By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Most onboarding checklists for bookkeeping employees are built around the wrong question. Firm owners ask: “What does my new hire need to know?” The right question is: “What does my new hire need to be able to do —
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By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 13-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) General HR research says a new employee takes 6 to 12 months to reach full productivity — Gallup puts it at around 12 months, other studies at 8 months
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 22-minute read | The definitive guide The Short Answer (TL;DR) Training accounting staff effectively requires a complete system, not a collection of courses: (1) pre-employment skills testing before any offer letter, (2) structured, gated onboarding
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 12-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) An LMS — a learning management system — is a delivery container, not a training program. When an accounting firm buys a generic LMS (TalentLMS, LearnUpon, Moodle, or similar),
04 Jun
How to Hire a Bookkeeper for Your Accounting Firm (Without Paying the Resume Embellishment Tax)
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 12-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) The standard bookkeeper hiring process — resume screen, interview, reference check, offer — verifies presentation skills, not bookkeeping skills. That’s why firms keep hiring candidates who “know QuickBooks” on
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Let me tell you what most platform comparison articles won’t. They’re written by people who have reviewed platforms. I’ve needed them. There’s a difference — and that difference is about $9,500 per hire, a decade of painful lessons, and
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 15-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) Accounting firms shopping for staff development run into four categories that look interchangeable and aren’t: an LMS (a delivery container you fill with your own content), CPE (license-maintenance education),
By Vincent Howard, CPA | Managing Partner, Howard, Howard and Hodges | Skillability for Accounting Firms Last updated: 2026 | 15-minute read The Short Answer (TL;DR) CPAs are declining for structural, compounding reasons: the 150-hour education rule adds a costly fifth year that depresses entry, starting salaries lag tech and finance by $20,000–$60,000, roughly 75%
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