Accounting firms have a “massive opportunity to modernize how [they] attract and retain talent,” according to Ashley Nash, director of partner firm recruiting at Top 50 Firm Ascend, a sentiment echoed by other accounting firms making the best of a much-discussed, volatile talent market. 

A cross-section of accounting firms share how they are honing their recruitment techniques in the face of a talent pipeline that has shrunk in recent years — and also been diverted into targeting candidates with alternate college majors or areas of expertise.

“The accounting industry is at a turning point,” Nash said, sharing her perspective in her role with the Arlington, Virginia-based firm and the firms on its private equity-backed platform. “A growing talent shortage — especially at the manager and senior manager levels — is putting pressure on firms to rethink how they attract and retain top talent. The challenge isn’t just volume; it’s about finding professionals who are technically excellent and who can also be future leaders within their firms.”

Hiring strategies

Aprio, a private equity-funded and Atlanta-based Top 25 Firm, has made its own adjustments to meet its hiring needs.

“We are focused on consistency in how we evaluate candidates, using tools like behavioral assessments and clear feedback loops to guide better hiring decisions,” explained chief human resources officer Larry Sheftel. “We aim to create a hiring experience that reflects Aprio’s innovative, people-first, and growth-oriented values.”

Ascend seeks assistance from other industries to improve hiring techniques.

“A key part of our approach is bringing in experienced professional recruiters from outside the accounting industry — experts who focus exclusively on talent acquisition and bring fresh perspectives to sourcing, hiring and candidate engagement,” Nash said. 

It’s not only the hiring process that can benefit from outsiders — firms are increasingly hiring non-CPA candidates to both remedy the pipeline issue and stay competitive. 

“The scale of, the need for complexity, the need for quote unquote accounting firms to solve more varied issues and problems for clients, it’s evolved to accounting firms being more than accounting firms, they’re accounting firms, and IT firms, business advisory firms,” said Ty Beasley, chief talent officer at Top Five Firm RSM, identifying himself as among the non-CPAs.

“We understand it’s not just finding people to solve accounting problems, or just through the four-year degree systems,” he continued. “We’ve opened up our talent attraction pipeline to other avenues” which Beasley listed as including community colleges and trade schools. 

Tucson, Arizona-based Regional Leader BeachFleischman is finding success hiring more project managers, coming from a range of nonaccounting backgrounds. 

“It was a role created to do front legwork of the collection of documents,” explained learning and organizational development manager Cheryl Hutchins. “They’re talking to clients upfront to get their information in and organized; different from last year in getting all that organized before the tax return is logged, and working with managers on due dates, what is missing — it’s been insanely successful.”

The firm started with one or two project managers and is now up to five with plans to add more, and “recruiting from different majors, probably business majors,” Hutchins said. BeachFleischman also recently created an innovation department with an innovation principal and client experience manager, and is recruiting for a data expert that will also target talent beyond CPA license-holders.

Firms are also looking for talent at various experience levels, though Ascend is concentrating on a few in particular, said Nash: “We support hiring across the full career life cycle, from early-career associates to executive leadership. However, the majority of our work is concentrated at the experienced associate through senior manager levels, where we see the greatest need and the most immediate impact.”

Meanwhile, at BeachFleischman, internships are a “huge recruiting source,” according to Hutchins.

“It’s ideal if we have interns who know from being here that they like public accounting, they like BeachFleischman, they like tax, audit or whatever they are doing. … We know they do good work and have been exposed to the processes and people,” she shared. “In recruiting, we’re really digging in, showing BeachFleischman upfront, and how do we, whether in the recruiting sphere or internships, show what makes BeachFleischman cool. We’re different than a Big Four firm, than a really small firm. They can see the clients we work with, sit down with the CEO — we’re planning fireside chats. We frontload that experience, and [show] it’s a good fit for a certain person.”

Nash would agree that differentiation is very important in today’s job market, where firms need to send a clear message of what they can offer.

“It’s an increasingly candidate-driven market, and firms can no longer rely on traditional recruiting approaches,” Nash said. “Candidates want transparency, speed and a clear path for growth — and they’re willing to move for it. The firms that are succeeding are those that lead with clarity, flexibility and culture. Our job is to help our firms become employers of choice in this new landscape — through thoughtful storytelling, streamlined processes and a commitment to candidate experience.”

Effective onboarding

Though recruiting can feel like even more than half the battle in today’s job market, all-important retention starts with a welcoming and supportive environment for new hires. At Elk Grove Village, Illinois-based Regional Leader Porte Brown, it also means a smooth transition for entry-level staff.

“It is common for us to make employment offers up to 18 months before a candidate graduates college,” reported Adam Hoffman, chief human resources officer. “It is important for us to maintain communication with these candidates to keep them informed and excited about their future career. When a new employee starts at Porte Brown, we provide them with upwards of 200 hours of training and give them the opportunity to explore opportunities within the firm, including tax, audit, accounting and various other services we provide.”

“As we grow, we know our hiring process needs to effectively link between hiring and long-term talent development,” shared Aprio’s Sheftel. “Just as important as making the right hire is ensuring that new team members are positioned for success. We place greater emphasis on onboarding, early engagement and role-specific training to help new hires feel connected and supported from day one.”

“Once the technical infrastructure is in place, our learning and development team leads a thorough introduction to the firm — highlighting our rich history, distinctive culture and forward-looking strategic vision,” Sheftel continued. “To further support a seamless transition, each new team member is thoughtfully paired with a peer buddy, fostering early connections and providing meaningful guidance throughout the acclimation process during the new hire’s first eight weeks.”

The development goes both ways, Sheftel explained, with Aprio fine-tuning its own approach to shaping the next generation. 

“Our L&D team is intentional about continuous improvement. They issue a survey to each new hire after their first eight weeks to learn what worked well and where opportunities exist to enhance our programming. We also benchmark the results with Gartner’s global onboarding data. We are proud to say that new hires rate our onboarding program favorably, 11 points higher than Gartner’s U.S. benchmark.”

Mentorship and training are key to long-term success, as Ascend has found in guiding the firms on its platform.

“Over the last year, we’ve worked closely with our firms to bring more structure and intentionality to their development efforts — starting with transparency,” said Stefany Sandoval, Ascend’s head of professional development. “We’ve helped create clear outcomes, activities and KPIs for each role, more consistent onboarding, and more thoughtful performance reviews. We’ve supported firms in implementing a new management structure — one that ensures every employee has a leader accountable not only for their output, but for their career development. And we’ve doubled down on upskilling those people managers, so they have the tools to lead with clarity, empathy and accountability.”

Porte Brown also stressed the importance of mentorship.

“New hires at Porte Brown are assigned a manager that coaches them on best practices and technical skills within their role,” Hoffman said. “They are assigned a mentor that helps them get acclimated to the work environment and act as another point of contact for any questions. The training department plays a vital role in teaching them everything they need to know for their career and reviews their work.”

Firms are finding that their youngest members have unique challenges.

“We also continue to see the lingering effects of the pandemic on early career talent, particularly among students who began college during COVID,” explained Sheftel. “Limited in-person learning and remote experiences have impacted the development of foundational professional and communication skills, which presents a challenge as they transition into the workplace.”

The generation also has specific needs. “We’re navigating a generational shift where the next wave of talent is seeking more than just stability — they want flexibility, purpose, growth and strong leadership,” Nash said. “Firms are competing for a shrinking pool of experienced professionals, and at the same time, battling outdated perceptions of the industry. Repositioning accounting as a dynamic, fulfilling career path isn’t just an opportunity — it’s a necessity.”