By Sam Bacall, Partner

Recently, I was reading the headlines and discovered to my surprise that accountants were vanishing, skills were in short supply, and businesses are teetering on the edge of a calculator-induced apocalypse.

I had a minor panic as I imagined myself slowly disappearing as I looked at the team in the office crumbling to dust – as if Thanos had clicked his fingers and the infinity stones had erased us from existence.

Fortunately, as I glanced at the backs of my hands, I realised I hadn’t vanished… I was still here, still working through a tricky audit file, and the FFT team were too.

*Phew.*

You’ve probably read the reports, the surveys and the gloomy predictions about skill shortages as well, but let’s clear something up right now – accountants in Manchester are very much alive, skilled, and working harder than ever for their clients.

Yes, we’re fuelled by tea, spreadsheets and sheer northern grit but we’re not going anywhere soon!

Still here but slightly different to how you might remember us

That’s because the role of an accountant is changing.

Even since I became partner a few years ago, the scope of what we do is slightly different.

Nowadays, the advisory side of things is much more prevalent.

We’re more like analysts, and occasionally the unofficial office therapist, but accountants in Manchester have always been adaptable.

When it comes to digital transformation, we are already ahead of it (and yes, we actually do enjoy talking about Making Tax Digital at parties… someone has to).

As for “work readiness” declining? Try telling that to the armies of Manchester accountants burning the midnight oil during tax season.

If stamina, resilience and an ability to stay cheerful while reconciling a year’s worth of badly labelled invoices doesn’t count as work readiness, I don’t know what does.

Challenges are to be overcome, not submitted to

Of course, nobody is denying that there are challenges in the profession.

We’re seeing less drive for accounting professionals within the younger generation.

There’s been a rise in consolidation income-larger-than-the-state-of-Bolivia’s-GDP firms who are slowly picking up and taking over the classic, traditional, independent accounting practices.

But let’s not pretend that businesses in Manchester are left helpless.

There’s no shortage of dedicated, independent accountants in Manchester rolling up their sleeves, balancing books, advising on growth, and keeping clients one step ahead of the latest Government tax changes.

The next time you hear doom-laden talk of red flags and missing skills, just remember: in Manchester, accountants are still here, still skilled, and still making sure businesses thrive.

If you’re looking for one, well, you’ve just found us. Why not give us a call!