Released Tuesday by the Management of an Accounting Practice (MAP) Committee of the AICPA, the survey polled CPA firms across the country ranging in size from one professional (sole practitioner) to 21 or more professionals, asking them to rank the most important practice management challenges facing firms today. More than 1,000 CPA respondents completed the survey, double the number that participated last year.

Firms of all sizes gave a high importance rating to "finding and retaining qualified staff." However, large firms registered a particularly high level of concern, with 91 percent giving the issue a top importance ranking.  This unease over staffing is rooted in a scarcity of accounting graduates, a trend that is on the reverse due to various factors, such as the AICPA's five-year, $25 million student marketing campaign, and recent regulatory changes.

Other issues that make the study's list are "succession planning/developing future owners," "marketing/practice growth," "seasonality/workload compression," and "fee pressure/pricing of services." While it is not included in the top five, more than half of all respondents expressed concern about "the effect on smaller firms caused by the new [regulatory] standards."

The AICPA, PCPS and MAP groups continue to conduct research and develop programs to address staffing shortages. In late 2000, PCPS sponsored a survey of leading non-partner CPA professionals, the "Top Talent" survey. This assessment was followed in 2002 by the AICPA's Recruitment and Retention Survey of CPA firm partners, which identified the obstacles CPA firms face in attracting, hiring and retaining quality staff by evaluating trends and assessing current policies. Results from these surveys can be viewed at www.pcps.org.

The survey, conducted by California company IntelliSurvey, produces results that the MAP Committee uses to help guide the development of new programs, workshops, forums and initiatives.

By Firm Size

2003 Top Five MAP Issues for Sole Practitioners:
1. Changes and complexity of the tax laws
2. Keeping up with technology
3. Keeping up with the standards
4. The effect on smaller firms caused by the new standards
5. (tie) Seasonality/workload compression
6. (tie) Fee pressure/pricing of services

2003 Top Five MAP Issues for Firms with 2-5 CPAs:
1. Finding and retaining qualified staff
2. Marketing/practice growth
3. Fee pressure/pricing of services
4. Succession planning/identifying and developing future owners
5. Seasonality/workload compression

2003 Top Five MAP Issues for Firms with 6-10 CPAs:
1. Finding and retaining qualified staff
2. Succession planning/identifying and developing future owners
3. Marketing/practice growth
4. Seasonality/workload compression
5. The effect on smaller firms caused by the new standards

2003 Top Five MAP Issues for Firms with 11-20 CPAs:
1. Succession planning/identifying and developing future owners
2. Finding and retaining qualified staff
3. Marketing/practice growth
4. Seasonality/workload compression
5. Fee pressure/pricing of services

2003 Top Five MAP Issues for Firms with 21+ CPAs:
1. Succession planning/identifying and developing future owners
2. Finding and retaining qualified staff
3. Marketing/practice growth
4. Seasonality/workload compression
5. Establishing accountability for compensation for partners

See also:

• Companies Reveal Key to Employee Retention
• Five Things to Look for in Job Candidates
• Can You Do a Better Job Than Your Boss?