Accounting firms look offshore amid ongoing talent drought

afr.com:

Accounting firm leaders say they continue to find it difficult to hire and retain quality staff and are increasingly sending work offshore to countries with low labour costs.

The complaints about a lack of qualified staff come amid a sector-wide shortage of accountants as junior and mid-level professionals leave private practice for commercial roles.

Recruiters in the sector say that accounting firms, particularly the big four, are not as appealing as they once were, partly due to the relatively higher pay and better work-life balance in commercial accounting and finance roles. Others in the sector say that firms are now more open to increasing pay for key staff members they want to retain.

Either way, firm leaders agreed that the lack of staff will be one of the main brakes on growth this financial year.

Brentnalls chairman Andrew Heazlewood said the firm was operating in “a very tight labour market”, which was putting pressure on profit margins.

“We are expecting greater staff availability in the current year, hopefully freeing up capacity to provide those advisory services which just wasn’t possible last year,” Mr Heazlewood said.

Income at the firm was up 9.5 per cent to $37 million, giving the firm a rank of 37 in this year’s The Australian Financial Review Top 100 Accounting Firms list.

DFK ANZ chairman Gavin Johns said that “attracting qualified staff is likely to remain a challenge into the foreseeable future”, while ECOVIS Clark Jacobs managing partner Heath Stewart said “staff turnover” was the biggest issue in 2023 with “staff leaving without even a job to go”.

Revenue at DFK ANZ, ranked at 24, was up 4 per cent to $57 million; ECOVIS Clark Jacobs grew revenue by 17 per cent to $13 million, and ranked 61 in