The National Pipeline Advisory Group is laying all of its cards on the table to address the accounting profession's ongoing talent shortage.
NPAG, an advisory group convened by the American Institute of CPAs in July 2023, released its
"NPAG is acutely aware of how critical implementation will be to transforming the accounting talent pipeline. No single entity in the profession can implement these strategies and recommendations alone," Lexy Kessler, chair of NPAG and mid-Atlantic regional leader of Top 100 firm Aprio, said in a statement. "To be successful in attracting more people to accounting, the profession's key stakeholders must unify and work together in a more structured, collaborative and transparent way to continuously innovate and improve our profession."
The draft report will be presented at the AICPA Spring Council meeting in May. The final version will be published and shared with all stakeholders in July.
Address the time and cost of education
The 150 credit-hour requirement is considered a significant hurdle for accountants seeking their CPA licensure; the additional year of school is time-consuming and costly. The report outlines three concepts to shift the direction toward measuring competency rather than just academic experience:
- Experiential learning that earns college credit on the student's transcript, delivered by an accredited college or university, such as the AICPA and NASBA's
Experience, Learn & Earn program ; - A near-term model of experiential learning by the employer or another third party that would not appear on a college transcript; and
- A longer-term plan to create a competency-based licensure model that is neither based on university credit hours nor experience time, although both are likely to contribute in some way. This model would help measure mastery and readiness instead of time in school or time on the job.
Under the third model, "competencies could be gained through traditional, institutional learning, experiential learning delivered by employers, or through self-study or do-it-yourself learning options," said the report. "NPAG envisions that many people employed within the accounting and finance professions who may not have a four-year degree or have completed the additional 30 hours of education yet have developed a deep expertise through their work experience, may find a way to CPA under this flexible, and for some, more affordable, competency concept."
All three concepts would still require accountants to pass the CPA exam. The second and third concepts pose a potential disruption to CPA practice mobility, meaning they would require an intentional and coordinated effort.
Survey respondents were mixed on the notion of changing licensure: 69% said they strongly or somewhat agree that changes should occur to licensure, 62% indicated that CPA mobility is very important to them (yet 58% said the do not think mobility currently exists), 31% would strongly or somewhat agree to support solutions that would impact mobility for a five- to 10-year period of time, and 59% were concerned about changes to licensure impacting the profession's reputation.
Tell a more compelling story
Thirty-one percent of student respondents said they chose their current major during high school earlier. And the impression young people have of accounting — grueling work hours during the intense busy season — turns them off before truly understanding what the profession is and entails.
Survey respondents overwhelmingly agreed the profession needs to create a more compelling, detailed story about accounting careers. In response, NPAG is encouraging everyone in the profession to take the
Another recommendation is to enhance K-12 programs and funding, leveraging more engaging activities to raise awareness of careers. For instance, the American Accounting Association and NABA Future Accountant Stakeholder Symposium is
Make academics more engaging
The number of students graduating with bachelor's degrees in accounting has declined steadily for years. Only one-third of business majors who considered accounting but did not pursue it as their major said the content was engaging or interesting, the report says.
One way the group suggests to achieve this is transforming introductory accounting courses to give students who have yet to declare their major a sense of prestige, flexibility and purpose. It also suggests ensuring accounting students are given enough guidance and support as they take on more challenging coursework.
Grow support for CPA exam candidates
The report lists several recommendations to help support accountants seeking their CPA certification. Those include making a flexible timeframe in which the exam can be taken, simplifying the application and eligibility process, counting CPA exam preparation courses toward college credit, reworking the content and/or format of the exam itself, and addressing the cost of the exam and rewarding candidates for passing each section of the exam.
Student survey respondents were overwhelmingly in favor of employer support for exam candidates, such as financial incentives like a bonus or raise after passing each section of the exam (83%), paid time off to study (83%), reduced workloads for those studying for the exam (70%), and employers paying exam fees upfront (69%).
Prioritize strategies to expand access for underrepresented groups at every stage
To make the accounting profession more accessible to underrepresented groups and increase diversity within firms, NPAG recommends expanding programs for these groups (such as the National Association of Black Accountants' Accounting Careers Awareness Program), engaging with campuses with high populations of underrepresented students, promoting smooth transitions from community college and four-year institutions, providing financial assistance for those socioeconomically disadvantaged, and reviewing the CPA exam and course materials for bias.
Enhance the employee experience by evolving business models and cultures
Finally, the talent shortage goes beyond fewer students studying to be accountants and even fewer going on to become CPAs — the profession has a retention problem. Accountants are leaving the profession for better work benefits, higher salaries and greater work-life balance. Raising salaries was the most agreed-upon solution for growing the pipeline among both national respondents (84%) and students (85%).
The report says employers need to make workloads more manageable, make work more interesting and make advancement opportunities and awards clearer. NPAG says state CPA societies can advise and assist firms in this effort.
