Professional Development in Accounting: 7 Reasons High-Performing Accounting Firms Use Coaching

The accountancy industry has changed in the last two years. More people are retiring than entering the workforce, increasing the challenges of retaining top talent and attracting new talent. This makes retaining existing talent more important than ever.

Technology and the rise of AI have changed the skillset accountants need, meaning those in the workforce now need support to adapt their skills and stay ahead of industry trends.

Not addressing employees’ concerns can lead to disengagement, which Gallup estimates cost $8.9 trillion in global GDP in 2021.

So, what can accountancy firms do to re-engage accountants and support professional development in accounting?

Coaching can help accountancy firms retain existing employees, saving money on hiring and making more through increased employee productivity.

Let’s dive deeper into how coaching can support professional development in accounting.

Improve talent retention

Gallup research found that it costs between half and double an employee’s salary to replace them. This cost includes recruitment, onboarding, training, and the inevitable reduced productivity that comes from a new hire getting used to new ways of working, which estimates suggest can take anywhere from 8-12 months.

The more senior someone’s role is, the more expensive it is to replace them.

Replacing an employee on £50,000 a year could cost up to £100,000, for example.

Talent retention is an obvious solution to reducing this cost.

The more accountancy firms do to retain accountants, the more money they save on hiring. Giving them more to invest in business growth and supporting accountants’ professional growth, too.

Most of the accountants entering the workforce now are Gen Z. Much like millennials, they want more from their work.

When Gartner surveyed almost 3,500 employees, it found that energized employees who feel excited to work are 31% more likely to stay, 31% more likely to go above and beyond at work, and contribute 15% more.

So how do you energize the next generation of accountants?

Deloitte research found that 86% of Gen Z and 89% of millennials feel it’s important to have a purpose to their work. Purpose increases their overall job satisfaction and well-being.

They’ll also turn down assignments and employers who don’t align with their values. 

Providing a sense of purpose to this demographic is crucial: Gallup discovered that just 35% of younger millennials and Gen Z employees (born after 1989) are actively engaged, and 14% are actively disengaged.

The cost of this disengagement quickly adds up, contributing to the $8.9 trillion lost each year to disengaged employees.

As well as a sense of purpose, those employees want to feel supported in their roles and have development plans in place to help them achieve their goals.

Aid talent development

High performance can only happen when an employee is comfortable in their role and has the necessary professional skills.

For this to happen, accountancy firms need to show their accountants that they appreciate their employees.

Upskilling and reskilling are key parts of talent development and employee well-being, especially with the rise of AI. 

According to the American Psychology Association, almost 51% of employees who worry AI may take some or all of their duties report that work negatively impacts their mental health.

Further, 66% of respondents who worry about AI believe their employer thinks their workplace is mentally healthier than it actually is. Showing there’s a huge disconnect between employees’ concerns, management’s awareness of current issues, and the support employers provide.

Accountancy firms need to find ways to reassure their employees and support them along their career paths.

Professional development is how accountancy firms can retain their top talent even if that person’s job becomes redundant.

Learning a new skill—and enhancing existing ones—shouldn’t just be saved for when an accountant has a problem to solve.

Continuous professional growth can play a role in accountants’ development, giving them the skills and experience they need to be more prepared to handle the challenges work and life throws their way. This helps them with their career progression and helps them achieve their career goals sooner.

The most successful, productive, happy employees embrace lifelong learning. They know that continuous learning and a growth mindset are important for exercising our mental muscles, allowing us to think more creatively and find new ways to solve problems.

Too many employees are disengaged at work because they don’t see how their efforts contribute to their future goals.

Coaching can help them find their north star, align their current goal with it, and understand how high performance in their current role can benefit them and their employer.

Employees want to feel like they’re part of more than just a transactional relationship with their employer. Offering them a purpose for their role that aligns with the company purpose helps eliminate this feeling, making them more productive and happier in their roles.

This purpose could be something big-picture, like contributing to the environment. Or it could simply be knowing what they need to do on a daily basis and getting the help they need to stay focused.

Speed up performance improvement

The quickest way to excel in any role is with continuous feedback.

As we get more senior in our careers, it can be difficult to find people who can challenge us enough to keep growing, but it’s a vital part of professional competence and accounting education. It ensures accounting professionals know how to handle difficult situations and can adapt quickly to change.

Continuing professional development helps accountants develop the self-awareness they need to spot areas for improvement.

Career development keeps their roles fresh and nurtures the hard and soft skills they need to remain competent, such as strategic thinking and constructive feedback.

Develop strategic thinking

As more and more firms use AI for administration tasks, strategic management will become an important differentiator between accountancy firms and their competition.

Technical skills will only tell half the story and won’t be enough to attract and retain clients—or accountants.

AI simply isn’t capable of the creative thinking or understanding of nuance that’s required to solve complex problems.

When your accountants can think strategically, they’re in a powerful position to advise your clients—and each other. They learn practical accountancy skills that AI can’t replicate, as it doesn’t have the context or experience to handle nuance or tailor advice to clients’ unique situations and challenges.

Sage data suggests that 82% of accounting firms have found that clients expect more services and resources from their accountants today than they did five years ago. 

Xero research, meanwhile, found that 39% of business owners want an advisor with exceptional attention to detail. 

These accountancy skills are quickly turning into non-negotiable market differentiators. Coaching can help accountants develop these skills in a tailored one-on-one or group environment, making the training they receive unique to your company and its employees’ needs.

Grow resilience

We live in unpredictable times. With the rise of AI, many employees are concerned about their jobs and if they’ll even exist in five years’ time. This leads to a lot of uncertainty that can inevitably hinder employee performance and mental health, as the data above demonstrates.

Coaching can give accountants the support they need to find strength in adversity and become more resilient. It can also teach them new skills that allow them to stand out in the age of AI and automation.

Resilience can teach accountants how to handle daily challenges and reduce their chances of becoming stressed at work. 

It can also reduce the time they spend off sick due to poor mental health and the physical challenges that come from long-term stress.

Zurich research has found that 10.3 million workers—that’s one in three—manage a long-term health condition. By 2030, this could cost the economy £66.3bn a year in lost productivity.

Despite this, only a third of workers receive support from their employer to return to work. 

Providing return-to-work coaching and continuous support when employees work while navigating a long-term health problem is crucial in reducing the strain chronic illnesses place on employees, their families, and their employers. 

Offering this support ensures companies don’t lose out on the knowledge these employees have, or their contributions to diversity and inclusion initiatives.

According to The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), those who don’t take sick leave cost the economy billions of pounds in lost productivity each year. IPPR also recommends employers do more to support workplace health to reduce this impact.

Support leadership development

Organizations that support managers with engagement action planning increase employee engagement by up to 51%, Gartner research found. 

It also found that half of employees feel their managers tailor feedback based on the role they want to move into. Businesses need to do more to support the next generation of leaders as they grow so that they’re prepared to take over as existing managers retire or move on.

Coaching often involves leadership development. It can support your next generation of leaders to ensure leadership style continuity.

Or, if your leaders want to change how things are done, it can support them in implementing the changes that need to happen. It can teach them how to communicate with employees in an empathetic, understanding way so that employees feel heard and supported throughout the organizational change.

Leadership is often seen as a natural progression as someone climbs the career ladder, but just a quarter of leaders receive adequate training. This can fracture relationships and lead to more disengaged employees as they’re led without knowledge, compassion, or direction.

With coaching, leaders can develop the soft skills they need to empower their employees in the ways that they need.

It can help executives develop active listening skills, the ability to give and receive feedback, and teach them how to trust their employees to do their jobs (even if they work remotely).

PwC’s Trust in US Business Survey found that 86% of executives claim to highly trust their employees. 

But just 60% of employees feel highly trusted. 

And how they feel is key to employee engagement levels—a lack of trust can negatively impact employees’ mental health and reduce their workplace performance. It can also negatively affect company culture in a way that no amount of employee benefits can repair.

Providing executives with the support and knowledge they need to become better leaders and listen to their employees can help mend this fragmented relationship, leading to increased trust on both sides. 

That starts with improved communication, a crucial skill that often gets overlooked but plays a vital role in job satisfaction for everyone.

Better communication means managers can lead by positive example, allowing employees to bring their whole selves to work and boosting their mental health and productivity as a result.

Stay ahead of the competition

The accountancy industry is transforming. Supporting professional development in accounting is key to differentiating your accountancy firm from the competition.

Coaching can support accountants’ personal and professional development, providing them with the tools they need to handle everyday challenges, address complex issues, and adapt to unexpected changes.

It also improves their soft skills, making them better at communicating with colleagues and clients. This means they can provide a higher quality of customer service, improve client retention, and attract new business through high-quality strategic management and financial reporting.

Book a call today if you’d like to find out how coaching can benefit your accounting business.