PrimeGlobal’s Focus on Emerging Leaders

This thought leadership article highlights PrimeGlobal's commitment and support to emerging leaders through a new year-long program in the EMEA region and the introduction of the Today's Tomorrow Leaders Community of Practice, a worldwide group facilitating connections among members spanning the globe.

Access our Talent Development Insights hub to access similar tools and resources to help your firm adapt to current challenges and opportunities that face the accounting profession.

It is evident that the greatest issue facing Public Accounting right now is employee recruitment and retention. The profession isn’t attracting the same number of graduates at both the bachelor’s and master’s level. According to a 2023 Wall Street Journal article, “the number of U.S accounting graduates with either degree dropped 7.4% to 65,404 in the 2021 to 2022 year, the largest drop in a single year since at least the 1994 to 1995 year, when 51,622 students graduated in accounting” (Maurer, 2023). The future of public accounting is at stake. Meaning, it is time for changes to be made. The solution to this problem? Tapping into the minds of the young professionals within your firms. At PrimeGlobal we are committed to assisting the future of Public Accounting by giving these Leaders of Tomorrow coaching to enhance their performance and a platform to share their voices and talents to help drive the change.

Over the past 15 years, the North America region has provided many different training opportunities for these young professionals including the prestigious Leadership Development Program for both Managers and Partners. This leadership program is facilitated by two former AICPA chair members, Bill Reeb and Tommye Barie. Participants in this program spend 1-2 years working on all types of leadership skills including communication and business development, conflict and negotiation, presentation skills, and change management.

In 2023 the Emerging Leaders Workshop made a comeback for the first time since the Pandemic of 2020. This workshop brought young professionals with under 12 years of experience together to further understand the power of their strengths. After an afternoon of brainstorming, they presented some ideas for changing the future of accounting to all of the attendees at November’s World Summit!

“The Emerging Leaders Workshop allowed me to learn more about the potential I have as a leader and think holistically about the constraints that are keeping Public Accounting from excelling into the future. Most importantly, I met other like-minded young professionals within the PrimeGlobal Community with whom I can collaborate, learn, and create a better future for myself and all of those interested in the profession.” Ryan Dreher, Senior Manager, Pinion

We know this is not enough, more action needs to be taken for this important community. As your association, we are taking steps to keep growing in this space of future leadership. We are excited to announce two new initiatives to keep Emerging Leaders active in the PG Community:

UKI Leadership Development Training

In 2024, the first Leadership Development workshop is coming to EMEA! Partnering with Vistage, the world’s most trusted CEO coaching & peer advisory organization- the year-long program will be a mix of virtual and in-person workshops. Participants will focus on key areas in the development of leadership skills such as self-development, commerciality, client engagement, and business operations. Participants are likely those with 6-12 years of experience and likely hold titles such as Manager, Senior Manager, Director, etc. These high-potential employees have the drive, ability, and motivation to take on new initiatives within the firm, are looking to enhance their skills, and want to make connections within the PrimeGlobal community.

We are hopeful that the success in the UK&I region will allow this program to grow even further in the future, allowing access for all members in EMEA.

Today’s Tomorrow Leaders Community of Practice & Community Forum

Attracting a similar demographic, this Community of Practice (COP) will be open for individuals who are not at the managing partner level and likely have 6-12 years of experience. This Community will allow Managers, Senior Managers, Directors, etc. to have a space to connect virtually to discuss topics affecting their firms and the profession. We are positive that by giving these individuals a space to connect and share ideas in a safe space among their peers, they will have the ability to create plans that will help shape the future of the profession. Participants in this COP will also have exposure into the Leadership of PrimeGlobal - helping align our strategy with their needs, sharing ideas for key insight themes, and more!

"Today's Tomorrow's Leaders is a great value for me because the discussion of interesting topics, like leadership, partner track, and company culture, and sharing experiences with young professionals in similar positions gives me so much energy and inspiration! It helps me to broaden my view of our firm, it gives me new ideas and it is just refreshing to share my thoughts and listen to others." Marlies Vervoordeldonk, Manager, Strategy & Support, Joanknecht

At this time, the COP will function on a global level, allowing members from all over the world to connect. There will be opportunities in the future for members to connect in person and specifically within their region.

For more information or to sign up for any of the programs mentioned, contact Bri Ridgely- bridgely@primeglobal.net

Sources

Maurer, Mark. “Accounting Graduates Drop By Highest Percentage in Years.” The Wall Street Journal, 12 Oct. 2023, www.wsj.com/articles/accounting-graduates-drop-by-highest-percentage-in-years-5720cd0f.