- Early career accountants lose nearly five hours a week due to manual processes and disconnected systems
- Companies competing on pay are fighting the wrong fight, with only 1% considering it their biggest priority
- 44% said investing in modern technology would be their top priority if they were managing partner
London, UK, April 7, 2026: A new study conducted by IRIS Software Group shows that practice leaders are at risk of ignoring the role of technology in attracting and retaining young talent, as early career accountants reveal they lose 33 days of productive time a year* due to dealing with inefficient and outdated systems.
The IRIS study of 500 final year accounting students, recent graduates and early career accounting professionals**, revealed major gaps in the areas of technology their junior colleagues are expected to have access to, and what practices equip them.
Nearly half (43%) expect modern, cloud-based systems and 34% expect technology to be integrated and seamless across workflows. However, 40% of respondents in training or working full-time admit to spending a lot of time on manual data entry – and a quarter (25%) work across more than five disconnected systems on a daily basis. Early career accountants reveal that this problem causes five hours wasted every week, the equivalent of 33 days of lost productive time every year.
Technology as a retention tool
IRIS findings highlight the role of technology in supporting day-to-day experiences that support staff retention. When asked what keeps them at a company even though they received a higher salary offer elsewhere, 24% said excellent technology and efficient processes – putting technology above coworker relationships and leadership (22%), passion for the job (17%), and company culture and values (15%) to keep them going.
While work-life balance (54%) and salary (50%) are among the most important factors when young talent seeks accounting jobs for the first time, one in five (20%) also feel that technology-based processes that simplify the job are important to see in their first job. Only 1% said that salary was the most important factor when choosing a place to work.
Jonathan Priestley, General Manager of Global Accounting Solutions and Transformation at IRIS Accountancysaid: “Practice modernization is often discussed in relation to productivity and profitability. But it is rarely considered as a factor in attracting and retaining talent – despite chronic skills shortages across the sector.
“The profession is at a crossroads. Companies are being asked to do more with fewer resources, while meeting the rising expectations of a new generation of talent who will not accept inefficient and disconnected workflows as the norm.
“It is clear that firms need to create a new blueprint for practice growth, setting a clear strategy that prioritizes technology and efficiency, so that junior staff do not lose time due to outdated processes and accountants are exposed to high-value consulting work opportunities that actually improve margins.”
Future company
Frustration with technology appears to be shaping the next generation’s belief that companies must evolve. Nearly nine in ten (89%) say they believe Making Tax Digital will force companies to modernize their systems in a way that directly benefits new-career accountants.
When asked what they would prioritize if they were managing partners in the future, 44% answered that they should immediately invest in modern, integrated technology – this number rose to 54% among qualified accountants and 70% among accountants with five years’ experience. Nearly all (94%) agree that connected technology will allow them to do their jobs better.
The research also raises broader questions about traditional career paths through the profession’s largest employers. More than half of respondents (54%) agree that the Big Four is a less reliable path to success, although most young talent still wants to pursue a career at the largest companies in the sector.
Jonathan Priestley added: “Practices that treat MTD as a compliance burden will undergo minimal modernization, while those that embrace the digital shift will recognize it as the moment young accountants have been waiting for, and will become operationally stronger and better at attracting and retaining the talent the sector is striving for. But the broader pattern is clear: the longer people work in these practices, the more convinced they become about what is holding them back.
“Our research shows that the companies most likely to win the battle for talent are those that are investing in people and technology in equal measure – not those that have big reputations and big names. The practices that recognize this and take action now, before MTD forces them to, are the ones that in the next few years will be in a fundamentally stronger position.”
For a deeper look at what future generations of accountants expect from the profession – and how companies can respond – download the full report here.
END
*Based on accountants working seven hours a day, 47 weeks a year.
**Survey of 500 final year accounting students, recent graduates and early career accounting professionals in the UK conducted by Censuswide, on behalf of IRIS Software Group, between 20 February – 26 February 2026.
END
About IRIS Software Group
IRIS Software Group is a global provider of mission-critical software and one of the UK’s largest privately owned software companies. IRIS provides software solutions and services for finance, HR and payroll teams, educational organizations, and accounting companies that take the pain out of processes and allow professionals to focus on the work they love. By simplifying, automating and providing insight into everyday mission critical tasks for organizations of all shapes and sizes, IRIS ensures customers can look forward to them with certainty and confidence.
IRIS is the largest third party online reporter working within the UK Government. Ninety-three of the UK’s top 100 accountancy firms use IRIS software. One in six of the UK workforce is paid through IRIS’ payroll offering, and globally, six million employees receive their payslips through IRIS software every month. More than 850,000 employees in the UK are managed by IRIS HR solutions. More than 12,000 schools and colleges in England use IRIS, with four million parents and carers using the IRIS app to connect with their children’s schools; 300 million messages are sent between schools and parents every year, and more than £15 million of transactional payments are processed every month. IRIS is certified as a Great Place to Work® and recognized as one of The Times’ Top 50 Companies for Gender Equality in 2023. IRIS is also recognized as one of the Best Workplaces for Well-Being, one of the Best Workplaces in Technology, and one of the Best Workplaces for Women.
To see how IRIS helps organizations do the right thing every time, visit www.iris.co.uk or follow the IRIS Software Group on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
Media contact:
Jennifer Peters | Berita@irisglobal.com
PakarPBN
A Private Blog Network (PBN) is a collection of websites that are controlled by a single individual or organization and used primarily to build backlinks to a “money site” in order to influence its ranking in search engines such as Google. The core idea behind a PBN is based on the importance of backlinks in Google’s ranking algorithm. Since Google views backlinks as signals of authority and trust, some website owners attempt to artificially create these signals through a controlled network of sites.
In a typical PBN setup, the owner acquires expired or aged domains that already have existing authority, backlinks, and history. These domains are rebuilt with new content and hosted separately, often using different IP addresses, hosting providers, themes, and ownership details to make them appear unrelated. Within the content published on these sites, links are strategically placed that point to the main website the owner wants to rank higher. By doing this, the owner attempts to pass link equity (also known as “link juice”) from the PBN sites to the target website.
The purpose of a PBN is to give the impression that the target website is naturally earning links from multiple independent sources. If done effectively, this can temporarily improve keyword rankings, increase organic visibility, and drive more traffic from search results.
