Ep. 222: Megan Weiss - Navigating the Talent Shortage in the Accounting World

Join us on the next Count Me In as we delve into the world of
accounting and finance with Megan Weiss, YP and General manager,
FAO services and host of the CFO weekly podcast at Personiv.
Learn about the talent shortage in the accounting industry, the
benefits and challenges of outsourcing, and how recent events
have impacted the profession. Don't miss this insightful
conversation about the future of accounting and how companies can
adapt to thrive.


Connect with Megan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/megan-weis/
Check out the report mentioned in today's
episode:
https://insights.personiv.com/reports/cfo-talent-survey-report


Full Episode Transcript:
Adam:           
Welcome back to Count Me In. Where we explore the world of
accounting and finance with industry experts. Today we're
thrilled to have Megan Weiss join us. With a rich background in
accounting and consulting, Megan currently leads the Finance and
Accounting Division at Personiv. She's here to share her insights
into the talent shortage, in the accounting industry. The pros
and cons of outsourcing, and how recent events like the Great
Resignation and quiet quitting have shaped the profession. Let's
dive in and learn from Megan's wealth of expertise and knowledge.


 


So, Megan, I want to thank you so much for coming on the Count Me
In podcast, today. And I wanted to start off, a little bit, by if
you could just give us an overview of your background and how you
got to where you are today.


 


Megan:         
 Yes, sure, and thanks for having me. So I
graduated with an undergraduate degree in accounting from Kent
State University. I managed to pass the CPA in my final semester
of school there. So right after school, I went to work for
Deloitte & Touche, one of the Big Four accounting firms, and
I was with their audit practice. I stayed and served my time for
about three and a half years. 


 


When I left there, I went to work for Pricewaterhouse Coopers in
their transaction advisory services group. Where we were looking
at helping organizations who were getting ready to purchase a
business or sell a business, just to determine if it was a good
fit. If they were paying a good price for the business. 


 


From there I went to work for British Petroleum as a financial
analyst. I left there after a couple of years to work for
Accenture and that was back in 2003, and that was when I was
introduced to the idea of outsourcing, it was pretty new back
then. Not a lot of companies were doing it and the ones that did
do it were very large enterprises. 


 


So I stayed there for 13 years, and while I was with them I went
back to school. I got my MBA from Duke University. I left
Accenture to then work at a small boutique consulting firm here
in Dallas, Texas. It's called Everest Group, and it is a
consulting group that focuses on outsourcing service providers
and companies with shared service providers. 


 


And, so, my role there was to focus on finance and accounting and
I was really looking at the service providers, and their visions
for the future, and where the finance and accounting outsourcing
industry was headed. And, then, while I was there, I did a
project for the company I am at now, it's called Personiv. And
the project I did for them was to take a look at lines of service
that they should consider getting into. 


 


So, although, they'd been around since the mid-'80s, finance and
accounting was never really on their radar as something that they
should maybe venture into. So during the course of that project,
finance and accounting was one of the things that we suggested
that they branch into. And, so, when they decided to go down that
road they reached out to me, brought me on to start it up. 


 


So I've been here now for five years, it's been a really exciting
journey. It's like being in a startup organization, but with the
backing of a company that's been around for 35 years. So that's
how I got to where I am today. I feel like it's a good
culmination of everything I've done to date.


 


Adam:           
Yes, that sounds great. You've had quite the story going of a
bunch of different places, but it shapes who you are and how you
see everything in the accounting world. And one thing that you
and I had talked about is that there is a talent shortage, in the
accounting and finance world, when it comes to having to
outsource, it's because you have a talent shortage, and it's been
around for over 15 years. Reading articles of people saying, "Oh,
it just showed up during the pandemic." But as we talked about
your experience, previously, you're saying, "Well, no, it's been
around for a long time."


 


Megan:         
 Yes, I mean, I would say it's been around for, at
least, the last two decades. When you've read top challenges for
CFOs, over the last two decades, talent has always been one or
two, on that list. And, I think, it really started way back in
the early 2000s, when they decided that they would make
accounting a five-year program. In order to sit for the CPA, you
needed a master's degree, and that's, maybe, when people stopped
going into the study of accounting.


 


And, really, it's been around and becoming more and more of a
problem, every year since. And back in 2015, the AICPA, which
stands for, actually, American Institute of Certified Public
Accountants, and they were predicting that by 2020, 75% of their
members would be retired. And I know not every accountant is a
CPA, but that's a good indicator of where the profession is
headed. 


 


And, then, you add, on top of that, millennials and Gen Z's, who
are looking for more meaningful work. And accounting,
historically, has not necessarily been seen as an area that is
conducive to meaningful work. So, yes, it's, definitely, been
exasperated in the last three years since COVID hit, but it's
been a problem for a long time coming.


 


Adam:           
So if you're in an organization and you recognize that, "Hey, I
need more talent in my accounting team." What are some benefits
that they can see when they think about outsourcing their
accounting and finance team?


 


Megan:         
 Yes, well, in the years past, outsourcing was
really about just cutting cost, and it was all about the cost,
savings. But, today, it's really about opening up a new pool of
talent. A pool of talent that's equally qualified as the talent
you would find, if you could, here in the United States. 


 


So, yes, it really is just a wonderful way to find very talented
accountants. And on top of that, if a client chooses, I mean, you
can have 24-hours coverage. You can have people that work here in
the United States. You can have a team that works over their
days, which is on the other side of the world.


 


So you're basically getting 24-hours coverage. But a lot of
times, consultants or outsourcing providers, have people that are
willing to work nights. 


Because that's not uncommon, in India or the Philippines, where a
lot of this outsourcing is done, for people to work overnight in
support of U.S. companies. 


 


And as I mentioned, ...