The diversity of accounting graduates hired by U.S. CPA firms increased almost five percentage points, from 30.1% in 2018 to 34.8% in 2020, according to a new report from the AICPA.
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The AICPA's report also found that colleges and universities in the U.S. saw total accounting undergraduate enrollment decline 7.8% from fall 2019 to fall 2021, with freshman enrollment down 13.1%. Graduate-level enrollment, however, has increased 4.9% since 2019.
“In recent years, firm and organization leaders increased their focus and strategies to address the various elements of diversity, equity and inclusion throughout their workplaces and workforces,” said Jan Taylor, academic in residence, academic and student engagement at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, in a statement. “And, in turn, one of the highlights in this year’s report is the increasing diversity within the profession. There’s more work to be done on this front, but by continuing to tap into different people, cultures and perspectives, our profession continues to be well positioned to solve even the most complex and challenging issues.”
U.S. CPA firms hired 10% fewer accounting graduates in 2020 than in 2019, mostly due to the pandemic, the report found. And while COVID-19 caused a decrease in CPA exam candidates in 2020, there was a 6% increase in new exam candidates from 2020-2021.
“The demand in our profession for CPAs is high, but the decline in the recruitment pool was exacerbated by the pandemic as workers’ priorities shifted and career paths were re-evaluated,” Taylor added. “The AICPA and other stakeholders in the profession are focused on addressing these challenges along with anticipating the ongoing changes shaping our economy. As the pace of change increases, we are accelerating our efforts on several profession-wide initiatives that attract, inspire, and engage the next generation of CPAs.”
Other findings from the report include:
- Accounting bachelor's and master's graduates dropped in the 2019–2020 academic year — down 2.8% and 8.4%, respectively.
- Non-accounting graduates hired into accounting and finance firms increased by 10% in 2020.
- 74% of CPA firms expect to hire the same number or more accounting grads in 2022 than 2021.
- More U.S. CPA firms expect to hire new accounting graduates into accounting and finance functions for 2022 (36%) vs. 2021 (28%).
- Accounting graduate new hires are increasingly being assigned to audit, a shift of 11.5 percentage points between 2018 and 2020.
- The number of CPA exam candidates who passed their fourth section of the exam decreased 11% between 2019 and 2020. The number of successful candidates also decreased 5.5% between 2020 and 2021.
The report analyzes data reported to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems and statistical projections based on university responses for the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years, as well as firm responses from the 2020 calendar year. For the full report, head to the AICPA's
