Small business is the place to be!

One of my AICPA colleagues sent me a news brief on a recent study conducted by CareerBuilder.com.  The study found that four in five laid off workers either landed, or were searching for work in the small business sector.  That stat may be slightly misleading since only 1 in 5 or 22% of the survey actually found work in the small business sector.  Another 59% said they are interested in landing work in the small business sector, though I’m sure they’d take whatever was available.

Fact is, small business these days seems like the place to be.  The study cited the following characteristics (in addition to career growth) that appealed to the survey respondents:

• A family-like work environment - 56 percent
• More employee recognition - 49 percent
• A sense that you can make a difference - 48 percent
• An absence of corporate red tape - 46 percent

Down economies have spurred small business in the past and the current recession seems to be doing the same.  In fact, there seems to be a growing interest in CPAs starting their own practice.  The Private Companies Practice Section of the AICPA has a Starting a CPA Practice page that provides fledgling entrepreneurs with some helpful hints in getting started with their own firm.  This webpage was launched in April, 2009 and has had over 1,000 visits from April through July.

For CPAs who are looking for a new position, I’ve reported in the past that small firms have been affected less by the current economy than their large firm counterpart.  I’ve spoken to several small firms around the country who are looking for good talent to help in their practice.  Every time I point them to the AICPA CPA Job Finder where the AICPA is still offering CPA Firms with free job postings to help firms and individuals find each other during this tough economy.

Question of the week
If you work for a small business or are looking to work for a small business, what is it about a small business/small firm that you like the most? Post a comment

– Mark Koziel

Comments

I am a partner in a CPA and Registered Investment Advisory firm. I have hired interns the last two summers with great success. Both interns said that they obtained better experience working with our firm than with a larger firm, where they were usually relegated to repetitive support work. This summer's intern is very interested in working with a smaller firm when she graduates, and I feel she would be a good candidate for our business succession plan.