(sav.gov.vn) - In 2024, with optimism about economic growth, the demand for accounting and auditing services is expected to spike, boosting the demand for personnel recruitment. In particular, the technology and finance sector will attract potential accountants, auditors with high starting salaries and more incentives.
Ability to recruit, retain talent is top concern
According to a recent study by Arizent - a financial advisory company, in 2024, accounting and auditing firms are quite confident about their success when up to 71% of respondents expect growth of 4% or more and 26% expect double-digit growth. Compared to recent years, concerns about the recession have fallen dramatically, and only 11% of accountants think the recession could occur. In addition, only 19% expressed concerns about inflation, down 27% from last year's survey.
The proportion of accounting and auditing businesses that predict revenue will remain unchanged or decrease in 2024 is only 12%. However, most of these companies are small businesses (4 employees or less) whose owners are about to retire, not due to business difficulties. In addition, 55% of accountants and auditors believe that the 2024 tax season will be less pressured than in previous years.
Although optimism is evident, the increased number of jobs has created high demand for hiring while supply is short. Up to 54% of accounting and auditing firms are expected to recruit new ones in 2024, mostly large companies. However, the data from the American Institute of Notarial Accountants show that students studying accounting at the University are gradually decreasing, and the number of people enrolled in this discipline becoming professional accountants is also significantly reduced. Moreover, more and more people are leaving the field in the middle of their careers, while those with more experience are gradually retiring.
Businesses are feeling pressure and the majority believe that recruiting and retaining good employees is one of the top problems that their company faces in 2024. In particular, this issue becomes even more urgent for large-scale companies, leading to a battle for talent not only in the industry but among enterprises of other professions such as technology, finance, banking...
In addition, 34% of businesses expect their employees to work all Saturday during tax season; 52% of companies require employees to work full-time (significantly higher than comparable sectors such as banking) and refuse to consider hiring remote employees. This becomes a major obstacle to recruitment and makes accounting and auditing firms less attractive in the eyes of potential candidates. Arizent experts emphasize that a closer look at work policies and salaries is needed to maximize the attractiveness of the business to candidates. At the same time, alternatives such as technology and outsourcing can be applied instead of having to compete for human resources.
Technology is a solution
Given the difficulty of recruiting employees, accounting firms are taking into account the solution of investing in technology. 34% of accounting and auditing firms plan to spend more than 20% of their budget on information technology in 2024, and almost no company intends to reduce spending, although this cost is not low. According to the Arizent survey, 13% of businesses have deployed some type of artificial intelligence, machine learning tools, and about 26% of businesses are expected to deploy these tools by 2024.
Besides human resources and technology, accounting and auditing companies are also planning to focus more on consulting services. 49% of companies said they expected to spend more time on consulting by 2024, of which 27% would spend more time on compliance services if they could find staff to do it. do that job. To help reduce the workload, businesses will have to make long-term plans and supplement plans each year.
Companies can improve their capacity to perform more consulting work using technology to simplify the process of receiving customers, collecting documents, and reducing administrative time. In addition, accounting and auditing companies need to carefully assess the technology budget to ensure the right amount of money is invested in the right field.
One can see that accountants and auditors are gradually shifting from traditional jobs to consulting activities and discovering new technologies. Companies providing accounting and auditing services have made great strides in creating a diverse and inclusive work environment, helping employees to develop careers, be empowered, and receive more benefits. But, to achieve their recruitment goals, they will have to further change their management methods and invest appropriately in technology./.