What Firms Are Actually Worried About
The AICPA's Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) surveyed 667 accounting firms on the issues commanding the most leadership attention in 2024. Responses were rated on a five-point scale from minimal to extreme impact, and the results show material variation by firm size.
Priorities by Firm Size
Among multi-employee firms, recruiting qualified staff emerged as the top concern. Retention ranked second. The pattern reflects a talent market that continues to tighten structurally rather than cyclically.
For solo practitioners, the leading issue shifts to managing U.S. tax complexity — the volume and pace of regulatory change absorbs a disproportionate share of time and attention for small practices.
Mid-size firms (six to ten professionals) flagged an additional challenge: aging firm ownership and the succession questions that follow. The largest firms concentrated on utilization, management effectiveness, and compensation structure.
IRS Interactions Still a Drag
Working with the IRS remains a substantial concern across most firm segments — a shift from 2022, when pandemic-related backlogs dominated the conversation. The nature of the concern has evolved from raw processing delay to the complexity of specific interactions.
Looking Ahead
Firms surfaced three recurring challenges likely to persist over the next five years:
- Continued staffing shortages structurally constraining capacity
- Technology adoption demands outpacing internal capability
- Regulatory evolution requiring continuous investment in technical currency
AICPA's Lisa Simpson emphasized that technology effectiveness is increasingly central to a firm's ability to deliver higher-value services and to attract innovation-focused professionals.
Implications
Firm strategy in 2024 is being driven less by client demand and more by internal capacity constraints. Firms that systematically address staffing, technology, and leadership succession will outperform peers still treating these as episodic rather than structural challenges.