Accounting and Finance Trends to Watch for in 2023

The role of accounting and finance candidates continues to expand. The increasing use of technology is responsible for many changes in client expectations.

Today’s professionals are impacted by the changing accounting and finance trends. Companies that keep up with these trends and train their teams accordingly maintain a competitive edge.

Pay attention to these accounting and finance trends to keep your company competitive in 2023.

Diversified Client Services

According to Sage’s The Practice of Now 2020 report, 79% of accountants state that their client expectations now include business and finance consultancy. In addition to bookkeeping and accounting guidance, these clients want advice on complying with emergency legislation, leveraging government assistance, and computing leave entitlements and wage subsidies.

Most accountants use technology to provide clients with more efficient services. This significantly improves client satisfaction.

Enterprise Resource Planning Systems

Implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems lets companies combine their accounting and financial data with other business areas. Examples include supply chain, order, and production management. Using an ERP system lets the data be entered into one application that is accessible throughout the organization.

Implementing an ERP system means employees must be trained to use only one system. These employees also can find the information they need from one source. Additionally, having one source of information promotes collaboration. Plus, the centralized information for analytics and reporting helps leaders make more informed business decisions.

Artificial Intelligence

According to the Harvey Nash/KPMG CIO Survey 2020, 47% of CIOs say the coronavirus pandemic caused digital transformation and adoption of emerging technology to accelerate. Examples include artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), blockchain, and automation.

The extraction of quality data is critical to effectively using AI. The process requires the right applications, cloud solutions, analytics, and business processes.

Providing accurate business intelligence maximizes the use of the data. This gives organizations a competitive edge.

Cybersecurity

The handling of confidential data requires strong cybersecurity. Data breaches allow cyber criminals access to payroll, tax, and other financial information. These breaches impact a company’s credibility and reputation.

According to the Harvey Nash/KPMG survey, spear-phishing increased by 83% in 2020 because of the pandemic. Malware increased by 62% and denial-of-service attacks grew by 21%. This is why 47% of CIOs included security and privacy as one of their top three technology investments. As a result, accounting and finance professionals must comply with cybersecurity best practices to safely collect, store, use, and share data.

Competition in Hiring

Diversified client services, implementation of ERP systems, increasing use of AI, and the evolving need for cybersecurity are among the accounting and finance trends for 2023. Capitalizing on these trends helps your company stay competitive.

Steep competition for hiring accounting and finance professionals is expected to continue throughout the next year. Turn to Casey Accounting & Finance Resources for help. Get started today.

Are Cover Letters Outdated? Why Requiring a Cover Letter in Your Application Process May Deter Candidates from Applying

The majority of hiring managers have stopped requiring cover letters to be included with resumes. Most managers feel that cover letters have no impact on which applicants they decide to interview.

As a result, you may want to consider eliminating cover letters from your application process. Because this saves candidates time, they are more likely to apply for your roles.

Because they typically do not influence hiring decisions, you may want to stop including cover letters in your application process.

Automation in Hiring

The process of matching candidates with jobs is increasingly being done with technology. With the amount of online information available, applicant details are easily accessible. As a result, cover letters typically are not necessary.

You can learn about applicants through their social media profiles, online portfolios, websites, and blogs. This provides greater nuance and detail than a cover letter can.

Speed and Convenience

Online and mobile applications are becoming the new norm for job applications. This partly is because efficiency and effectiveness are required to attract top talent.

Requiring a cover letter may dissuade the best candidates to complete your application process. Most candidates will not spend more than 15 minutes on an application. Elimination of a cover letter can help resolve this issue.

Other Screening Methods

You may choose different methods to prescreen applicants. For instance, you might use assessment tools to validate the skills you are looking for. Or, you could request video submissions to get a feel for applicants’ personalities. This can help determine which applicants would be a good culture fit.

Make sure you use the right job titles and descriptions in your job postings. This can narrow down the list of applicants with the soft skills that otherwise may be listed in cover letters.

Tailor your job content to attract qualified applicants. These applicants have the experience, achievements, goals, and personality to excel in the role.

Get Help with Your Hiring Process

As cover letters continue to become outdated, you may want to reconsider whether should be included in your application process. The best talent does not want to spend a lot of time applying for a job. Also, most hiring managers aren’t considering content in cover letters when deciding which applicants to interview. As a result, it may be in everyone’s best interest not to require the submission of cover letters with resumes.

For help with hiring accounting and finance professionals, contact Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. Reach out today.

Candidate Ghosting: What to Do When This Happens to You

Ghosting can happen at any point in your recruitment process. Candidates might not show up for interviews, respond to job offers, or follow up with you. Perhaps they lose interest in your company or accept an interview or job elsewhere. In any case, you need to figure out why candidates leave your recruitment process without a word and how you can resolve the issue.

Here are three steps you can take when ghosted by a candidate.

Follow Up

Contact candidates by their preferred communication method to see why they did not move forward in your recruitment process. Let them know they are welcome to pursue other opportunities; you simply would like an update on whether they still are interested in working for you. If you do not hear back, send an email with a survey link asking for feedback about your company. If the candidate had a bad experience, they are more likely to share details in an email than over the phone. Use the information you receive to improve your recruitment process.

Review Your Recruitment Process

Find ways to improve your recruitment process. For instance, be sure you are connecting with each candidate from the start. This includes reaching out several times throughout each stage to keep each candidate informed about where they are in the process and what to prepare for next. Also, use different touchpoints to share your company’s story and provide a feel for its culture. Also, maintain transparency in every interaction. This involves setting clear expectations throughout the hiring process and following up. Additionally, make sure your interview process is as short as possible. This includes taking out unnecessary steps and clarifying each person’s role to avoid redundancy. Plus, use recruitment marketing tools to create detailed performance reports that demonstrate candidate engagement in real-time. This shows where in your recruitment process candidates tend to stop moving forward. Use the data to improve this part of the process.

Improve Your Candidate Experience

Determine how you can enhance your candidate experience. For instance, use your employer brand to show the advantages of working for your organization. Also, set up personalized email campaigns focused on your company culture and impact in the community. Additionally, let your chosen candidates set and/or change their interview times to fit their schedules. This increases the odds of candidates meeting with you.

Contact a Recruiter

Candidate ghosting is becoming increasingly common. When candidates decide not to move forward in your recruitment process, follow up with them. Ask for feedback on why they decided to pursue other opportunities. Use what you learn to improve your recruitment process and candidate experience.

To avoid being ghosted by accounting and finance candidates, talk with Casey Accounting & Finance Resources. We have a deep network of accounting and finance professionals with the skills and qualifications needed to enhance your team. Talk with a recruiter today.

What Tools Are on Your List for 2018? 10 Innovative Technology Tools for Talent Acquisition

At a recent Illinois Search and Staffing Association meeting, various tools for talent acquisition were discussed.  During the presentation, the company Talent Tech Labs was identified as an industry leader in the evaluation of emerging technologies for talent acquisition.  Upon further research, according to Talent Tech Labs, the top and most innovative technology tools include:

  • Employer Branding – Technology for monitoring your reputation for your organization and, more importantly, your value proposition for your employees
  • Mobile Recruitment – Technology for addressing candidates through Smartphone applications and social technology
  • Analytics Platform – Taking big data and analyzing the information to help in achieving better informed decisions
  • Candidate Relationship Management – Technology to manage relationships with potential and future hires
  • Video Interviewing – Using video technology to streamline the interview process
  • Online Assessments – Talent assessments are used as a part of an online screening process to help determine which candidates have the skills required
  • Referral Platform – Automates your referral process to get more candidates and more hires
  • Job Marketing and Distribution – Technology to market your jobs and get the proper distribution out to the potential network of candidates
  • Recruitment Chatbots/AI Enhanced Processing – To improve the candidate’s experience, a Chatbot can help recruiters collect information on candidates, ask screening questions, answer frequently asked questions and schedule interviews with human recruiters.
  • Digital Reference Checks – Automate the reference checking process

Talent Tech Labs engages in investigation, research, validation, and acceleration of emerging technologies that can improve the state of play in talent acquisition through collaboration and connecting early-stage companies with forward thinkers in the industry. To keep on top of talent acquisition technology, learn more at www.TalentTechLabs.com.

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