As the need for Chartered Accountants grows, so does the shortage of available talent, says Dr Brian Keegan.

If asked to describe an accountant, most business people these days would probably use the word “scarce.”

Chartered Accountants are in demand perhaps as never before. One senior executive in the multinational sector damned the qualification with faint praise. He recently told me that he liked to hire Irish Chartered Accountants because they didn’t give him any trouble. 

This misses the point. The shortage is not merely an island of Ireland phenomenon; it is a global issue.

Contributing to a panel discussion on the topic at the International Federation of Accountants a few weeks ago, one of the panellists pointed to a simple reality: worldwide, more businesses are starting up than accountants are coming through the education process to service them. 

Such entrepreneurial demands do not tell the full story, however. In the context of the destruction caused by the evil invasion of Ukraine, there is now a real possibility of a significant economic downturn in the western world.  

Central banks are still trying to determine if the current surge in inflation is short-term, a result of supply chain disruption or a more systemic trend to be remedied by interest rate hikes.  

As central banks, governments, and government agencies try to figure this one out, they continue to impose greater levels of reporting and regulatory requirements on businesses.

One example is the drive towards environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. The EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is the biggest show in town for those in Ireland.  

While the CSRD is still wending its way through the European institutions, it is clear that in the future at least five times more businesses will be required to report on ESG issues than is currently the case. These reports will also have to be assured. 

The growing demand for qualified professional accountants is already evident in the rising number of students currently undergoing training with Chartered Accountants Ireland (though not necessarily in the figures of the other Irish accounting bodies). 

This is partly down to our own marketing efforts and the training firms that continue to attract the vast majority of new entrants to the profession. However, supply chains of talent are more challenging to build than the supply chains of goods.  

It will be critical to sustain this training momentum because some of the capacity issues we are currently experiencing are down to a fall-off in new entrants during the most recent recession.  

If we continue to attract new talent into the profession, positioning the relevance of the accountant’s role in modern society really matters.  

Although ESG reporting presents a capacity challenge, it also presents an opportunity to develop capacity. Assuring corporate sustainability achievements will be an attractive way to build a career for some new entrants.

Yet, the European institutions framing the CSRD do not seem to have recognised this reality. On the contrary, at the time of writing, there are even suggestions that the “traditional” auditor would be precluded from providing assurance services on ESG matters.   

It is hard to refute this argument without sounding self-serving. Nevertheless, without the participation of a vibrant accountancy profession, there will be no coherent reporting or assurance on ESG – and that is not in anyone’s interest.

In the meantime, we will have to address the capacity issues, not just with the usual blandishments of good wages and attractive conditions for new students, but by facilitating the participation in the Irish market of accountants qualified elsewhere. Effectively doing so will be down to all of us – the Institute, firms and regulators alike.