The accounting profession is not exactly the most popular choice for emerging professionals: According to the American Institute of CPAs' 2022 Trends report, the enrollment rates for bachelor's and master's degrees in the field decreased by 2.8% and 8.4%, respectively, in the 2019-20 academic year. And in August, the Deloitte Center for Controllership released a report revealing that 83% of public companies struggled to attract accounting talent.
Meanwhile, all the firms in this year's 10 Best Firms for Young Accountants — some of which were repeat members of the list — received an 80% average positive response from employees under 30. There's only one question for firms that struggle with talent attraction and retention: What is their secret?
According to interviews conducted with this elite group, successful firms recognize the importance of taking care of young talent because they represent the future of the profession, and it starts with good culture. Young professionals want to be part of a firm with a mission that aligns with the interests of the community they serve. They value an environment of communication, trust and cooperation, where hierarchy doesn't prevent them from making an impact.
Like most of its peers, No. 5 firm Swindoll Janzen, Hawk & Loyd put in place a mentorship system, where experienced employees help younger recruits to become productive team members and develop a strategic plan to achieve their professional goals. But most of all, young professionals are looking for meaningful interactions: They want their work to be helpful, and for leadership to guide them without judgment.
"I think the older generations showing grace to us young professionals and actually teaching us, instead of being critical, makes a world of difference in our professional development," said Swindoll associate Ashlyn Jacobs. "For a lot of us, being criticized only discourages us from wanting to learn and develop. Thankfully SJHL has a fantastic environment to grow in."
For the newest recruits, a great firm is also about connection and solidarity. An effective mission, such as Swindoll's "Helping you get from where you are (A) to where you want to be (B)," is often a critical element. All the top firms from this year's list have made remarkable investments into their internship programs and developed financial planning and soft skills training for their youngest members.
Young employees also want to have an active role in leading the firm toward better customer service and company advancement. For example, No. 4 firm Saltmarsh Cleaveland & Gund followed its next-gen group's suggestion and increased its annual accrued paid time off to help with employee retention. The Florida-based firm allows its accountants to explore alternative fields outside their department, such as audit or consulting, and find out which industry or clients they are most interested in working with.
"Young professionals want to feel a part of the overall success within a firm, while also wanting the autonomy to prove themselves as a strong contributor and not just an employee," said people development director Mel Kleinert. "Saltmarsh does a great job in celebrating everyone's role within the team and makes each person feel like they are contributing value."
But ultimately, what came back the most was a growing interest in a comfortable work-life balance, which includes a hybrid working environment and paid time off. To help achieve this balance, Swindoll has put a maximum cap of 50 hours a week during busy season, which is well under the average 60 to 70 hours reported by other firms. Senior associate Colbyn Woods says this allows him and his colleagues to stay involved at the firm while still spending time with their loved ones, and that it's one of Swindoll's best policies.
"Young professionals want to have a voice, be listened to, and [be] allowed to lead and learn within in any capacity they can," said Woods. "If there is an opportunity to lead or help lead a project, consider offering those opportunities to your younger team members. Not only will this provide great professional development for that person, but it will allow them to feel a sense of ownership over the work, which is critical."
In this climate of change, representatives from the 2022 Best Firms for Young Accountants agreed to share how they attract and retain talent under the age of 30, while their young employees explain how their firms earned their spots on this year's ranking.
No. 3: Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz
Young accountants at Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz can join the BSSF Emerging Professionals Group, which focuses on career development and networking opportunities. As part of the firm's professional growth series, the youngest team members meet throughout the year to discuss goal-setting and career paths with managers and principals, and they also participate in casual networking events.
According to a recent survey conducted by Ernst & Young, 33% of young adults say that flexibility is a top factor in looking for a new position, and that's why the firm has launched an initiative called BSSF Workplace by Design, which allows employees to choose the flexibility that works best for their schedule.
"We want to stand by our mission of helping our team achieve extraordinary outcomes, which means always looking for ways that we can help, through benefits and policies," said director of human resources Susan Yohn. "For our BSSF Workplace by Design policy, we created that and solicited feedback from many team members before we rolled that out to our entire firm."
Among many benefits, the Pennsylvania-based firm offers the Plan to Pass Program for the CPA exam, which reimburses the cost of approved review courses, and application and exam fees, and provides a success bonus for completion of all four parts of the CPA exam. Young employees can also take part in BSSF's charitable gift fund, which allows members to make donations of up to $500 to the organization of their choice.
For managing principal Ken Wolfe, it's about showing that the firm cares about something more than profits. He says that the firm highly values feedback, which is why the members of its emerging professional group also host a yearly town hall where they can communicate their concerns to the firm's executive committee and leadership team.
"I don't like to assume what our team members want, which is why we implemented the BEP town hall and feedback process for the executive committee, as well as quarterly meetings with staff accountants," said Wolfe. "It's another opportunity for our young professionals to be able to let us know if there are issues that are concerning them that we can address. We want to keep our young professionals engaged because they are the future of the firm."
When it comes to that future, BSSF representatives say that their main goal is to remain competitive in the workforce landscape, especially with the current talent shortage and high turnover rate.
"BSSF's strong culture creates an environment where staff are required to work as a team and use critical thinking skills," said senior staff accountant Gabriella Licata. "In addition, during my initial interview back in 2019, I could see that the firm's employees were compassionate about their work, which also really excited me."
No. 2: WilkinGuttenplan
Every WilkinGuttenplan employee is assigned a coach with whom they meet regularly to discuss their professional development, to highlight their success, and to work through performance issues. The firm also organizes networking events through its culture committee to allow employees to connect beyond the scope of work.
Employees under 30 also benefit from a "buddy program," where new employees are paired up with an experienced hire who can help them get acquainted with working at the firm. Their partner assists them in several areas, such as prioritizing tasks, balancing work with their personal life, and ensuring a smooth transition into a professional setting. Furthermore, several departments have started virtual office hours where the younger staff can log in and get technical advice in the field of their choice.
"We emphasize each individual soaring with their strengths and help them discover what they're good at and are passionate about by giving them multidisciplinary/multi-industry experiences," said principal Daniel Fiorentino. "From there we allow them to work in the areas they enjoy most and are successful in, and guide them along the way, whether it's quarterly coaching meetings, continued training/CPE, or next-gen experiences."
One of WilkinGuttenplan's unique features is the lack of a minimum work hours requirement. Each employee commits to a number of hours before collaborating with the management team to build a budget that considers work availability. In addition, the New Jersey-based firm offers continuing professional education courses to help CPAs meet their hours requirements and maintain their competency.
Employees from the level of entry-level associates through seniors also have access to a Future Council, which discusses what the ideal firm will look like a few years from now. According to principal and tax manager Lauren Landolfi, it gives the firm an idea of where young leaders want to head and helps current leadership to guarantee long-term success. Landolfi says that young professionals want the opportunity to become trusted advisors, not "valued historians."
"Making the competitive compliance work a streamlined 'lean' process allows for more capacity to spend time and consullt with clients, and we can leverage this compliance work and use our knowledge of the client to provide value-add insights and advice," said Landolfi. "These consulting engagements are the foundation to the client relationships of the future and our young people are building the tools, giving the team the capacity to consult."
WilkinGuttenplan found that exposing local high school and university students to accounting careers helped push against the talent shortage. Twice a year, the firm goes through large hiring seasons for interns, and several partners at the firm actually started their careers that way. The 127-employee firm offers several programs geared toward young people such as the Career Development Bootcamp, which is a conference for accounting majors that discusses numerous topics relevant to the industry.
After struggling to find the right internship fit, senior tax accountant Jenna Sanfilippo said that she felt like her dreams mattered to WilkinGuttenplan, and that the firm allowed a smooth transition between college and employment. "They understand that no one person is exactly like another and with that they have created a one-size-fits-one mentality," said Sanfilippo. "WG strives to customize each person's experience based on their own specific wants and needs. It is because of that that WG has been able to create an amazing workplace no matter what your background is."
No. 1: Rushton
Rushton's cultural committee includes personnel from all ages and levels who recommend policies that keep the firm updated with benefits and employee experience. The Georgia-based firm also provides a studying plan and financial incentives for those who wish to take the CPA exam, with an additional bonus for those who pass it early.
With its buddy system, its regular check-ins, and its open-door policy, Rushton wants its youngest employees to reach their full potential. To ensure that all students gain professional experience while continuing their education, the company also flexes the hours of full-time employees who are working toward a master's degree. According to partner Nicholas Bruner, a firm is more likely to retain its youngest talent if it makes an effort to connect with them and listen to their needs.
"We ensure during our interview process that each person is a good fit for our firm and the team they will be working on," said Bruner. "Once they are onboarded, there is plenty of interaction and intentional events to ensure they enjoy the work and the people they work with. Leadership is open to suggestions and our younger professionals have just as much of a voice as someone who's been here 20 years."
Rushton has fewer tax season hours than other firms and offers 15 Fridays off during the summer. In addition, the firm has been limiting client acceptance, which allows accountants to stay within the budgeted hours and for clients to remain in their advisors' scope. This slower pace allows staff to explore various areas of practice, contrary to larger firms that are sometimes too specialized for this kind of freedom.
The firm, where employees under 30 represent 33% of the workforce, also offers a wide range of benefits, such as paid parental leave and unlimited PTO to guarantee flexibility. For example, tax associate Hannah Hughes mentioned during her interview that she lived an hour away, and the company added an addendum to her offer letter, stipulating that she could work from home three days a week after her training.
"I feel like our openness to change has allowed us to adapt very well to current issues in our industry," said managing partner Chris Hollifield. "We have to change with the industry and figure out new approaches to be successful to create opportunities for all of our staff."
For the next few years, Rushton's strategic plan will focus on training, succession, and building bench strength so that the next generation's experience will be as positive as possible. According to Hughes, Rushton highly values family and community, and she believes that the firm strives to consider integrity as a standard, not an exception.
"Rushton has done a tremendous job in cultivating an environment of learning," said Hughes. "In addition, I have been provided numerous opportunities to work on research projects for clients, which both helps our clients and expands my personal tax knowledge. This aligns with Rushton's core value of improvement, because knowledge is a journey, not a destination."
