How Do You Review Staff Capacity and Retention After an Accounting Practice Acquisition?
Updated: 2 days ago
GUEST AUTHOR | Blackhall & Co
Today’s guest post is by Blackhall & Co. Blackhall & Co helps buyers find businesses worth owning. Opinions expressed by guest authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Fairlane Finance.
Review staff capacity and retention by comparing the work the practice must deliver with the time, skills and support its people actually have.
A familiar team can make a new practice feel reassuringly stable.
Yet the same names on the payroll do not establish that your staffing assumptions are working. staff capacity and retention deserve a specific review during the first 100 days, especially as the vendor steps back and your own management responsibilities become clearer.
For an Australian accounting practice, this review should connect client deadlines, technical supervision, staff experience and the cost of providing support. The aim is to understand where the team is coping, where pressure is building and what you need to change.
The short answer
Compare available time and relevant skills with the work due, including review and administration.
Ask staff about responsibilities, support and the changes affecting their working day.
Test whether client service depends on one person or continued vendor involvement.
Allow for training, recruitment and supervision in both the operating plan and forecast.
What should your staff capacity and retention review measure?
Begin with the staffing model behind the acquisition forecast.
Identify the roles you expected to retain, the vendor functions you planned to replace and any work you intended to absorb personally. Your review of the practice’s staff structure provides a useful starting point, but actual experience after settlement should now inform the assessment.
Compare those assumptions with current responsibilities and service outcomes.
Useful evidence includes work awaiting review, approaching deadlines, corrections, recurring overtime, leave coverage and staff feedback. A rising backlog may indicate insufficient resources, although unclear instructions or unfamiliar software could also be contributing.
Keep the measures proportionate. A small practice may need a clear workload summary and regular conversations rather than a complicated reporting system. Review trends alongside explanations, because the first few weeks may include unusual handover work.
Record an owner and review date for each material concern, so the discussion leads to a response. At the next meeting, check whether that response has made the working day more manageable.
Look beyond headcount to the work that needs doing
Five employees do not necessarily provide five interchangeable sources of capacity. Their hours, experience, client responsibilities and review requirements may differ. Planned leave and time spent learning new systems also affect what can realistically be completed.
Map upcoming work by due date, complexity and the person responsible. Include technical review, client questions, billing and administration alongside preparation time.
Then ask whether the reviewer has enough availability when the work reaches them. Adding preparation capacity will not solve a queue that is waiting for a single senior sign-off.
Safe Work Australia identifies excessive or insufficient job demands as potential psychosocial hazards, with their frequency, duration and severity affecting risk. Its guidance on job demands supports a broader discussion of workload and resources. Seek relevant work health and safety advice for your jurisdiction where concerns arise.
Give staff a voice in the review
A staff member may be meeting every deadline while quietly carrying an unsustainable workload. Another may appear underutilised because nobody has explained which decisions they can make.
Private, thoughtful conversations help reveal conditions that a workflow report cannot show.
Ask what has become harder since settlement, where instructions conflict and what support would make the greatest difference. Explain how their feedback will be used and follow up on agreed actions. Avoid promising that every preference can be accommodated, but give people a clear response rather than leaving concerns unanswered.
Retention also depends on the working arrangements people value. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s guidance on workplace flexibility explains relevant options and legal frameworks. If hours, location or flexibility arrangements need review, obtain advice on the employee’s circumstances and applicable obligations.
Can the practice function as the vendor steps back?
Vendor involvement can conceal a capacity gap. The former owner may still answer difficult questions, review files or manage sensitive clients, even when those contributions no longer appear in the ordinary workflow.
Compare that work with the agreed vendor handover and identify who will take responsibility when support reduces.
Use your understanding of owner dependence to test whether responsibilities have genuinely transferred. A client introduction may be complete while technical knowledge remains with the vendor. The replacement arrangement may require supervised practice, written procedures or access to specialist advice.
Include yourself in this assessment.
If every difficult matter now reaches your desk, the acquisition may have exchanged one principal dependency for another. Review your existing clients, management commitments and available review time before assuming that you can absorb the difference.
Turn findings into a realistic staffing response
The right response depends on the cause. Clearer allocation may resolve duplicated effort, while training may help a capable employee take on unfamiliar work. A persistent shortage of technical review capacity may require additional experienced support.
Business.gov.au’s staff development and training guidance describes options including mentoring and job shadowing. Allow time for both the learner and the person providing support.
Training cannot be treated as an immediate productivity gain when it initially takes people away from client work.
If recruitment is needed, include search costs, remuneration, onboarding and the workload carried while the vacancy remains open. Your review of key staff risk can help identify where replacement difficulty or concentrated client knowledge deserves particular attention.
Update the forecast when the response changes operating costs. Where the staffing plan differs materially from the acquisition assumptions, assess the effect on working capital as well as earnings.
Additional payroll may begin before improved billing produces cash.
Consult before introducing significant workplace changes
Changing rosters, reporting lines or office arrangements may affect the team’s willingness and ability to stay. The Fair Work Ombudsman explains consultation requirements that can apply under awards and enterprise agreements when major workplace changes or changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours are proposed. Its consultation guide is a useful starting point, alongside tailored employment advice.
Explain the reason for the proposed change, invite relevant feedback and consider its consequences before finalising the approach. The process and any consent requirements depend on the circumstances. A commercial desire to integrate quickly does not settle the employment position.
An illustrative capacity gap
Suppose a senior accountant retains all their clients after settlement but inherits the vendor’s review work. Preparation continues on time, yet completed files wait longer for approval.
The owner initially interprets this as a need for another junior accountant.
A closer review shows that the bottleneck is experienced review capacity. The response could involve reallocating suitable work, developing another reviewer or obtaining additional senior support. Costs and outcomes vary, and this simplified illustration is not a staffing recommendation.
Frequently asked questions
Does retaining every employee mean the staffing plan is working?
No. Retention tells you who remains, while capacity and service outcomes show whether the team can perform under the new operating model.
How often should I review workload?
Choose a rhythm that suits upcoming deadlines and emerging pressures. The 30, 60 and 100-day checkpoints are planning suggestions rather than a universal timetable.
Should I assume staff will raise problems themselves?
No. Invite feedback through appropriate conversations and follow-up. People may be uncertain about the new owner’s expectations or reluctant to describe difficulties publicly.
Can I change employees’ roles immediately?
Obtain advice before material changes. Contracts, awards, agreements, consultation requirements and other employment obligations may affect the approach.
What if the vendor’s departure reveals a staffing shortfall?
Identify the missing functions, agree a practical response and update costs and forecasts. Seek legal advice if additional vendor support affects the purchase arrangements.
Build a team plan you can sustain
By the end of the initial review period, you should understand who owns the work, where support is needed and how the practice will operate with less vendor involvement. A useful staffing plan gives people clear responsibilities and gives you a credible view of service capacity, cost and your own workload.
Sources and further reading
Contributor disclaimer: This article is contributed by Blackhall & Co and published on the Fairlane Finance website. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed are those of the contributor alone, not statements of Fairlane Finance’s position. Publication does not constitute Fairlane Finance’s endorsement of the contributor’s views, services or any proposed acquisition.
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