Part I: Talent Recruitment and Retention

In this roundtable discussion, several IFAC SMP Committee members discuss the challenges firms face in terms of finding new talent and creating a corporate culture conducive to younger generations of accountants. These include meeting the expectations of young accountants and the transfer of knowledge across generations. 

 

Part II: SMPs Must Compete with Larger Firms to Attract, Develop, and Retain Talent

SMPs Must Compete with Larger Firms to Attract, Develop, and Retain Talent In part two of this roundtable, the panel considers reasons why young accountants are attracted to smaller firms. The benefits of smaller firms include the variety of work, work/life balance, and close advisory relationships with clients.

 

Part III: Setting the Tone at the Top

In part three of this roundtable, the panel discusses the importance of tone at the top in small firms. This includes how to be a good leader, how to inspire staff, and providing good mentorship. 
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George Willie

George Willie became a member of the Small and Medium Practices Committee in January 2015. He was nominated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

Mr. Willie is the managing partner of Bert Smith & Co. He has over 40 years of experience specializing in the audits of healthcare, government, and not-for-profit entities.

Mr. Willie has served in numerous leadership positions within the AICPA, including chair of the Private Companies Practice Section Executive Committee, member of the Board of Directors, member of the Board of Examiners, secretary of the Political Action Committee, and chair of the Minority Initiatives Committee.

Mr. Willie earned an MBA from American University and a BBA in accounting from Howard University. He is a licensed CPA in the District of Columbia and US Virgin Islands, a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), and a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM).

Robyn Erskine

Robyn is a partner in Brooke Bird, a specialist restructuring insolvency and turnaround firm located in Melbourne Australia and has been actively involved in the public practice sector for over 30 years.

Robyn previously served as a member of the IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee, having been nominated by CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.

Robyn is a director of CPA Australia having been appointed to the board in 2017. She has served on CPA Australia’s Victorian Division and Victorian Public Practice Committee and in 2014 Robyn was awarded the Henry Fox Award for outstanding service to Public Practice in Victoria.

In 2011 Robyn became the first female to be appointed as the National President of the Insolvency Practitioners Association of Australia, now known as the Australian Restructuring Insolvency and Turnaround Association (ARITA) and served as a director of ARITA until May 2019. In 2017 Robyn was awarded Life Membership to ARITA for long, dedicated and distinguished service to ARITA and the Profession.

Robyn is a current councilor of the Australian Institute of Credit Management’s Victorian Tasmanian Division.

Monica Foerster

Chair

Partner at Confidor, Chair of IFAC's SMP Advisory Group

Monica Foerster became Chair of the IFAC SMP Advisory Group (SMPAG) in 2017, after serving as its Deputy Chair. A SMPAG member since 2014, she was nominated by Conselho Federal de Contabilidade (CFC) and Instituto dos Auditores Independentes do Brasil (IBRACON). With 20 years of experience in the accountancy profession, Ms. Foerster is a partner at Confidor, an accounting, tax, and law firm with offices in Porto Alegre and São Paulo, Brazil.

Monica is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Ibracon Brazil (where she was the SMP Director and coordinator of the SMP Working Group for 6 years), and a board member at the Accounting Council (where she was also the coordinator of the Committee of Audit Studies (CRCRS) for 4 years. 

Monica holds an MBA in financial management, controllership and audit from the FGV – Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil, and a degree in accounting from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul – UFRGS, Brazil. 

Mats Olsson

Partner, Adrian & Partners AB

Mats Olsson is partner and one of the founders of Adrian & Partners AB. Adrian & Partners is a medium-sized practice in Gothenburg, Sweden, that works primarily with small- and medium-sized owner-led client companies. He has higher education in accounting as well as business law. Mr. Olsson was previously the Deputy Chair of  the IFAC SMPC and chair of its Task Force for Small Business Support.