Why It's So Hard to Find a Good Accountant and Who is Taking on New Clients?

It’s been plastered all over the Wall Street Journal, it remains the hottest topic of conversation in our industry, and it’s probably caused you quite a bit of pain…there are simply not enough accountants to properly serve the population of small businesses, entrepreneurs and individuals who need their services. The result is that this population has been chronically and increasingly underserved.

How did we get here? It certainly didn’t happen overnight. Rather, over decades. Over the past few decades, starting salaries for accountants have been mostly stagnant. In fact, after accounting for inflation and cost of living, the relative purchasing power of those salaries have declined substantially over the years. At the same time, the cost of getting a degree has only skyrocketed which has been made worse by the 5th year requirement added almost universally by all State Boards of Accountancy.

Adding more fuel to the fire is the working conditions that those in public accounting have faced. From long hours (in certain cases exceeding 100 hours) to a crushing amount of stress, to toxic work environments, there hasn’t been a lot of positives to report on by those in public accounting. In fact, many accounts of these horrific work experiences can be found on https://www.reddit.com/r/Accounting/ and https://www.goingconcern.com/.

As you might imagine, this has trickled its way down to undergrad accounting and business programs, and even further down the pipeline. It’s no surprise then that college students are choosing other careers and that those who might otherwise attend college to become an accountant are opting out and going into the trades.

The other obvious impact is that these terrible employment experiences are pushing people to quit not just their firm, but public accounting entirely. So, on one hand, you have fewer incoming accountants and on the other you have an increasing velocity of exits from the profession.

This is why you have likely had many sub-par experiences with accounting firms prior to Dark Horse. Most firms are stretched so thin that it’s a miracle they even get your tax return filed on time or finish your bookkeeping before the following month is over. Then, there’s just about nothing left over to actually add value through strategic tax planning, consulting and advisory, or Fractional CFO Services.

Why do you care about this? I’d like to say you shouldn’t. It’s not your problem. But it is a reality, and the reason Dark Horse CPAs can achieve outsized outcomes for their clients is because we pay people for the quality of their outputs (i.e. deliverables) vs. a stagnant salary with a requirement to work a ridiculous amount of hours.

As a result, the fees we charge might seem to be out-of-step with what you’re used to or otherwise expecting. We don’t apologize for this but rather wear it as a badge of honor that these fees enable us to drive more value per dollar spent than with any other accounting firm out there. Sure, we don’t always hit the mark exactly, but we’re a hell of a lot more likely to hit it than the clunky, outdated, inhumane accounting firms that cast an unflattering shadow on the profession we love.

We are Dark Horse CPAs and we exist to serve the Dark Horse small business and entrepreneur, bringing them the services and advisory previously reserved for their larger, incumbent competitors. We simultaneously exist to empower the Dark Horse Accountant in their quest to build a better career and drive more value to their clients. We believe in long-term relationships, and we believe you should work with an accountant who has a reason to stay around for the long haul, compounding their knowledge of your business for your benefit.