Attracting and engaging young talent in accounting

The UK Digital Strategy focuses on six core ways in which digital technologies will be governed to make the UK a global tech superpower. It is now up to each industry and company to make sure they align with the strategic priorities, writes Emma Crawford-Falekaono, head of EMEA at Ignition

As part of the strategy there is a renewed focus on making sure that future generations have the digital skills they need to enter the workforce.

This is no different for the accounting industry, especially as there is currently a wide generational gap across the sector, with the Financial Reporting Council finding that less than a quarter (21%) of worldwide accountancy body members are aged under 35 as of 2020.

Although we have seen a huge digital transformation across the industry, more needs to be done to provide employees with the digital skills they need to succeed in the current workplace. The accountancy sector needs to adapt to the needs and wants of a modern workforce. Millennials and Gen Z are more digitally native, and this new way of working needs to be reflected in the tools and solutions that employers offer them, to support both the employee and customer experience.

In order to respond to the ever-changing needs of the economy, it is vital that the accounting and wider professional services industries foster a culture of life-long learning – otherwise they risk losing out on securing talent from future generations.

 Dispelling common myths

Young people often see the accountancy and professional services sectors as outdated. This is partly due to a wider choice of business careers available to students, resulting in many young people turning to corporate accountancy, sales, or marketing careers. It can also be down to the view that working at an accounting firm is more stressful due to a traditionally hierarchical structure, a generally less inclusive environment, and the perception that it takes longer for career progression and spaces for partner roles are limited.

Younger workers may also think that the sector lacks technological advancement, and that it uses legacy systems without evolving its solutions and offerings. However, this is far from reality. In fact, the accountancy sector has digitised all areas of the business, with the introduction of automation to complete tasks such as making payments easier, and simplifying new business proposals by creating templates that can be tailored at the click of a button.

This all needs to be made clearer to younger generations as they start thinking about their next steps after education. Younger workers can be attracted to work at a business if they are reassured that businesses have the right tools in place to support their learning and development, and provide them with a streamlined way to support their clients.

 Utilising your people’s talents

One of the many forms of waste in a business is underutilising talent. Leaders might go into a situation thinking they need the right people, clients, and tools, but in reality, they just need to listen to their people effectively and use their talents wisely, to make sure they are putting the right frameworks in place to support them.

This needs to be led from the top and initiated by leaders. The accounting industry often finds those at the top are less ‘on the tools’ and adapting to new technologies or ways of doing things, so they need to make it clear that they are on-board with using new technologies and open to new ideas.

For example, a junior member of staff may want to engage with clients using technology, but they might be restricted by their role scope or the platforms the firm chooses to implement without buy-in from the employee team. Here, leaders need to empower younger talent to develop their digital skills in the sector, and make them aware of the wide range of ways that technology is used to enhance productivity for both employees and customers.

 Optimising the transition to digital

Processes within accounting firms need to change to optimise the transition to digital. It is not enough for employers to proclaim they are digitised because they use a certain platform when staff still have to follow an outdated training route to earn their stripes.

Once a business has the right tools in place, it needs the right workforce to use these solutions to effectively modernise the business and attract exciting and profitable new clients. Digitisation is for both employees and customers – and change across the industry will only happen once this is recognised.

Tech adoption has significantly increased and sped up over the last two years, opening up a bigger market across the UK. As a country we are also the gateway to many other markets across EMEA. All this means leaders across the accountancy and professional services sectors must be engaging with the strong talent pool they have on hand, to ensure they are attracting people that have the potential to evolve their services and future-proof their businesses.