"Talent retention is a huge challenge in the industry," says newly-appointed partner

NEWLY-APPOINTED partner at Armstrong Watson, Matt Osbourne, has bitten off a lot with the leadership of the Leeds office, but he has big plans for his role.

Mr Osbourne joined Armstrong Watson in March 2014 from Baker Tilly, now RSM, having launched his career at an independent accountancy firm in Grimsby, before recently being appointed partner in the Leeds office.

He specialises in owner-managed businesses, and made the move to the independent Leeds firm to focus further on those broader decisions.

“It’s difficult to make an impact on huge businesses and working for an independent practice was about going to a place where I could make implement change,” he said.

Having only been in the position a few weeks, Mr Osbourne is raring to go. He said: “Our focus is on doing things differently. Staff engagement, proactive line management, and improving communication are so important.

“As a people-focused business, if your staff aren’t engaged and involved it will impact on clients. That was the first step. Accountants don’t normally have those types of conversations about staff engagement, it’s deemed a bit too fluffy, but I strongly believe that is where you need to start if you want a productive and engaged team.”

Mr Osbourne said that even when he started in the profession in 2000, the accountancy sector was very different.

“The relationship with the client was quite different. It was similar to those that clients used to have with bankers. That has, quite rightly, flipped on its head.

“The client is thought of as the customer. Like in every business with customers, though the product may be different, the service experience needs to be worked on. You can’t just have technicians in the business.”

The industry has also changed, with technology encroaching on every area of life.Better software and cloud-based accounting has replaced the more administrative operations of accountancy firms.

“So,” said Mr Osbourne, “we need to find other ways to add value by providing advisory solutions, we effectively need to be consultants, which you can’t be without good communications skills.”

The industry is also facing more standard problems. Mr Osbourne said: “Talent attraction and retention are huge challenges for the entire professional services sector. We still feeling the impact of four or five years ago when graduates weren’t being recruited into professional practices and moved elsewhere.”

There’s a shortage of high quality talent, he said, especially with bigger players moving in on lower-level accountancy work, with Big Four firms moving in on the smaller business end of the market.

“On the flipside,” Mr Osbourne said, “people are more positive and starting to want to do more deals. It’s important we’re mindful of the challenges, but we also have to get out there and take advantage of the opportunities that weren’t there three or four years ago.”