The CA Thingy
Turning Your Firm into a Training Ground (That Also Delivers on Time)
June 1, 2025
Your juniors are either assets or liabilities. Here’s how to build a culture of learning, feedback, and delivery—without missing client deadlines.
1. Why Most CA Firms Struggle With Team Growth
- New hires are often thrown into work without proper onboarding.
- Partners spend more time fixing errors than developing skills.
- This creates a cycle of micromanagement and burnout.
2. Build a Repeatable Onboarding Process
- Create a 1-week crash course on tools, systems, and SOPs.
- Include shadowing sessions and real-time walkthroughs.
- Use recorded videos to save partner time and ensure consistency.
3. Create a Culture of Feedback and Autonomy
- Use weekly reviews to catch mistakes early—without blame.
- Ask juniors to self-review their work before escalation.
- Document learnings and convert mistakes into checklists.
4. Use SOPs + Tech to Minimize Dependency
- Write clear SOPs for common workflows—returns, reconciliations, etc.
- Use task management tools to track work instead of WhatsApp or memory.
- Automate routine updates and reminders to reduce partner load.
5. Balance Training with Timely Delivery
- Split complex work into beginner, intermediate, and expert zones.
- Give juniors ownership of smaller tasks before handing over entire projects.
- Track turnaround times and client feedback to close the loop.
Final Thoughts
- Training doesn’t mean slowing down—it means multiplying output long-term.
- Your firm can be a place of growth *and* delivery.
- But only if systems are strong, feedback is frequent, and tools do the heavy lifting.