Every firm we’ve worked with in the last few months has had enormous loss of staff, but we believe this talent crunch could be a blessing in disguise.
When the pandemic hit and firms had to work remotely, they were forced to figure it out and make it work. The firms that embraced the challenges presented by the pandemic inherently created competitive advantages over the firms that lamented the new virtual environment. Those firms better leveraged existing and new technologies to enhance communication with staff and clients and to perform traditional A&A tasks in more provocative remote ways.
Current staff shortages should cause firms to look more deeply at their audit procedures and processes to see where and how they can create capacity. The firms that best accept and respond to the challenges of the staffing shortage will once again separate themselves from their competition.
Firm leaders need to start thinking about what they can do now to make the work more meaningful, even during busy season. The last thing a staff accountant wants to see coming is the same book of business, the same number of audits, and the same clients as last year, but two or three fewer staff to do the work. Partners need to be very clear that they do not intend to burden the remaining staff with absorbing the work of the people who left. All that will do is cause more people to think about leaving.
We have five recommendations to implement now that can mitigate a stressful busy season due to staff shortages. None of these ideas are terribly difficult to implement, nor do they require investing in new technology. They do require thinking innovatively about how your firm operates. And out of necessity, because you’re short-staffed right now, you’ll need a different approach. By making these small changes, you’ll start as a firm to turn your ship towards thinking about how to do things differently and efficiently, and that is the silver lining to the Great Resignation.