Building Career Pathways that Support Firm Growth
- Jacqueline Lombardo
- Oct 13
- 6 min read
For decades, the “partner track” has been the path to upward advancement in most CPA firms. But firm leaders who believe all high-potential talent must become equity partners risk sidelining capable professionals whose strengths lie elsewhere. They also lose agility in today’s competitive labor market. Non-traditional paths like director, principal, advisory leader, technical specialist and client success lead must be part of the conversation.
Firms that invest in clear, scalable career pathways gain a competitive edge, with higher retention, smoother succession, improved client service, and stronger growth. The CHRO or head of people function is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation. Below is a blueprint outlining why this matters and how to make it happen.
Career path progression matters more than ever
Growing an accounting firm beyond the founders or a small partner group depends on access to capable leaders in tax, audit, advisory, operations, client service and technology. But leadership doesn’t emerge spontaneously. You have to cultivate it. When you tie career progression to firm strategy, your people become active participants in scaling rather than passive maintainers.
The cost of unclear paths
Turnover becomes a problem when people don’t see how they advance. This leads to direct and indirect costs like recruiting, training replacements, loss of institutional memory, client disruption and morale drag.
Roughly 30% of firms surveyed as part of the Indiana CPA Society’s report, Transforming Your Firm’s Business Model: Workforce Transformation and Talent Management Strategies, cited “unclear career progression paths” as the most significant barrier to advancing mid-level professionals. Many professionals leave not for lack of compensation, but rather for a lack of perceived growth opportunities.
Changing expectations and evolving roles
The accounting profession is evolving as clients increasingly demand advisory services. Hybrid work, automation, analytics, real-time reporting, and technology consulting are part of the mix. That means new roles and intersecting skill sets. A straight “audit → senior → manager → partner” track is too narrow.
We encourage firms to move beyond a traditional pyramid-shaped firm hierarchy toward a diamond shape with broader middle layers for specialists, such as technologists, consultants and industry experts, who may not follow partner equity paths.
Firms that can offer meaningful upward mobility, even outside of equity, can better attract and retain professionals who might otherwise move to industry, consulting or financial services firms.
Creating scalable progression frameworks
In place of a rigid partner track, consider career lattices with multiple axes of progression (technical, client, leadership, and innovation) that allow lateral and upward movement. Some professionals will lead client services, others become subject-matter experts and some become internal strategy leaders or directors of innovation.
This flexibility allows team members to follow trajectories that align with their strengths and interests. It also helps firms retain people who might otherwise leave, as the only remaining “step up” was to become an equity partner.
Blending technical and advisory skill sets
A successful progression framework can’t silo technical and advisory tracks. Over time, accountants must bring a balanced blend of a strong financial, audit, tax or compliance foundation, plus business insight, client communication, problem-solving and strategic thinking.
Each role in the framework should include both domain/technical expectations and expectations for advisory or client-impact skills appropriate to the level. The more senior, the greater weight shifts toward business and leadership competencies.
Dynamic competency frameworks
A static job description won’t scale in a changing profession. Instead, build a living competency model where each role has a competency matrix with technical, interpersonal, leadership and business/strategic dimensions. Define what “good,” “strong,” and “exceptional” look like at each level. Include behavioral anchors and measurable criteria.
One helpful practice is to update the competency model periodically (e.g., annually or biannually) to reflect new capabilities like data analytics, AI fluency or ESG auditing. Tie promotion or movement decisions to demonstrated competency rather than time-in-role.
Communicating expectations at every level
Define the expectations by dimension (technical, leadership, business development, innovation) for every tier or path in your framework. What should someone at level X be doing by the end of year two? What about at the end of year five? Use a career map or matrix to show “you are here → next steps.”
Make these role maps visible and communicable to staff. A well-defined career map becomes a reference point in performance conversations.
Link performance conversations to the competency model and role maps. Ask, “Are you on track for the next level? If not, what are the gaps? What support do you need?” Use calibration among managers to ensure consistency in expectations across service lines or offices.
Make promotion criteria transparent. Use objective anchors from the competency model, documented assessments and development plans. Reducing ambiguity increases trust and motivation.
Consider publishing “typical paths” or “alternative paths” that show examples of people who advanced via technical, leadership or client-focused trajectories.
The role of mentorship and sponsorship
Mentors help people navigate day-to-day challenges, develop skills, provide feedback and counsel. In a firm, formal mentorship helps young professionals quickly develop technical judgment, client navigation and soft skills.
Sponsorship: advocating for opportunity
Sponsors are senior leaders who advocate for a protégé’s promotion, inclusion on high-profile projects, exposure to decision-makers and stretch assignments. Mentorship without sponsorship often leaves high-potential talent stuck behind invisible walls.
In firms where advancement is limited by gatekeepers, having a sponsor who can open doors is critical.
Formalizing programs with equity and scalability
To ensure fairness, formalize mentorship and sponsorship programs:
Match mentors/sponsors intentionally to balance diversity, capability and interest
Provide training for mentors and sponsors on how to give feedback and how to advocate
Track sponsorship wins, like how many protégés were promoted or resourced
Rotate the role of sponsor to avoid capture or bias
Encourage cross-service-line pairing to reduce silos
By embedding mentorship and sponsorship in the career framework, you strengthen your leadership development pipeline while maintaining equity.
Aligning career paths with firm strategy
Design your career pathways to reflect where the firm is headed, not just where it’s been. If your firm is investing in advisory, technology or specialty industry niches, make that a clear track in your framework.
A person who excels in advisory or data analytics should be able to rise to senior levels even without the typical audit/tax partner pathway. This alignment sends a signal that this is the firm's future and each individual’s career can lead there too.
Succession and leadership pipeline
The career framework should feed into your succession planning. As you identify future service-line or office leaders, these individuals should have traversed multiple roles in the pathway. Use the framework to rotate them through exposure roles or stretch assignments.
Career pathways become your leadership development pipeline rather than a loose promotion funnel.
Adjusting as the client landscape evolves
Client demands evolve and the competencies and roles that matter today may shift. Your career framework should reflect emerging client needs. Review and revise the path periodically so that the roles remain relevant.
Practical steps for HR and CHROs to lead this effort
Conduct a career-path audit. Map your current roles, titles, paths, promotion criteria, and gaps. Identify roles with no clear successor, roles where retention is weak, and roles where people are stagnating. Understand where employees perceive limitations in their progression.
Collaborate with firm leaders. Bring partners, service-line heads and high-potential staff into design workshops. Align on future strategic direction, key roles to support that, and what success looks like. The goal is co-creation, not a decree from HR.
Pilot a small-scale rollout. Select one or two service lines (audit, tax, advisory) or one office to pilot the framework. Collect feedback, refine competency definitions, test promotion decisions, measure engagement shifts. Then scale.
Implement supporting technology. Use a talent management system (TMS), HRIS, or career-path tracking software to maintain role maps, competency models, development plans, and progression data. Automate reminders, track gaps, and provide visibility.
Communicate broadly and consistently. Launch with clarity. Hold town halls, distribute guides, integrate into onboarding, performance reviews and manager training. Integrate the framework into your culture so that it becomes an integral part of how you nurture talent.
Monitor, review, refine. Track key metrics: retention in each level, time to promotion, internal movement vs external hiring, diversity across paths and employee satisfaction. Use findings to refine the framework, promote fairness and responsiveness.
A well-defined career pathway isn’t just an HR nicety; it’s a growth strategy. It aligns talent development with firm strategy, helps retain high performers, supports smoother succession and keeps your competitive edge. Talent is scarce in our profession, so this effort is mission-critical.
Could your firm’s HR and talent leaders benefit from a peer network?
The Boomer Talent Circle is a community of talent leaders from forward-thinking firms who are committed to aligning human resources and firm strategy at the highest levels. Apply now to start shaping your firm for the future.
Jacqueline Lombardo is the Operations Manager at Boomer Consulting, Inc., where she facilitates the Boomer Talent and CAAS Circles and contributes to developing the Boomer Knowledge Network. With a Master’s in HR, Kolbe certification, and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, she specializes in translating complexity into clarity and aligning diverse teams. Jacqueline is known for her creative facilitation, thought leadership, and human-centric approach. She’s also
an outdoor enthusiast and world traveler, having explored more than 25 countries.
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