If you are like most accounting firm partners, the problem that is interrupting your sleep is recruiting and retaining qualified staff. According to the AICPA biennial Top Issues Survey, whether you are sole practitioner or have 21+ professionals on your team, it’s all about the staff.

From Succession Planning to Bringing in New Clients, Retaining and Sourcing Qualified Staff, the “soft skills” in accounting management are creating anxiety.

Question is: What are you doing about it?

Professional skills training allows you to invest in your staff, providing important education and training that can, in turn, improve retention, develop tomorrow’s leaders and improve client relationships. You may want to start with an easy survey, nothing too complicated or cumbersome.

•  Offer 4 or 5 continuing education options and allow your staff to rank them in importance.

•  If you have exit interviews on file, review them to better understand why high potential staff are leaving your firm and joining another.

•  Talk to industry insiders, like your state’s society of CPAs, to learn more about the key issues in your area.

Develop a plan for continuing education in accounting and soft skills for your staff that is updated annually. A good night’s sleep is right around the corner!