In today's challenging talent market, accounting firms face unprecedented pressure to retain their best performers. This course provides actionable, research-backed strategies to help firms keep their top talent from leaving. Based on comprehensive surveys of both current accounting professionals and those who have recently left the profession, participants will learn the real reasons employees stay or go-and what firms can do about it. The course goes beyond simple solutions like "pay more, expect less" to explore comprehensive retention strategies including whole-person compensation, work-life balance improvements, career development pathways, and necessary business model transformations. Participants will discover why 73% of surveyed professionals want to stay with their current firm, yet many still leave-and how to bridge that gap. Key topics include understanding the true cost of turnover versus retention, implementing flexible work arrangements that actually work, creating meaningful career paths for non-partner track professionals, and transforming firm operations to support both profitability and employee satisfaction. Special attention is given to retaining diverse talent and adapting to the expectations of younger professionals who will comprise 27% of the workforce by 2025. Whether you're a firm leader, HR professional, or manager responsible for team retention, this course provides the insights and tools needed to build a sustainable talent strategy in an evolving profession. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.
Learning Objectives
After attending this presentation, you will be able to...
- Identify the top factors that drive retention decisions
- Implement whole-person compensation strategies beyond salary
- Design flexible work arrangements that balance employee needs with client service
- Create meaningful career paths for professionals not seeking partnership
- Evaluate your firm's business model for retention sustainability
- Apply the "pentagon firm" model to reduce reliance on entry-level staff
- Develop retention strategies specific to diverse and younger professionals
- Assess your current scheduling and workload distribution practices
- Build a strategic retention plan with measurable outcomes
Major Topics
To purchase the report referenced in this presentation, or any of the research papers published by CPA Crossings, visit https://www.cpacrossings.com/research.
The major topics that will be covered in this course include:
- The true cost of turnover versus retention investment
- Research findings on why professionals leave or stay
- Whole-person retention strategies beyond compensation
- Work-life balance solutions that maintain productivity
- Career development paths for non-partner track professionals
- Business model transformations for sustainable staffing
- Technology and outsourcing strategies to reduce burnout
- Retention strategies specific to diverse talent and younger professionals
