A severe shortage of accountants in 2007 saw the Big Four trying to poach those recruited by smaller firms. More than ever, smaller practices need to manage staff talent. With limited resources it can be difficult to ensure HR is handled effectively. In a competitive market with high employee churn, it is also important to maintain and enhance staff skills to develop the business.

Furthermore, over half (55%) of respondents to the recent Sage Pulse survey, particularly younger accountants aged 18-24 (66%), admitted they saw their qualification as a foundation for the future, rather than continuing their career as an accountant ñ 5% said they wanted to continue and be a partner in their practice in the next five years.

Why is this an issue now?

The market for accounting talent is stronger than at any time in the past decade. With the changes in requirements following Carterís review of HMRCís online services, top graduates who are already familiar with online processes and have a solid technological understanding are highly sought after. But there are other key areas where demand is high, such as internal audit, taxation, external financial reporting, financial analysis and staff accounting and senior accountants with two to seven yearsí experience.

Competing with the Big Four

With salary expectations rising, smaller firms will continue to struggle against larger firms. The forecast increase in salaries across the profession is a minimum of 3.1%, with accountants in some specialisms attracting increases of up to 40% when they change jobs.

Employees will be looking for more opportunities to maximise their earning potential to the point that even major corporations are finding it expensive to acquire experienced staff from CPA firms to manage their internal taxation and accounting functions.

One means of smaller firms competing against bigger rivals is to explore n on-traditional recruiting means by targeting business graduates and using intensive training to bridge existing skills gaps.

Other opportunities

With the increase in legislation, technology adoption and more small businesses starting up, there are lots of opportunities for accountants to apply their skills in new areas.

At Sage, for example, most of our software developers and product managers are qualified accountants and can therefore offer expert insights into the products that accountants will need.

Conclusion

Accounting firms rely on good people. The key selling point for any practice is its employeesí knowledge, time and advice. The relationship between staff and their clients is a critical one, similar to other organisationsí sales and distribution channel.

Investing in people will increase staff satisfaction. That in turn boosts performance and cuts long-term costs of recruitment to replace staff. Key to ongoing talent management is compliance with HR regulation, from health and safety policies to anti-age discrimination laws.

Attract talent

1. Career guidance
Talk to recruits about progression. Audit work is a good grounding but, once they qualify, they may leave without a clear idea of the opportunities ahead.

2. Training
Ensure you provide ongoing training for employees. It is important to have skills in other areas of business.

3. Measurement
People can then be measured on talent development and retention, rather than just the amount of money they bring in.

4. Legislation
Keep abreast of HR legislation. You can use a package that proactively informs you of forthcoming changes in the law and offers pragmatic guidance on implementation.

5. Professional people management
You might not be able to compete in size with the Big Four but there is no excuse for not managing employees in the same professional manner, from paying them on time to calculating their expenses.

Greg Ford is MD for the accountants division at Sagewww.sage.co.uk/accountants