Performance Index Report - November 2024

The great balancing act.

Welcome to the November edition of the Everperform Index. This monthly report dives into the heart of what makes an accounting firm truly valuable. While strong financials and a robust client base are essential, the bedrock of any successful firm lies in its people.

It's a simple truth: to increase the value of a firm, you need to have great people, to service great clients, to create a great business.

But in today's dynamic environment, building a people-first firm is a delicate balancing act. Here's why:

Rapid Regulation Revolution: New regulations in Australia place a greater emphasis on managing mental health risks in the workplace, requiring firms to proactively address psychosocial hazards and create a psychologically safe and healthy work environment.
Intergenerational Workforce Dynamics: Four distinct generations (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z) are now working side-by-side, each with differing values, communication styles, and expectations about work, creating both opportunities and challenges for collaboration and leadership.
Shrinking Talent Pool and Preference Shifts: The accounting talent pool is shrinking while employee preferences are shifting towards greater work-life balance, flexibility, and purpose-driven work, making it crucial for firms to play catch up and adapt their recruitment, retention, and development strategies.
Increasing Market and Client Expectations: Clients are demanding more value for their money, faster turnaround times, and stronger relationships, while also expecting firms to keep pace with complex and rapidly changing regulations and technologies.
The Speed of Applied Innovation: The rise of automation and AI is changing the traditional roles of accountants, requiring firms to invest in technology, upskill their workforce, and adapt their service delivery models to remain competitive.

With these five forces in mind, Everperform research reveals four key metrics that are linked to how well firms and their leaders are adapting to the challenges above.

Safety Risk - a score that reflects the level of employee psychosocial hazard risk and burnout.
Engagement - a score that reflects the level of highly engaged employees are in their roles.
Utilisation - a score that reflects the level of employee capacity being utilised for value-added activities.
Productivity - a score that reflects the level of employee effectiveness and productivity against target.

These four key metrics are the focus of this index research report series and will be the key scorecard of success for firms to revel into 2025 and beyond.