april2022 - 7

STAFFING
Your Firm and Your Staffing
HAVING A SOMEWHAT " normal " tax season behind us certainly
feels good. While it would be nice to have COVID behind us and
the IRS caught up, these issues may be part of our " new normal. "
Unfortunately, staffing issues also seem to be part of the new
normal. At the same time, the pandemic period saw both a " great
resignation " and a " great retirement " that left many of us with even
more significant staffing issues.
Since I spend time consulting
with CPA firms, industry accounting
professionals, and providers of tools to
accountants, I can learn about staffing
pressures in each sector. It seems
that all industries are having staffing
issues, with increased demand on
wages, possibly to counteract inflationary
pressures. Further, while pandemic
deaths may have created some labor
availability issues, there are also skill
shortages requiring reskilling. Additionally,
entrepreneurs used this time
to start new businesses, with record
business creation in the U.S. in 2021.
The net and short of it is that people
are hard to come by everywhere.
WHY THE LABOR SHORTAGE?
More intelligent people than me are
trying to answer that question. But a
few things seem to be true. Many of
those leaving the workforce have a root
cause of working too much. Further,
the value of family and friends has
increased while social media has
decreased genuine interactions.
Accountants typically worked
very long hours at certain times of
the year. The profession has converted
to year-round operations, and
there is very little breathing time or
margin. New generation accounting
professionals have decided that is
not the plan for them.
We went through a time of
work-life balance discussions. The
pandemic put that in a new light.
For many, their home became their
workplace for the first time. For
others, there was no ability to disconnect
from work at home. Many
professionals were burning out for
the first time with the additional
load of PPP, PPP2, and remote education.
It was too much. However,
working at home also demonstrated
how individuals might not need a
more extensive organization.
Since working from anywhere,
anytime, became normal, globally
recruiting labor was an option. Likewise,
continuing to work from home,
in a favorite place, a remote place,
or multiple places became real. That
meant we could work for anyone or
ourselves. With my SpaceX Starlink
dish, I can now work at high speeds
anywhere in the country for about
$99 per month. Why should I go to
an office or a cubicle (some would
say dungeon) when I could choose
the beach, the mountains, or my
pasture property in the country?
Additionally, it became apparent
that it was not about how much was
produced but how effective I was.
Value pricing took on a whole new
meaning when income covered
everything desired in the lifestyle.
If your firm is not offering at least
a hybrid work environment, you
might lose out on the best talent.
A certain amount of labor is needed
for the product mix your firm provides.
Where are you going to get that labor?
Outsourcing? And what does that do to
profitability and complexity? Further,
providing higher-level advisory services
requires professional skills beyond
compliance, driving reskilling again!
Additionally, compliance work has
never been more profitable. So why
should we change from a profitable,
Commentary by Randy Johnston
predictable lifestyle? As a result of profitable
engagements, most firms report
record earnings for 2020 and 2021. I
hope your firm was among them.
WILL AUTOMATION HELP?
Maybe, but probably not. While software
tools, such as pre-accounting
solutions like Dext, reduce work,
automation cannot overcome the
amount of labor needed. However,
the capabilities of the products are
improving. The accuracy is increasing.
Speed is improving in hardware,
communications, and throughput.
Connections between systems are
getting better, easier to implement,
and more reliable with tools like Zapier
and CData. In addition, underpinning
technologies like artificial intelligence
and machine learning provide developers
and users alike leverage.
Operational issues like engagement
letters are becoming easier
with tools like:
* Amelio by HKMP Technologies
* Knuula
* Practice Ignition
* And engagement pricing - Bookgel
integrates with BIZPAYO
Practice Management automation
is also saving team members time with
improved capabilities in
* Aero Workflow
* ATOM Software - Automated Tax
Office Manager
* Avii
* Canopy Practice Management
* Clarity Practice Management
* Karbon
* Pascal Workflow
* Practice Relief - AccountantsWorld
by IRIS
* TPS Clous Axis - TPS Time and
Billing Software
* STAR Practice Management by IRIS
* Xero Practice Manager
Client interactions are changing
for the better with products and
services like
* BooXkeeping
* Corvee
* Liscio
* SmartVault
* Suralink
But even with the improvements
in these supporting platforms, there
is not enough time in the day to get
everything done. Adages like " work
smarter, not harder " and " If You Don't
Have Time to Do It Right, When Will
You Have Time to Do It Over? " come to
mind. We need a revolution in accounting
professional labor, not an evolution!
WHAT DOES THE
FUTURE HOLD?
Another adage that I've written about
in the past is " The best way to predict
the future is to create it. " While the
future is always uncertain, I believe
the value of businesses is in their
people. As early as 2018, McKinsey
reported that automation and AI-based
solutions would bring higher productivity,
improved business performance,
and a greater need for new skill sets
by 2030. Reskilling will involve not
only digital skills but also cognitive
and emotional skills such as critical
thinking and communication or, as
McKinsey experts like to call it, " soft
skills for a hard world. " This transition
is already starting to happen. Are you
helping your team get there?
Traditional firms and services will
continue to exist. But, there will be a
new generation of clients and accounting
professionals who want something
different than the traditional model.
Can you create a firm where you would
be excited to come to work every day?
What does that mean to you, your firm,
and your staff? ■
Randy Johnston has been an entrepreneur,
technologist, and teacher for most of
his career. He has helped start and run
many businesses, and founded Network
Management Group,
Inc. and owns half of K2
Enterprises. Has written
for CPA Practice Advisor
since 2000.
APRIL 2022 ■ www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com
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