Trisha Daho: What Firms Are Missing on Talent | MOVE Like This

Why It Matters

The discussion reveals a systemic talent gap that threatens firm profitability and client service quality, urging firms to rethink leadership pipelines and adopt flexible HR strategies. Implementing these insights can improve retention, boost performance, and sustain growth in a competitive market.

Key Takeaways

• Fractional chief people officers provide cost‑effective leadership development
• Many firms promote leaders without formal talent‑management training
• Culture and succession planning are often overlooked in growth strategies
• Hybrid HR models improve retention for midsize accounting firms
• Clients demand firms with robust, future‑ready talent pipelines

Pulse Analysis

Accounting firms are at a crossroads as talent shortages intersect with accelerating client expectations. Trisha Daho, leveraging her Big Four pedigree and current role as a fractional chief people officer, frames the issue as a leadership vacuum: firms are elevating managers who lack the strategic people‑management skills needed for sustainable growth. This perspective resonates across the industry, where traditional promotion pathways often ignore formal development, leading to disengaged staff and higher turnover rates.

Daho advocates for a hybrid approach that blends internal leadership grooming with external fractional expertise. Fractional chief people officers bring seasoned HR insight without the overhead of a full‑time executive, allowing midsize firms to implement robust talent strategies—such as succession planning, culture building, and performance analytics—on a scalable budget. This model also accelerates the adoption of modern people‑operations tools, helping firms stay competitive against larger rivals that can afford dedicated HR departments.

The implications for the accounting sector are significant. Firms that adopt Daho's recommendations can expect improved employee engagement, lower attrition, and a stronger pipeline of client‑facing leaders. In turn, this translates to higher client satisfaction and revenue stability. As the talent gap widens, firms that fail to modernize their people strategies risk losing market share to more agile competitors, making Daho's insights a timely blueprint for future‑proofing accounting practices.