September 2020

The growing demands from computer-literate clients mean a new kind of accounting profession is emerging, says a new survey from Sage.

The fourth annual ‘The Practice of Now’ survey found more than half (51%) of respondents believe accountants joining the profession today need financial advisory skills, including cashflow and growth modelling.

To provide these skillsets more accountancy firms are willing to recruit outside of the industry – 82% say they are open to recruiting candidates without an accounting background, such as project management or customer services.

New talent has also become a vital source of innovation. Some 84% of accountants agree that prospective younger employees have progressive expectations, attitudes and talent, which are forcing them to change and reflect in order to attract the best staff.

The survey says accountants in practice are being forced to rapidly evolve their roles to become ‘change makers’, as digitalisation and growing client demands drive disruption and innovation across the industry.

The results found that 82% of accountants’ clients are demanding more business advice and consultancy services. Nearly nine in 10 (87%) said they are expected to offer more flexibly and better services without an increase in rates.

It all means accountants have had to invest more and faster to keep up with the market.

You can see the full report here.