees, and should you be sharing more? These are important questions, but up until a few years ago, few private companies were asking them. After all, the SEC doesn’t typically require ...
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Contributors
10 Ways to Become a Better Boss in 2020
Whether you run a small accountancy firm or serve as a manager for an international CPA firm, being in charge is no easy task. So how you can you make sure “that” manager isn’t you?
Contributors
5 Tips to Prevent Staff Burnout During Tax Season
In the accounting profession’s annual tax marathon, you don’t want your people to hit the wall. Burned out workers will be less focused, more irritable, less healthy, more likely to exhibit negative attitudes and more prone to mistakes.
Accounting & Audit
3 Tips for Redesigning Benefits Packages
In the public accounting field, talent shortages over the past few years have led companies to offer higher pay and additional perks, all of which serve to attract top talent, but don’t always help retain them.
Contributors
2020 Hiring and Compensation Trends for Accounting Firms
The fierce competition for top accounting talent we’ve been seeing isn’t expected to dissipate anytime soon. Now more than ever, it’s crucial for public accounting leaders to keep a finger on the pulse of the employment market to ensure they can ...
Firm Management
You May Be Overlooking Potential Top Performers When Hiring
To ensure success in an environment where available accounting talent is limited, managers must move away from the idea of a new hire having a perfect resume. Instead, focus on identifying promising candidates who you can develop and who fit your ...
Accounting & Audit
4 Tech Trends Transforming Public Accounting
Public accounting leaders must continue to prepare for the digital disruptions that will inevitably alter almost everything about the way their teams and their clients work. Much of this change will be positive, as breakthroughs help organizations ...
Human Resources & Payroll
Avoid These 5 Hiring Pitfalls
Employers face hiring challenges in every business environment. Today, however, when the unemployment rate for accountants and auditors is just 1.5%, recruiting difficulties become even more severe.
Firm Management
5 Tips to Negotiating Salaries to Get the Best Staff
Skilled accountants and auditors are in high demand today, especially CPAs who possess a robust combination of functional, soft and technology skills. This demand, persistent talent shortages and the resulting intense competition for top candidates ...
Firm Management
Successful Succession: 7 Tips for Getting There
The departure of a leader disrupts workflow, productivity and customer service. On the other hand, when you codify processes and ensure someone else has the know-how to take over a role, the firm can weather transitions more smoothly.
Human Resources & Payroll
How to Quit Your Job Gracefully
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Contributors
4 Tips to Overcome Hiring Challenges & Keep Your Best Staff
Should you become more flexible in the candidates you consider? Or would that be tantamount to lowering standards and settling for mediocrity? The answers are yes to the first question and no to the second.
Contributors
4 Tips to Overcome Hiring Challenges
Recent research shows many organizations are already flexible with their hiring demands. In a Robert Half survey, 84 percent of human resources managers said they are at least somewhat open to hiring and training an employee who doesn't meet the ...
Firm Management
How to Energize Your Tired Employees
Just about every manager has seen it around the office at various times: a symphony of yawns, stretches and unfocused gazes on employees’ faces. Some of your staff likely aren’t getting enough sleep.
Human Resources & Payroll
6 Tips for a Smoother Hiring Process
The resume you’ve dreamed of comes across your desk. This accountant has all the right credentials, the ideal work history and technical skills you like to see. The candidate checks all the boxes. Too good to be true? Do unicorns exist?
Contributors
The Benefits, Perks and Incentives Workers Want Most
Accounting managers understand the persuasive power of a competitive salary when wooing top talent. But it doesn’t stop there. Benefits, perks and incentives can also be deal-makers. Highly skilled accountants and auditors want a well-rounded package ...
Firm Management
Stop Wasting Time: Do's and Don’ts of Effective Meetings
Meetings are an unavoidable yet fundamental part of life for businesses of all types, including accounting firms. In fact, they probably take up about a quarter of your workday, suggests a recent Accountemps survey.
Firm Management
How to Better Engage Workers in 2019
It’s no surprise when even the most driven professionals find themselves switching off for a few minutes during the workday for any number of reasons, such as fatigue, frustration or a lack of clarity about an assignment. What might be a surprise, ...
Contributors
5 Ways Poor Performers Hurt Your Accounting Firm
Almost every employee gets off their game at some point in their career. It’s not the end of the world, and the right kind of coaching often will turn around underperformers and get them back to full productivity.
Contributors
2019 Hiring and Compensation Trends for Accounting Firms
One of the effects of a competitive hiring market is skilled accountants and auditors expect higher wages. Forty-six percent of U.S. workers responding to a recent Robert Half survey say they’re underpaid in their current position.
Firm Management
How to Attract and Keep Top Performers in Accounting
Of course employees want to be fairly compensated for their skills and expertise, but they’re also after the things that money can’t buy, according to a recent Accountemps survey. These are the top three factors — besides salary — workers tend to ...
Contributors
How to Leverage Corporate Culture for a Competitive Advantage
If someone asked, would you be able to describe your accounting firm’s corporate culture? This concept is the topic of many a workplace report, but what does it mean?
Firm Management
Why Vacations Are Good For You – and Your Team
Love going on vacation but worried about taking time off? You’re not alone. The majority of workers in a recent Accountemps survey said they typically check in with the office at least once or twice a week during their vacation.
Firm Management
Mentorship Programs: How to Make Them Work for Your Firm
Even though your recent graduates have just spent the last several years preparing for their first job, there’s still so much more they need to know. It can be jarring to go straight from school to the fast pace of a public accounting firm.
Contributors
How to Really Thank Your Team After Tax Season
Many firms have a bonus structure in place to financially reward employees, but that’s not enough. More than a nice gesture, going above and beyond — much as your workers have done since at least January — when showing appreciation is a must to keep ...
Human Resources & Payroll
6 Ways to Adapt Hiring Practices for Today’s Realities
Public accounting firms require a steady pipeline of auditors, analysts and tax accountants — not to mention specialists in information technology, marketing and business development. Bringing these professionals in, though, is easier said than done. Why?
Contributors
Top 5 Executive Networking Mistakes — And How to Avoid Them
Just because you have an extensive work history does not mean you have a robust circle of professional contacts. And one reason for that deficit is networking mistakes. When you commit these faux pas, you could be losing out on business opportunities, ...
Firm Management
6 Tips for Recruiting Today’s Top Accounting Students
What does your firm do to stand out as a great place for new accounting grads to land? Is your online presence fresh and engaging? Do you show entry-level employees the money? Do you give them room to grow as they progress in their careers?
Accounting & Audit
6 Tips for Recruiting Today’s Top Accounting Students
Hiring recent graduates has long been a vital part of accounting firms’ recruitment strategies. But it’s also one that’s consistently challenging. Talented college students frequently find they have their pick of employers when they enter the job market.
Contributors
Dos and Don’ts for Tapping Your Team’s Innovative Side
Innovation even affects your ability to hire the best and brightest to your team. An overwhelming majority (87 percent) of professionals in a Robert Half survey said they pay attention to a potential employer’s reputation for being innovative.
Firm Management
7 Ways to Foster a Winning Firm Culture
No matter if they offer similar services, each business has a different workplace culture. Some firms have a reputation for a relentless pace, whereas others pride themselves on family-friendly policies and programs. Some are known for having fun, ...
Contributors
5 Hiring and Salary Trends for 2018
Demand for accounting professionals remains high, while unemployment for accountants and auditors remains low, below the national average. This is putting pressure on and intensifying hiring competition for accounting firms.
Contributors
7 Tips for Interviewing Job Candidates By Video
With advances in virtual-meeting applications, many companies are turning to the video interview to evaluate job candidates. The format offers firms a host of benefits, including cost savings, access to remote job seekers and speed.
Contributors
6 Strategies for Resolving and Minimizing Staff Conflicts
Ideally, a CPA firm’s management team concentrates most of its time on ensuring clients receive the best possible service and strategizing ways to cultivate new customers. That’s the ideal scenario.
Contributors
6 Ways for Managers to Improve Communication
Your accounting team works hard, and everyone stays in sync most of the time. But every once in a while you wonder why certain tasks aren’t done well or why an employee seems disgruntled. The problem could be you.
Contributors
How to Find the Right Job Candidates and Avoid Failed Hires
To look at the costs of bad hiring decisions, a recent Robert Half study surveyed managers at small to midsize firms. Respondents said they waste an average of 45 hours to hire and onboard an employee who later doesn’t work out.
Human Resources & Payroll
Communicate With Staff for Greater Buy-In
Employee communication is a vital component of your staff management plan, so it’s worth your while to step up efforts in providing staff members with the knowledge they desire. Doing so benefits you as well, as a morale booster and engagement ...
Contributors
Spring Training for CPA Teams
Baseball fans get excited when spring rolls around. It’s the first step of a new season — the moment when everyone sees what your team is made of. Although there are no leagues or playoffs in public accounting, managers still needs to gear up all ...
Firm Management
How Accounting Firm Managers Can Help Their Teams Work Happy
Happiness at work is more important than many managers realize. Content employees tend to be more passionate about company goals, which means stronger performance, a higher retention rate, and fewer resources spent on hiring and training.
Human Resources & Payroll
4 Elements of a Winning Compensation Package
Above-average salaries are often the key to attracting and retaining top performers. But that’s not all. A robust package also includes the top perks many accountants have come to expect — and perhaps even some they haven’t thought of yet.
Contributors
17 Professional Development Ideas for 2017
It’s no secret that a robust professional development program is beneficial for accounting professionals, but managers also reap rewards when they invest in employees. Your workers become more knowledgeable, which means they’re able to contribute ...
Contributors
How to Speed Up the Hiring Process
If you’re having trouble landing highly skilled candidates, you may need to make your hiring process faster and more efficient. Here’s how:
Contributors
How to Prepare Millennials for Leadership Positions
While all generations share some characteristics and goals, millennials self-report specific values, ambitions, experiences and motivators. If you want to develop your millennial staff into finance leaders — or even to recruit and retain the best and ...
Contributors
4 Common Change Management Failures Managers Need to Avoid
In today’s business environment, public accounting firms must be prepared to pivot with speed and agility at a moment’s notice. Changing standards and regulations, emerging technologies, and business risks are just a few of the dynamics managers must ...
Contributors
When, How, (and When Not To) ... Rehire Former Employees
Bringing back former employees can shorten the time it takes to vet candidates, as you already know much of their work history and fit with your corporate culture. As a “known quantity,” you reduce the chances of making a bad hire.
Contributors
Business Leaders Juggle a Host of Demands in Today’s Economy
When chief financial officers (CFOs) in a Robert Half Management Resources survey were asked to rate the level of difficulty their jobs pose now compared to five years ago, 66 percent of respondents said their roles are more challenging today, and 30 ...
Contributors
Recognition After Tax Season: 6 Kudos Staff Will Love
Another tax season is over, and now you can catch your breath. As a manager for a public accounting firm, you may want to take off for a well-deserved vacation. But before you go, be sure to show your hardworking staff some recognition.
Contributors
6 Employee Motivation Tips To Close Tax Season Strong
The home stretch of tax season means heavy workloads and long hours for accountants. This time of year, nerves are frayed and tensions are high. It’s no walk in the park for managers either. In addition to your client load, you’ve got to keep your ...
Contributors
Tips for Hiring, Managing and Retaining Gen Z Workers
Four years from now, Generation Z will represent more than 20 percent of the workforce. Undoubtedly, this cohort of employees — born in the 1990s — will affect your approach to staff management.
Contributors
How Firms Can Develop Compensation Packages to Land Top Talent
With public accounting firms facing increased competition for skilled staff, it’s more important than ever that companies take a strategic approach to recruiting and hiring. Above-average compensation packages can go a long way in helping your ...
Contributors
Staff Succession Planning Is Critical To Accounting Firm Success
Accounting & Audit
Talking Technology: 5 Ways to Keep Your Accounting Team Up to Date
There’s no shortage of challenges in the realm of accounting. But according to a recent Robert Half Management Resources survey, what really keeps accounting and finance professionals awake at night is staying current with changing technology.
Contributors
6 Tips for Tax Season Staffing at Accounting Firms
With tax season looming, now is the time for accounting firms to ramp up their staffing strategy. Determining your needed mix of full-time and temporary professionals — before holiday time-off — will set you on a course for success come 2016.
Contributors
What Accounting Firms Need to Know About Updating Salaries and Giving Raises
If you can’t remember the last time you reviewed your employees’ compensation, it’s been too long. Your staff members know what they’re worth and what the local job market is paying, and so should you. At least once a year, benchmark your firm’s ...
Contributors
5 Hiring and Salary Trends That Will Shape Public Accounting in 2016
Growth indicators for the second half of 2015 are providing a glimpse into the hiring environment for 2016, and it appears the race to attract and retain top accounting talent is only heating up.
Contributors
9 Essential Tips for Managing Remote Workers
While the benefits of greater staff autonomy typically outweigh the potential disadvantages, managers need to adjust their strategies to make things work when team members are offsite. Here are some do’s and don’ts of managing remote workers.
Contributors
Reducing Staff Turnover: How to Recognize and Respond to Retention Red Flags
Accounting and finance professionals with in-demand skills are finding they have many options when it comes to job offers. This is great news for candidates. However, as a manager, you recognize a rosier hiring environment means you have to work harder...
Contributors
A Post-Busy Season HR Checklist for Accounting & Tax Firms
As your firm emerges from yet another busy season, the last things you want to revisit and mull over are all the long hours and hard work you and your team put in to reach the finish line. But before you officially move on from this intense work period...
Contributors
10 Networking Tips for Accounting Firm Leaders
From regular meet-ups with colleagues to social media, executives of accounting firms have many avenues when it comes to connecting with others and enlarging their circles. Read on for 10 tips on how to get the most out of your networks.
Contributors
The Cost of a Bad Hire (It’s Not Just Money) - And How to Avoid Bringing One on Board
Making a bad hire can be very expensive to organizations. In fact, research suggests (www.blissassociates.com/html/articles/employee_turnover01.html) replacing an employee who doesn’t work out can cost at least 150 percent of that worker’s salary. Still,
Contributors
7 Staff Management Tips for the Busy Season
Tax season is tough on everyone, but managers need to make a special effort to watch out for the well-being of their teams. It’s critical to prevent burnout and disengagement from jeopardizing morale and productivity.
Contributors
7 Ways to Foster Innovation in Public Accounting Firms
As the new year begins, many managers find themselves evaluating their departments and assessing ways to do things better, faster and cheaper. If fostering an innovative culture is a priority for your company, you’re not alone. Many public accounting firm
Accounting & Audit
Salaries on the Rise for Accounting Professionals
To handle new business, public accounting firms are looking to add to their workforce. Many still need to fill positions left vacant during the downturn and take some of the burden off their current teams.
Contributors
How Small Accounting Firms Can Compete for Top Talent
Most small accounting firms do not have the financial resources to attract workers like the bigger firms do, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of the race. Here are five ways you can beat out even the biggest competitors when hiring.
Contributors
How to Hone Your Soft Skills to Strengthen Client Relationships
As summer draws to a close, kids and young students aren’t the only ones who need to think about heading back to school. Your employees — even your top performers — can become stronger contributors by enhancing their abilities and expertise through professional development opportunities.