A team member resigns during a demanding season. You post the job that afternoon, refresh your inbox for a week, and feel relieved when a résumé with the right title finally appears. Under pressure, it’s easy to let urgency decide for you.
Fletcher Wimbush says the posting isn’t the real problem; the waiting is.
On this episode of Who’s Really the BOSS?, hosts Rachel Dillon and Marcus Dillon welcome back Fletcher, who has helped small CPA firms solve hiring and talent acquisition challenges for more than a decade. His company uses practices rooted in industrial and occupational psychology rather than hiring anecdotes or gut feelings.
Fletcher believes accounting firms don’t have a job-posting problem. They have a talent-market-access problem. To solve it, they can use a repeatable system: Focus, Attract, Compare, and Transition (FACT).
Focus: Define success before searching
Fletcher’s best advice is the old woodworking rule, “Measure twice, cut once.” Skip that step, and you may find yourself going back to Home Depot. Hiring works the same way.
Focus begins with a job analysis. Before recruiting, define the work in clear, measurable terms:
- How many returns will this person prepare?
- What kinds of returns and clients will they handle?
- Which software will they use?
- What schedule and workload should they expect?
- What behaviors reflect the firm’s values?
- What should success look like after one year?
This matters because titles don’t mean the same thing at every firm. A tax manager may have worked only on C corporations, while your firm serves mainly S corporations. That doesn’t automatically disqualify the candidate, but it’s a training need you should understand before hiring.
Marcus describes another common mistake: Instead of defining a role, owners try to “replace Mollie.” But there is only one Mollie. Define the work rather than searching for a copy of the person who left.
Once you know what you need, you can stop waiting for the right person to stumble across your posting.
Attract: Build relationships before a position opens
The accounting profession hasn’t produced enough accountants for almost 20 years, Fletcher says. That leaves a limited number of people with both the education and experience many firms want.
In greater Los Angeles, perhaps a few hundred people qualify for a specific accounting role. In many markets, the pool may be closer to 50. A job posting depends on one of those people seeing the ad, wanting to leave now, and finding your opportunity more attractive than their current position.
“That’s not what’s happening,” Fletcher says. Firms must identify qualified people and contact them directly.
Fletcher says that work should begin “Today. Now. Yesterday.” Experienced talent can take a year or longer to acquire. He recommends building a bench of six to 20 relationships and maintaining it over time.
The process can take just 10 to 15 minutes a day:
- Use Google, ChatGPT, or Claude to identify accounting firms in your market
- Review those firms’ LinkedIn people pages
- Send promising professionals a polite, low-pressure connection request
- Invite them to coffee or a short conversation
- Stay in touch through LinkedIn, email, text, or phone calls
Employee referrals are another path. Ask a strong team member to name the best person they worked with at a previous firm. Then ask them to make an introduction. Rachel says referral hires have performed well in production, client service, and longevity.
Thank employees publicly for introductions, even when they don’t lead to a hire. Fletcher says formal bonuses can be useful, but they shouldn’t be the main incentive. Good people often want to work with other good people.
Building the bench gives you options. The next step is comparing those options against the actual job.
Compare: Look beyond titles and compensation
Desperation makes it easy to overvalue a résumé or first impression. Rachel has seen candidates with CPA credentials, large employers, and impressive titles require extensive training because they previously owned only one narrow part of the work.
Fletcher keeps a Warren Buffett quote in his email signature: “I hire for integrity, motivation, and intelligence. And if they lack the first thing, the other two will kill you.”
That perspective can open the door to overlooked candidates, including junior professionals and parents returning to work. These candidates may become talented, loyal employees if the firm is willing to develop them.
Money alone may not persuade a strong professional to move. Fletcher says an extra $5,000, $10,000, or even $15,000 often is not enough. Experienced candidates may care more about:
- A shorter commute or flexible work location
- A manageable workload
- Better work-life balance during tax season
- Career development
- More in-person support instead of isolated remote work
The firm must also describe its business model honestly. A seasonal firm that works long hours and then slows down may suit one person. A CAS firm with steady year-round work may suit another. Both models are valid. Problems arise when a firm sells one experience but delivers the other.
That honest comparison should continue after the candidate accepts the offer.
Transition: Plan the first year before day one
Fletcher frames the goal with a mutual question: One year from now, what must the firm and employee be saying for both to feel good about the decision?
Use the candidate evaluation to identify strengths and development needs. Then create a specific, measurable, and time-bound onboarding plan. Regular check-ins should cover where the employee is stuck, where expectations are off track, and what support is needed.
Rachel’s firm sends new hires a two-week schedule before they begin. It includes calendar invitations, shadowing, observation, and the gradual handoff of simple clients. Candidates have told her that clear answers about onboarding, training, and career development helped convince them to join.
She also asks about ideal schedules, desired hours, and career goals before making an offer. Someone may apply for full-time work but prefer to begin at 26, 28, or 30 hours. Learning that early helps both sides avoid a costly mismatch.
Make hiring part of the growth plan
FACT replaces urgency and guesswork with a process. Focus on measurable success, attract talent before you need it, compare candidates with the real work, and transition new hires through a clear plan.
Listen to the full conversation on Who’s Really the BOSS? Then start with 15 minutes today. Define one role, contact one person you would like on your bench, or ask one team member for an introduction.
Rachel and Marcus Dillon, CPA, own a national, remote client accounting and advisory services firm, Dillon Business Advisors, with a team of 28 professionals. Their latest organization, Collective by DBA, supports and guides accounting firm owners and leaders with firm resources, education, and operational strategy through community, groups, and one-on-one advisory.