The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has released a dedicated talent management toolkit for small and medium-sized accounting practices, as the profession faces a widely acknowledged challenge attracting and retaining qualified staff in an increasingly competitive environment, as reported by The Accountant Online. Ireland is among the markets featured in the resource, alongside Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

The Accountant Online reported that the toolkit comprises two linked publications: the SMP Talent Management Toolkit, aimed at practice leaders, and a companion guide titled "Why choose a career in a small or medium-sized practice?", directed at prospective and existing candidates including school leavers, graduates, career changers and experienced professionals.

The practice leader publication is a practical guide covering the full talent cycle, built around ten key messages for drawing talent into SMPs, developed from practitioner input across ACCA's global community. It addresses learning culture, AI-related skills, competency frameworks and retention, supported by checklists, case examples and employer perspectives.

The candidate guide applies the same ten messages from a candidate viewpoint, supplemented by ten career tips and a skills framework drawn from ACCA's Career Paths Reimagined 2026 study.

The launch aligns with ACCA's global talent trends 2026 survey, which found that what many candidates seek, including meaningful work, direct impact, breadth of experience and the chance to build genuine relationships, corresponds closely with what SMPs are well placed to offer.

Aleksandra Zaronina-Kirillova, head of SME professional insights at ACCA, said the accountancy profession plays a central role in the health and resilience of the SME sector, and added: "The practitioners joining firms today will be the trusted advisers of tomorrow's small businesses, and how we develop talent now determines what becomes possible for the profession, and for the businesses and communities it serves."

The toolkit launch takes place in the week ahead of UN MSME Day on 27 June 2026 and forms part of ACCA's broader global campaign on talent in SMPs. ACCA will host a webinar on 30 June examining the skills gap in smaller practices as part of its global series on the subject.

For smaller Irish accountancy practices competing for talent against larger firms and non-traditional employers, the toolkit offers a structured framework for building and communicating an employer proposition grounded in the distinct advantages of SMP career paths.

Explore the full report on ACCA's SMP Talent Management Toolkit.