We’ve said it before and will say it again, accountants are working way too much. Chatting with Alex Loewenstein, we’re beginning to believe accountants might be working harder and longer than ever due to changes in the profession.
Alex Loewenstein heads up talent acquisition for CPAs at Paro. Paro places fractional 1099 accounting professionals in firms. They aren’t a headhunter or staffing company, but a partner who helps source and oversee the freelance talent they help place in your firm.
Alex and I discuss the capacity crunch that has caught a lot of firms off guard. There are less people graduating with accounting degrees and those that are seem to be headed into private industry. Not to mention, accounting has become a lot less about transactional work. It is shifting to advisory.
This shift to advisory is a good thing as the profession becomes more automated but it creates more need for onboarding and training in order to hire new people. If you don’t have enough people, you as the firm owner are probably working way too many hours. Your staff is probably overworked too. That of course only worsens your capacity constraints. It can be a cycle that really leaves you overwhelmed and overworked.
Alex and I talk about what helps attract the right people to your firm. ( Hint: it has to do with remote work.) It is much easier to find the right employee without the constraint of geography.
Take a listen on the player below or listen here.
Timestamps:
01:42 – Alex’s Background
05:02 – What’s the common way that Paro/You help a CPA firm?
07:03 – How many people did Paro have when you started?
08:34 – How did COVID affect Paro?
14:26 – Capacity – Any insight on why capacity has become so scarce for firm owners?
19:27 – Burnout – How does Paro help firm owners that are burned out?
24:20 – Do you do small engagement placement too?
28:58 – How do firms distinguish themselves to attract employees?
31:21 – Predictions of what will change in the industry moving forward
33:47 – Book recommendation (Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain / Undaunted Courage)
35:08 – What’s one bit of advice or life lesson that you can share?
36:17 – Alex’s socials – LinkedIn – alex@paro.io – Paro.ai
