What’s Causing the Accountant Shortage?
Just in case you think we’re being a bit hyperbolic about this accountant shortage, let’s begin with some eye-opening statistics:
- As of 2022, over 300,000 accountants and auditors had left their jobs since 2020.
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 126,500 additional job openings for accountants and auditors each year over the next decade.
- Almost 75% of CPAs had already reached retirement age as of 2020.
- The number of people sitting for the CPA exam fell from 48,004 in 2016 to 32,188 in 2021, marking the lowest point in 17 years.
Kind of sounds like a profession in full-blown crisis mode, right? That’s because it is. Let’s examine a handful of the dynamics pushing accounting to the brink.
The Accounting Educational Hurdle
Imagine running a marathon where the organizers keep extending the finish line. That’s what becoming a CPA can feel like these days. A bachelor’s degree is already a tough grab for many people, but throw in the extra 30 credit hours to hit the mandatory 150-hour mark for CPAs, and you see why many potential accounting graduates are choosing different paths.
Other than just being a bit of a pain, the extra time and debt can discourage even the most eager go-getters. Recognizing this, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is ramping up efforts to pull more high schoolers and college students into the accounting world by spicing up the CPA exam with a dash more tech. The hope is to make the field more appealing and relevant to today’s digitally savvy college graduates and young people in general.
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