Early-career accountants rated their skills higher on average compared to how managers rated them, indicating a readiness divide.
The Illinois CPA Society — one of the largest state accounting associations — polled 470 respondents, comprising 185 early-career accountants and 385 managers, for a new accounting talent readiness
“The goal of our research was to better understand how prepared early-career professionals feel and how their managers perceive their readiness,” ICPAS president and CEO Geoffrey Brown said in a statement. “We uncovered notable disconnects between expectations and experiences, and pinpointed where additional support and skill building is needed. We hope these findings will spark action and inspire profession-wide conversations that shape new strategies, resources and support systems that’ll help early-career accounting and finance professionals grow and thrive.”
Derrick Lilly
Across 37 skills within six categories, the report found that early-career employees overestimated their readiness across all skills measured by 2.44 points higher than managers did. On a 10-point scale, employees rated themselves 7.39 on average, while managers scored them at 4.95.
Managers rated employees lower in areas like communication and professionalism, and lowest in critical thinking and problem solving. Managers see early-career employees as “unprepared to navigate ambiguity, apply sound judgment, make decisions without constant direction, and know when to ask for help,” per the report.
The closest alignment between early-career employees and managers related to technological proficiency. However, both respondent groups rated skills in this category low in real-world practice, with employees saying they’re least prepared when it comes to utilizing data analysis and visualization tools and applying data analytics of AI-driven tools in accounting processes.
The report highlighted a disconnect between what actually motivates early-career employees’ skills growth versus what managers think motivates them. Managers rated financial incentives as the leading motivator (16%) for newer employees, while employees said they’re primarily driven by a desire to feel more confident and capable in their roles (22%). Financial incentives tied with working more efficiently or effectively (12%) as their third-ranked motivator.
Brown, in the report, offered three pieces of advice to secure the profession’s future workforce. First, early-career employees need to practice self-reliance and ask questions, request feedback and gain access to developmental experiences to secure career success. Second, managers need to focus on stewarding young talent, while remembering what it was like to be “green” and that both work and knowledge-transfer can be done at the same time. Finally, the profession as a whole needs to better articulate the skills needed today and better forecast those needed down the road.
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