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SMEs and small practices

Careers in small and medium-sized accountancy practices

11th Aug 2020
This report explores how small practices can attract, develop and retain talent while building rewarding accounting careers.

At a glance

  • Understand career paths within small and medium practices.
  • Read our top tips for SMP employers, employees and candidates.
  • Explore the trends shaping SMP recruitment and professional development.
Download full report (PDF, 5.8 MB) Download summary report (PDF, 323 KB)
The opportunity for small and medium sized practices to grow in today’s business environment is unprecedented. Digital transformation, in particular, is truly enabling smaller accountancy firms to reimagine the services they offer, but successful change is critically dependent on attracting, developing and retaining the right people.

This report is based on the findings of more than 60 interviews conducted with SMP experts from around the world and provides a breadth of practical insights on talent attraction, development and retention within SMPs. 

Skills and attitudes fit for SMPs

SMP leaders are reconfirming the importance of attitudes and skills set out in ACCA’s seven professional quotients (ACCA 2016a) and CA ANZ Capability model (CA ANZ 2020). 

The importance of adaptability and readiness to engage in continuous learning, openness to sharing and readiness to take responsibility during early career stages were recurrently underlined as key for a successful career in SMPs. Shared values are becoming increasingly important for both employers and employees working for small practices.

Building the recruitment brand

The recruitment brand is as important for SMPs as the client brand: key arguments for attracting talent to SMPs need to be clearly communicated. Branding fulfils a dual function: on the one hand, it is a way of attracting talent by promoting and differentiating the practice. On the other hand, it acts as a filter so that unsuitable candidates sift themselves out.

SMPs have a compelling story to attract talent, and practice leaders are actively using social media both to convey their message to potential candidates and to engage them in a dialogue. We suggest 10 clearly formulated key areas for talent attraction that can be used by practice leaders building their recruitment brand.

Multimedia content

Some of the SMPs who participated in our research share their video stories with us:

10 ways of rethinking the employee proposition

  1. SMPs help businesses and wider society.
  2. SMPs offer personal growth, development and a ‘long-term’ career.
  3. SMPs have a spread of ages from 17 to 70+ and are already learning how to manage the multi-generational workforce.
  4. SMPs offer variety and are a springboard to career mobility.
  5. SMPs are creative and work at the cutting edge.
  6. SMPs offer work–life balance.
  7. SMPs are ethical.
  8. SMPs provide opportunities for participating in the success of the business.
  9. SMPs provide the opportunity to see the concrete results of one’s work.
  10. SMPs are a people’s business.

Attraction strategies

The recruitment techniques used by SMPs are evolving. Some SMPs use psychometric testing or profiling, particularly when looking at the balance of skills they want to bring into their teams; others ask their candidates to submit videos about themselves instead of writing covering letters and CVs. Those innovative practices have proved their value during the COVID-19 pandemic, when face-to-face interviews were impossible.

Both entry-level and experienced talent is in demand by SMPs. There is no universal pattern among accountancy practices and a lot depends on the business model and strategy of a particular practice.

Talent development and retention

Staff retention can be a critical issue for smaller practices. Progression is often said to be key to retention, with the opportunity to learn and develop new skills. It is important to look at development and retention in conjunction. The majority of SMPs do not restrict their employees to in-house development programmes, but instead support their initiatives for self- curated training and provide financing for external training opportunities. The use of mentoring, inter-generational cooperation, working in pod systems, networking, and involvement of employees in community work are just some of the approaches used by SMPs to develop staff. Building a continuous learning culture that can engage and support the workforce to adapt and transform in line with business needs is of supreme importance for SMPs.

Lessons learnt from Covid-19

The Covid-19 crisis has shown that the majority of SMPs, particularly those with a strong digital core, are ready to adapt rapidly to the changing world and could drive the transformation of the sector as a whole, thanks to their agility. Their pre-existing remote working culture and adaptability have facilitated the transition of SMPs to the 100% virtual environment that has been essential for most during the lockdown. A number of SMPs have decided to keep working 100% remotely. This will require a review of their approach to talent management, including remote on-boarding and mentoring.

To assist the SMPs’ talent management activities, this report offers practical checklists for both SMP employees and employers for talent attraction, development and retention that is also available as a stand alone document.

Why is this report different?

1. It focuses on practical aspects of careers specifically in SMPs – underlining both challenges and opportunities relevant for this field.

2. It is entirely based on real-life case studies and the testimonials of leading SMP experts.

3. It has global reach and covers case studies from 20 countries around the world.

4. It formulates a set of strong messages about how SMPs can attract talent and position themselves in the broader accountancy field.

5. It suggests top tips for both SMP employers and employees.

Career progression in SMPs is as much about personal and professional development and growth as it is about job titles and pay scales.

Aleksandra Zaronina-Kirillova

Head of SME – Policy and Insights, ACCA

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