The ICAEW’s Evolution of Mid-Tier Accountancy Firms research findings make for interesting reading once again this year. In particular, the changes firms see as impacting their recruitment profile and the skills needed for future accountants give accounting educators lots to think about.
The report identifies that firms broadly agree that AI will reduce demand for some early-career roles but that, at the moment, most firms do not anticipate an overall reduction in the recruitment of junior roles. I wonder how long this will last. I also wonder about the longer-term impact – there are still mid-career and senior roles needed. Will there be enough skilled and experienced professionals to fill these roles?
Employers also expect changes to their recruitment in the balance between graduates and school-leavers. 49% of firms expect to increase the number of school leaver trainees and 40% expect to decrease the number of graduate trainees. This could have interesting implications for the profession in the long term if more and more qualified accountants are those that choose to become accountants when they leave school at 18. With potentially fewer graduate positions available, will we be losing some excellent talent to other careers? Many people who have entered the accounting profession didn’t know what career they wanted to go in to when they were still at school. Others weren’t quite ready for the workplace at 18 but are more than ready a few years later. It will be very interesting to see how this picture develops over time. If we do see fewer junior roles and this does lead to a shortage of people available for mid-career roles, could this lead to a different entry point into the profession for people who have been working in other areas of business? Perhaps not, but the diversity of thought and experience that graduates bring to the profession adds value. It will be useful to keep a conversation going to see whether firms notice any shift in ways of working alongside this shift in recruitment profile.
Firms highlighted several factors influencing hiring decisions, primarily increases in employer National Insurance contributions, changes to the Level 7 apprenticeship funding and the impact of employment rights legislation. There seem to be clear business reasons why recruiting more school leavers makes sense to firms. This presents an interesting challenge for schools and colleges in preparing more of their students for the rigorous recruitment processes lots of firms have in place. We all have an interest in encouraging young, talented people into the profession. This is an exciting opportunity for accounting educators to support more of those young people to be well prepared for the recruitment process and for the workplace. This is something the different parties can work together on to help set these young people up for success.
Another interesting factor in this changing outlook is around the skills that the future accountant might need. 83% of firms agreed that the role of the accountant will pivot from compliance and reporting to judgement, systems thinking and ethical oversight by 2030. Many of these skills are developed in the workplace – how can accounting educators help to ensure their students are ready to thrive in this changing work environment? I’m not sure it’s a complete move away from the current skills accountants need and that we help prepare them for already.
Accountants will still need technical knowledge, an ability to work in a team, good communication skills, professional judgement and most of the other important skills that accountants need have. As technology moves at its rapid pace, what our students need is awareness, resilience and the ability to adapt. We can’t expose them to every bit of technology they might encounter or develop every skill they will ever need in the workplace, but we can encourage them embrace the dynamic environment they are entering and to continually seek opportunities to develop their skills.
Employers, educators and young people are all looking for the same thing – talented people wanting to thrive in the profession. This report seems to indicate that things are moving firmly and rapidly in a new direction. It feels like an opportunity for these groups to work together to make the future of accounting an attractive place to work, with young people set up to succeed when they get there. Exciting times.
*the views expressed are the author’s and not ICAEW’s
