GEN NEXT: Freddy Thomas, CPA

When I started in the tax department of Plante Moran in fall 2018, I imagined a traditional path: busy seasons in the office, steady in-person collaboration, and a clear sense of professional identity. What I got was … not that. Instead, I found a field reshaped by global disruption.

The obvious trigger for this was the COVID-19 pandemic, which overturned the norms I thought were permanent. Our physical offices shut down, and what began as a temporary remote-work solution evolved into a “new normal” hybrid work model.

While this flexibility benefited me, and many certified public accountants (CPAs), it also introduced challenges that young professionals like me didn’t anticipate. Isolation made it harder to learn organically from others. The sudden lack of structure blurred boundaries between our identities inside and outside of work. The mental health struggles that followed raised deeper questions about purpose and direction: Am I doing the right things with my life? Is this the place where I want to be?

Rising trends, like “quiet quitting,” show a generation reflecting on those questions and trying to redefine how work fits into their lives. The traditional public accounting approach maintains that professional growth requires significant sacrifice and “pay your dues” commitments. Younger generations, however, are asking whether that sacrifice is meaningful or even necessary. This trend has long been identified by the Illinois CPA Society through their numerous Insight Special Features, highlighting its impact on talent retention and the pipeline of CPAs entering the profession.

As young staff keep moving the profession toward a work style that’s further away from the traditional public accounting standard, meaningful dialogue needs to move with it and be more intentional, which has left the profession searching for solutions. From my experience, one solution stands out: overemphasize relationships and lean into the people around you.

Public accounting is uniquely positioned to capitalize on this solution—it brings together large cohorts of bright and driven people. New hires are typically organized into start classes, which act as support systems for their members. These relationships transform the nature of work—they create belonging, camaraderie, shared accomplishments, and a sense of purpose far deeper than ticking and tying or preparing returns. They turn moments of esoteric discussions of the Internal Revenue Code into fun times bantering about shared hobbies and experiences. Over time, these moments turn into real friendship. For example, one member of my start class cohort is my weekend running partner. Another is my go-to for reading recommendations, and another is the person I call when I need to be humbled at the bowling alley.

So, my advice is this: Build friendships, seek out mentors, ask questions, share your struggles, find common interests, and celebrate wins together, especially during busy season when the workload feels overwhelming. When one invests in relationships, public accounting becomes more than just technical work—it becomes meaningful work.