An Adelaide-based accounting firm has taken a particular focus on upskilling its staff to create its 'best chance' at succeeding in the mid to long term, with one of its executives saying he's never seen change in the accounting industry at its current pace.
Marcus Staker, an associate at Hood Sweeney & Associates, told Accountants Daily that he believes the industry is going to look “really, really different” in five years’ time and that accountants must continue to upskill themselves to move forward.
“I don't really recall a time when it's been this hard to predict what it will look like because everything is changing so quickly,” Mr Staker said.
“It's definitely going to look different and I think technology is a big part of that but I think it's really just about equipping yourself with the skills no matter what it does end up looking like.”
Mr Staker said equipping themselves with new skills will give accountants the “best chance” as continuing success in the future, and emphasised the importance of squeezing education into their usual routine.
“It's really around how to fit all of this into our already very busy work lives and not letting it fall by the wayside,” Mr Staker said.
“The easiest thing to do is just focus on your day-to-day tasks and keep the workflow moving through [and also to] build a strategic plan and a roadmap and set tracking mechanisms in place like KPIs and regular reporting.”
Mr Staker said that it’s also important for firms to be seen as helping their accountants upskill to attract new young talent.
“I think the main driver is really just the idea of growing the skill sets of all client-facing accountants at an earlier stage in their career and the end result is growing the business,” he said.
“I think that the big downfall is if you don’t keep up then you just won’t be growing and if you’re not growing then you just can’t give opportunities to that next level down talent.”
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