Auditing the Communication Culture of Your Team

By Mary Pemberton

The accounting profession is being reshaped by disruption and uncertainty, calling for resilience and adaptability at every level. From navigating a shrinking talent pipeline and unpredictable regulatory shifts to mastering an increasingly complex digital environment, today’s CPAs are being asked to do more than respond – they are guiding organizations through turbulence.

The role of a CPA has expanded well beyond compliance – demanding leadership, foresight and steady counsel in moments where clarity is hard to find. In this environment, the CPA is not simply a trusted advisor, but a resilient strategist helping clients and organizations chart a course forward.

When Accounting Today interviewed its Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting about what they believe is the most important issue currently facing the accounting industry, an interesting trend emerged. They were less concerned about CPAs abilities to perform their essential duties and instead cited “soft” skills. Their top answers included the pressure to stay relevant, growing demands

for advisory services, finding and fostering new talent, managing succession planning and adapting to technology disruptions.

The Overlooked Power of Effective Communication

While these challenges are widely known and talked about, there is one powerful and often overlooked tool that can help you successfully navigate them: healthy, intentional communication that focuses on gaining mutual understanding.

When employees feel heard at work and are empowered to speak openly and respectfully, they are more likely to show up ready to face new challenges and embrace a collaborative mindset while being less likely to experience burnout. It is clear that effective communication protects teams and individuals from extra stress, reduces costs as a result of time lost to rework and improves the overall health of the organization. However, many leaders may be unaware that their teams are struggling with communication or that their own actions and habits may be contributing to those very challenges. So how can you tell whether your workplace has healthy communication skills or not?

The Danger of Silence

It is easy to take a mental inventory of your office culture and assume that a lack of obvious tension or complaints means that employees are satisfied. While it may seem like a good sign that no one is raising concerns, asking questions or challenging each other, this silence could be the exact thing that points to an unhealthy communication culture. The silence may speak to larger issues that are not being talked about and could mean that staff do not feel empowered to raise questions, offer feedback or challenge assumptions. It’s also important to look at what your check-ins are focused on.

Do you only check in with employees or colleagues to talk about deliverables? Or do you make sure to open the floor for other matters? What gets talked about and how it is talked about, matters. A climate where too many matters are left unsaid creates division and leaves too much room for misunderstanding and incorrect assumptions.

Errors as Communication Gaps

One clear sign that you may not realize is a symptom of weak communication is an increase in errors that impact deadlines and business revenue. When this happens, it’s easy to assume that someone lacks necessary skills, is cutting corners or simply does not care to do the best job possible. Often times, repeated or unexplained errors could be the result of misunderstanding, unclear expectations or a hesitance to ask clarifying questions rather than a lack of skill.

Instead of making negative assumptions, this is the time to stop and have an honest, impactful conversation to discover the root of these errors. Offices where asking questions and speaking up when you need help are the norm, create the safety people need to admit when they need help and avoid making those mistakes in the first place.

Turnover as a Symptom

Perhaps one of the most severe signs of a critical failure in communication is high turnover rates. While it is easy to write this off as the new generations lacking loyalty, being lazy or lacking resilience, this is also a time where leadership may need to take a hard look internally.

Research consistently shows that poor communication is one of the strongest predictors of early turnover. Yet many leaders underestimate how their own behaviors contribute, whether by withholding information unintentionally, failing to set clear expectations or assuming new hires “will figure it out.” The result is often frustration and disengagement. By contrast, when leaders foster a culture of open dialogue, provide clear direction and make themselves accessible, new team members gain the confidence to learn, adapt and remain committed strengthening retention at the very point when it is most vulnerable.

Becoming a CPA takes an extreme amount of dedication so it is reasonable to believe that newer or younger employees are equally dedicated to their new role. When a firm or business is plagued with high rates of turnover, it is more commonly a symptom of a culture of poor communication.

Talking Around the Dilemma

Another sign of gaps in communication is the tendency to talk around or avoid talking about upcoming issues or changes. Take succession planning as an example. As a generation of leaders prepares to transition out of the profession, organizations are facing the pressing task of ensuring continuity through effective succession planning. After dedicating so many years to a career, many find it difficult to talk about stepping down in a neutral and transparent way.

When succession planning is avoided, the gap between long-tenured leaders and emerging leaders often widens, creating silos, mixed messages and uncertainty about who is truly steering the organization’s future. Swirling questions and a sense of uncertainty about succession planning clearly points to a lack of transparent communication. Just as they set the tone while leading, it is crucial that leadership also sets the tone when managing a significant transition in management and ensures that all team members are kept in the loop throughout the process.

What Can Be Done

Identifying these symptoms of poor communication is only one part of the equation. Creating a culture of healthy, open communication requires intentionality, commitment at all levels and a willingness to interrogate your own reality. The work begins with redefining what it means to have a conversation, understanding yourself and your leadership style better, learning how to identify your biases and finding the right questions to ask to guide yourself and your team to a place of mutual understanding.

Building these skills and generating full team buy-in can be difficult to accomplish from a position on the inside. This is why the ASCPA’s professional development team is certified in Fierce Conversations and Wiley DiSC, two nationally recognized training programs with a proven track record of improving communication skills and team cohesion. By investing in our team, we are investing in our members and helping CPAs learn to communicate and work together better than ever.