HR Training and Employee Recruiting at CPA Firms

CPA firms are some of the fastest growing companies in the world. The demand for accountants on an international scale has never been higher. With governments constantly adding new regulations to their systems of law, accountants and tax professionals are required to navigate the treacherous legal pathways. Thus, hiring qualified and talented personnel is one of the most important things that a CPA firm can do. They want competent accountants who can manage client relationships and understand complicated tax laws.

Thus, the human resource department in most CPA firms is one of the most important departments in the company. The HR department is what shapes the company and fuels it for future growth with new, bright minds and talents. That being said, there are three main training and recruiting techniques that all CPA firms are implementing to hire the best candidates.

CPA Exam Readiness

Good HR interviewers should always ask job applicants who are in school or newly graduated if they are ready to take the CPA exam. Being ready requires several different things. A candidate must fulfill all of the educational requirements along with certain personal requirements like citizenship and residency status.

Since many candidates tend to lie in interviews, one good question that an HR person can ask is if they have looked into purchasing a CPA review course. If they say, “yes.” The interviewer can ask what are the best cpa prep courses for the CPA exam in their opinion. This will require them to talk in more detail about what they have done to start preparing for the CPA exam. Someone with keen personal skills should be able to detect whether these candidates are telling the truth or not.

Work Ethic

Another important line of questioning has to do with their work ethic. It’s important to get a feel for how someone is going to treat their career in the future. Are they going to seek improvement and leadership or are they simply going to show up for work. One easy way to ask this question is to ask about a candidate’s 5-year plan. What do they plan to do for work, career, and personal goals in the next five years?

Test Their Intelligence

Once a job applicant has made it past the job interview stage, it is important to test them to see where they fit in the organization. A number of intelligence tests can be implemented to see where the new employees fit.

Then it is up the human resource department to train them in the ways of the company. They must learn corporate culture and the ways of doing things within the company. For instance, they need to understand the hierarchy of authority and work flow. It doesn’t make sense for a first year accountant to ask partners simple questions. They should be asking other lower level employees.

By implementing these types of strategies, you will be able to staff your CPA firm with some of the best talents that you can find.