Still a huge shortage of auditors
“Since the PACTE Law was first introduced and the number of company auditors became more concentrated, recruiting auditors has become very difficult – particularly outside Paris, Lyon, Marseille and a few other areas,” says Benedict Wittet, Business Manager at Hays France. Each year, the Hays recruitment agency publishes its annual Remuneration Survey, accompanied by sector-specific focuses. In 2023, auditing heads the list of professions experiencing stress – ahead of chartered accounting and social work[1].
The situation is complicated on all levels, states Wittet: “Whereas prior to the pandemic young recruits left after 4 or 5 years, these days their turnover has fallen to two or three years in the job.” And when these senior auditors or young managers leave, it’s not usually for another financial audit firm. This results in a generation gap, which in turn disrupts the skills pyramid. But what’s happening with the juniors?
Junior auditors hired before they graduate
The Big Seven firms alone recruit 9000 young talents each year in France. They have always taken care to maintain a presence on the campuses and forums of the major schools – a presence that has become largely virtual. The medium-sized practices now have an HR function and have put this type of pre-graduation approach on a professional footing.
The result? “When I speak at an accounting school (usually at the beginning of the students’ final year), and I ask who already has a permanent job offer in place for the following year, most of the students raise their hands,” says Benedict Wittet by way of explanation.
Attractiveness slowing down?
The audit market has become more concentrated in nature, but not more attractive. The reasons for starting off a career in an audit firm have not changed much over the past 30 years: postgraduate training, the quality of supervision, building up an address book... and how it looks on your CV. But things have changed radically.
“I also spoke about jobs in finance at the HEC[2] campus in 2004. The main question at the time was: do I absolutely have to do a stint with a firm? Their counterparts today no longer ask the question. They just don’t go.” Because they have plenty of other options, particularly in start-ups, established businesses or associations. As a consequence, the big firms recruit from medium-sized practices, which in turn hire from small ones. And in fact, today, many of them head for the less selective schools.
Auditing: a profession struggling to recruit
Starting salaries – the key criterion for first jobs – are somewhere in the middle of the scale, although they can differ greatly from one region to another (Hays France figures for 2023):
- For a junior auditor: 26 to 38K per year gross, excluding variable
- For a senior auditor with 2 to 4 years of experience with a firm: 28 to 50K per year gross, excluding variable
The efforts made by many firms to make working for them attractive have become clearly visible, too. Placed under pressure from staff shortages, the auditing profession is reforming and aligning its practices with those of other businesses. The introduction of several days of teleworking, flexible working hours and 15 or 20 days of working time reduction have all combined to normalise the profession. And lots of firms respect a strict 35-hour working week – but apparently that’s not enough.
Recruiters are suffering. Benedict Wittet knows this: “They’re making an effort to attract the new generation of workers: flexibility, inclusion, wellbeing, environmental awareness – and so on. We know what their concerns are and are making proposals along those lines. But it’s the work itself that needs to remain the priority.”
What’s the best way to make audit consultancies more inspiring and attractive to new generations: who has the answer? The future candidates themselves, according to the French Federation of Multidisciplinary Firms (F3P), which includes the Big 7 and which conducted a national consultation with young people in January 2023.
Long-term solutions
Wittet also recommends long-term solutions, both at a national and local level, as well as in terms of the firm’s IT equipment.
At a national level: concerted action by all providers to communicate about the interests (and attractions) of the profession to high school students, college students, their parents and the general public.
At a local level: every employee can act as an ambassador for the profession. They always have one or more exceptional situations to talk about – ones that are really remembered. And here are simple solutions to encourage them.
In terms of the IS: automation is part of the solution. “Auditing is a risk-based approach with a materiality threshold. Advances in automation, particularly in the area of accounting, will make it possible to carry out more detailed audits. And the time no longer spent counting pallets of cement in a warehouse at Point P will be much more intellectually stimulating!”
Optimising and planning your staffing: a solution that can start today
If there’s another area in which technology can be a game-changer, it’s in the way work is organised. The shortcomings of old systems can weigh heavily on the overall image of the profession, as well as on the image that young auditors (want to) have of themselves.
By providing a complete scheduling and staffing solution better suited to today’s human realities, Beeye brings a structured response to the needs of audit firms – not to mention strong arguments that will appeal to the sensibilities of potential job candidates.
What Beeye changes for the young auditor:
- Audit assignments that are geared to talent and experience, as well as individual skills
- Intelligent allocation of (staffing) resources, instead of a lottery
- Knowing what needs to be done now – and what still needs to be done in the future
- Opening Beeye should be the first thing the auditor does in the morning
- Maintaining control over time
- By being able to act in line with one’s own schedule
- Knowing what other people are doing
- With configurable levels of visibility
- Monitoring, but not snooping
- Automatic reporting relieves the feeling of being watched
- Just simply modern
- No more timesheets
How can a modern planning and staffing tool be a game-changer in an audit practice?
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[1] Hays France: Remuneration Survey 2023
[2] Best rated business school in France