One of the UK’s largest accounting firms, Azets, has launched a bold and unconventional initiative: placing young accountants in hotels, pubs, and restaurants to develop essential front-of-house people skills.
Why? Because AI is changing the game fast.
As compliance and number-crunching become increasingly automated, the future accountant isn’t the person hidden behind a spreadsheet, they’re the strategic advisor out front, communicating, problem-solving, influencing, and building trust.
Azets’ CEO Peter Gallanagh puts it perfectly:
“Many accountants just like to be in front of their computer or locked up in a room … they can’t be like that. They need to be front of house.”
Instead of reducing graduate hiring like many firms, Azets has gone the other way by increasing its intake and focusing on the real skills that matter: communication, resilience, empathy, customer service, and confidence.
And it’s not just about skills. It’s about inclusion and breaking the stereotype of who gets to be an accountant. The firm has lowered degree benchmarks, values real-world hospitality experience, and recognises that great accountants come from all backgrounds not just those with perfect grades.
At Make Accounting Great Again, we love this strategy.
It’s bold (just like our slogan).
It’s modern.
It’s exactly what the profession needs.
Because the future of accounting isn’t hiding in a room doing compliance. It’s front-of-house, shaping businesses, advising leaders, and driving impact.
👉 If we want accounting to thrive, we need more creativity, not less.
👉 More people skills, not fewer.
👉 And more firms willing to rethink what makes a great accountant.
Let’s make accounting the most exciting career of the decade.