6 best practices to attract top accountants

This article is a submission by D&V Philippines. D&V Philippines has years of experience in the accounting and finance industry. This third-party services company can generate the financial reports you need to make real-time financial decisions. 

Accounting firms will only thrive if they have top talent in their leadership positions and within their ranks. Without experienced, certified, and skilled accountants, firms will lose clients or fail to attract them.

This results in a loss of profits and may even lead to the closing of a firm. You must not only attract top accountants who are talented and experienced, but you also need to retain them once they join your company. 

6 ways to attract top accountants

Attracting top accountants is a difficult but necessary endeavor. You’ll have to outdo your closest competitors in a variety of ways.

These are some of the best practices you can implement:

1. It starts with the compensation package

Many potential employees prioritize the compensation package offered to them. If you can’t meet their salary and benefits demands, at least be competitive with other accounting firms.

The money they see in the offer sheet isn’t their only consideration. They will also review the benefits you attach to your package, such as:

• Number of paid vacation leaves
• Possibility of working remotely
• Wellness programs
• Healthcare
• Paid sick leaves
• Percentage of annual salary appraisals

Listen to your employees and potential ones for their feedback regarding your firm’s compensation package. Improving it allows you to attract top accountants. 

2. Improve your branding

Some employees go beyond the offer sheet and its incentives when they choose firms to work with. They want to find a company that shares their values, career, and personal goals.

This is when you need to improve the branding of your organization. Illustrate the values of your company through your social media postings. You can also discuss these with potential employees during the interview sessions.

Highlight corporate values throughout your office and online platforms. Doing so enables you to communicate what your firm is about as an applicant reviews your company and as they go through the interview process.  

3. Partner with academic institutions

One way to pique the interest of top accounting talent is to partner with academic institutions. Universities and colleges provide your firm with a deep talent pool.

Form partnerships in various ways, such as:

• Offering internships for students
• Conducting workshops for future accountants
• Participating in job fairs
• Offering scholarships for top-performing students

These create a good impression on prospective employees who might want to join your organization in the future.  

4. Incentivize referrals from your employees

Your employees are your firm’s biggest brand ambassadors. The better you treat them, the likelier they are to refer people they know to apply for accounting vacancies.

Make the deal sweeter for them by offering incentives whenever they successfully refer a talented accountant. The most common incentive for referral programs is cash.

However, you can get creative to encourage your employees to refer applicants. You can offer additional vacation days, non-cash rewards such as gift checks or items, and other types. This recruitment strategy enables you to broaden your firm’s reach through your employees’ network.

You also connect directly with a talented pool of potential accountants without spending too much on recruitment campaigns. 

5. Offer flexible work schedules

More and more employees are looking for flexible schedules since the pandemic has shown that some can accomplish their tasks despite not having to work in their offices.

Applicants can apply to a firm that provides a work-from-home setup or at least a hybrid one instead of a company that requires them to report to an office daily.

Establish the possible work schedule and setup during the screening and interview process. This entices talented and top accountants to apply. It also allows you to hire them outright before your competitors do so. 

6. Implement work-life balance policies

Employees are no longer content with giving all their time and energy to their jobs. They have a life outside the confines of their job description.

Showcase the culture and values of your employees to applicants. Create profiles of employees and managers that not only show their expertise in finance and accounting but also their hobbies and passions outside of work.

Foster an environment that allows employees to balance their jobs and life outside of it. Implement policies that allow your workforce to grow in your organization and gain skills that enable them to reach their full potential.  

How do you retain your talented employees? 

You need to attract top accountants, but the next step is to retain your best employees. Here are the best practices you can implement:

Improve key performance indicators

Modify the key performance indicators (KPIs) of your employees. Match these with their career objectives and your company’s goals. Customize KPIs based on an employee’s level in your organization.

Communicate KPIs clearly to your team so they know how well they’re performing. 

Provide career opportunities

Your employees have their own goals throughout their stay in your accounting firm.

Provide a clear career advancement path for them. This enables them to know what they need to achieve and the tasks they need to accomplish to get a promotion. 

Recognition for contributions

Recognize the contributions and the success your employees delivered to your organization.

This encourages them to stay motivated and engaged in the work you give them. This also positively affects their effort and perspective about your firm. 

Provide regular feedback

Feedback is important to your employees. They need to know their performance, strengths and weaknesses, their progress throughout their tenure with your company, and their relationship with their colleagues.

Schedule one-on-one and team meetings to provide feedback. Establish lines of communication to discuss the feedback you gave your employees. 

Attracting top talents to your accounting firm and retaining your best employees work together. Both give your firm a competitive advantage because one of the best assets of any organization is its people.

The best practices mentioned above can set you apart from your competitors.