At a Glance Most important attributes, according to young CPAs 74% say good compensation 67% say comprehensive resources to get the job done 63% say an ethical leadership culture 51% say flexible hours 49% say support for continuing professional education Source: 2006 CCH Young Accounting Professionals Survey

The survey findings were released at the CCH User Conference in Boca Raton this week. Conducted by Harris Interactive, the survey measured what is important to CPAs with four to seven years of experience and how well their firms were doing at delivering on key attributes in four areas: firm resources and infrastructure; benefits and compensation; professional training and development; and firm culture. 

In nearly every instance, fewer than one-half of firms received a very good rating on their ability to deliver on the attributes most important to these professionals.

"Young CPAs with four to seven years of experience are an important asset to firms that want to grow their business," said Kevin Robert, CCH president and CEO. "These individuals have the base experience and are eager to move into the more challenging positions that are both being vacated as baby boomers begin to retire and are being created as new demands on the profession develop." Robert said this group is evaluating career options and weighing whether or not to stay with their current employers.

Infastructure. When asked to choose the three most important infrastructure attributes, 67 percent of young CPAs cited "comprehensive resources to get the job done," 55 percent cited "access to the latest technology to aid productivity," and 48 percent cited "investment in leading tax and accounting software" as most important.

However, less than one-half of firms received a "very good" rating by young CPAs in delivering on any of these important attributes. In fact, less than half highly rated their firm's ability to provide any of these three offerings.

"This is a technology savvy workforce," said Mike Sabbatis, CCH executive vice president of global sales and marketing. "It's clear they know that the right technology can improve their productivity and increase the value of their contributions to their firm.  It's frustrating for them when they don't have access to the tools that can make them more effective and efficient in their work."

Culture. Not surprisingly, the CCH survey found that ethical leadership is considered among the most important firm culture attributes by 63 percent of young CPAs. Nearly as important is having a workplace that encourages a work/life balance, with 56 percent of young CPAs seeing this as important.  Twenty-four percent also rank high-quality feedback as among the top three most important firm culture attributes. 

Overall, more than one-half (55 percent) of CPAs gave their firms a very good rating when it comes to ethical leadership. But only 38 percent of firms get a very good rating on their work/life balance programs, and they do even worse when it comes to giving high-quality feedback, with only 13 percent of CPAs saying their firms do a very good job at this.

Benefits and compensation. The most important benefits and compensation attributes to young professionals are compensation, ranked a top-three attribute by 74 percent of respondents; flexible hours, ranked among the most important by 51 percent of young CPAs; and reward directly on merit, seen as among the most important by 34 percent of respondents.

However, when asked how well their firms deliver on these attributes, only 19 percent ranked their firm's offering for compensation as very good; similarly only 20 percent of CPAs ranked their firms as very good when it came to reward directly on merit. CPAs did give their firms a higher rating when it came to offering flexible hours, with 45 percent of respondents rating their firms' benefits in this area as very good.

Training. When it comes to professional training and development, young CPAs generally indicated their firms were doing a bit better at delivering key support in this area, but still showed room for improvement. Support for continuing professional education (CPE), cited by 49 percent of respondents, was identified most often as a top training and development attribute by CPAs. As for how firms performed, 67 percent of respondents ranked their firm's support for CPE as very good. 

Why be a CPA? In addition to examining attributes important to young CPAs and how well firms are performing, the survey also asked respondents why they became a CPA. Over one-third (37 percent) reported they entered the profession because they thought it offered good career opportunities, while 20 percent did so seeking a challenging work environment. Fifteen percent of respondents each reported job stability and financial security as the reasons they joined the profession.

"The findings of the CCH survey show a gap between what is most important to young professionals today, and how well firms are doing in meeting those needs. As the tug-of-war for talent in the profession continues, firms must utilize every lever that they have: firm resources and infrastructure; benefits and compensation; professional training and development; and firm culture to ensure they have a competitive edge in finding and keeping the best employees," said Sabbatis.

Demand for accounting professionals is expected to grow faster than many other professions in the coming years, with an anticipated 18 to 26 percent growth rate through 2014, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This increased demand, however, comes at a time during which the supply of accounting professionals is shrinking fast. With the aging baby boomer population taking its toll on the accounting profession, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has noted that within 14 years, 75 percent of its membership will be eligible to retire.