Aging Profession

You may have heard the statistics. The accounting profession is aging and aging quickly. The AICPA reported that in 2006 74% of their membership was over 40 compared to 47% in 1993.

So, obviously this brings up a lot of issues like leadership and succession planning and training. That can be done if the right resources are utilized. What can't be done is instantly create new people who are in the industry and are willing and desiring to take on leadership and "buy" a lot of firms that will be up for sale/succession over the next 5-10 years.

The challenge - Are there enough in the workforce to succeed today's current leaders, and do those people want to succeed today's leaders?

Younger generations are rejecting the old traditional corporate ladder career. They may not want to make a "through the end-of-career" commitment. They are more used to being mobile and they also don't put work ahead of everything else in their life. In fact they are more willing to put their career on hold for personal matters, unlike those generations they will be succeeding. The problem is many firm's structures are set up based on the old traditional norms. That is where problems and conflicts will arise. People do not want to succeed today's leaders, but that is based on their perception of what today's leaders went through to get there. That can be challenged, and can lead to breakthroughs in the way your firm runs all aspects of your business.

One important point that must be considered when meeting this challenge - Make your talent be the base of your business, and your access to talent. The number of professionals working past 65 is increasing. They need more flexibility. Gen Y and Gen X workers increasingly need more options because they highly value "life-work" balance. They need flexibility too. The word "flexibility" needs to be de-emphasized, even though I have used it a lot here. Firms need to be structured to have access to mobile talent in all age brackets. The structure needs to be as nimble as the talent base it serves. Flexibility needs to be the norm, not the exception.

So, you are probably asking what does this have to do with the true leaders of my firm? They can't have that flexibility and still lead our firm? The answer: You are right, under the old norms!