Blog - August 2026

  • WHY THE HIRES THAT MATTER MOST NEVER COME FROM AN ADVERT

    Posted on Tuesday, August 25, 2026 by Lydia Sinclair — 2 comments

    WHY THE HIRES THAT MATTER MOST NEVER COME FROM AN ADVERT Posted on 25 August 2026 by Lydia Sinclair FREC On specialist audit, the RI shortage, and the tax technology roles nobody was hiring for ten years ago. Most hiring in practice starts the same way. A partner decides a role is needed. Somebody writes a spec. The spec becomes an advert. The advert goes out, and then everyone waits to see what ...

  • Who Trains The Next Generation? What The Level 7 Funding Change Means For Practice

    Posted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026 by Lydia Sinclair — 4 comments

    Who Trains The Next Generation? What The Level 7 Funding Change Means For Practice Posted 18 August 2026 by Lydia Sinclair FREC Every recruitment market has a problem it can see and a problem it cannot. The one practice can see is that qualified people are hard to find. The one it cannot see yet arrived on 1 January 2026, and it will not show up in anybody's numbers until about 2032. This is a ...

  • Nobody Is Signing: Why Audit Firms Can't Fill The Layer Above Manager

    Posted on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 by Lydia Sinclair — No comments

    Nobody Is Signing: Why Audit Firms Can't Fill The Layer Above Manager Posted on 11 August 2026 by Lydia Sinclair FREC If you run an audit team and you've been trying to recruit at the top of it, you've probably had a version of this year. The advert goes out. It attracts semi-seniors and seniors, a couple of managers who aren't quite there, and nobody at all who could take on Responsible ...

  • NOTICED

    Posted on Tuesday, August 4, 2026 by Lydia Sinclair — 1 comment

    Noticed: What the Practices Keeping Their Best People Do Differently Posted on 4 August 2026 by Lydia Sinclair FREC Most people who resign after a long stretch are not running from anything. They just worked out that nobody was going to ask. I have spent part of this month speaking to somebody who has been at the same practice for almost two decades. He is good at his job. His firm knows he is ...