The accountant shortage remains an acute challenge in the U.S. and other parts of the globe, but some countries may be experiencing a comeback.
The Institute of Management Accountants has been
The IMA survey uncovered some differences among regions and countries. Higher percentages of professionals in China, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and India intend to leave their employer in the next 12 months. The percentage of those who intend to leave the profession is the highest in Europe (13%), with the U.S. at 11%, the Asia-Pacific region at 10%, 6% in the MENA region, and 7% in India.
"I've lived in the Middle East and Singapore and now in India," said Sunil Deshmukh, chair of the global board of directors of the Institute of Management Accountants. "I would say there was a decline to an extent up to three years back, but in the last two to three years, there has been huge demand for finance and accounting professionals, and the most sought-after qualification, after data sciences and artificial intelligence, is coming to the accounting and finance side."
He is seeing an increased number of accounting organizations in India, along with interest from young people. In Singapore and China, the profession also appears to be growing.
"My general principle is that the accounting profession will not die," said Deshmukh. "It has got its own ways and means of survival. Transitioning from a number cruncher to a strategic decision maker will ensure it will go on."
Adapting to technology will help ensure it continues to grow, including the explosion in generative AI.
"As an accounting profession, we need to embrace the changes happening in the technological world, be it data sciences or artificial intelligence," said Deshmukh. "The accounting profession cannot remain aloof or independent of the changes happening in the world."
He believes it's important to improve the perception of the profession in the minds of young people, as well as offer courses in areas such as artificial intelligence, sustainability, cybersecurity and data analytics.
"We need to skill and reskill our professional members and students with whatever is happening in the world," said Deshmukh.
Making appropriate changes in the curriculum is one aspect, along with doing industry surveys and research about how the job market is going, asking industry experts what changes they want to see in the future in finance and accounting professionals. "Image building is a long-term process," said Deshmukh.
Starting salaries are another issue. "The young generation sees the salaries paid to a data analyst vis a vis the salary paid to a fresh incoming accountant," he added.
He noted that accounting students should see how they can evolve in their careers. "I tell the story of a transition of a chief financial officer to a chief executive officer," he said. "You will grow, you will become a strategic decision-maker, you will become a chief financial officer, a senior director and eventually you can become a CEO."
"I personally think the role of the finance and accounting professional will evolve, get more toward decision-making side, the strategy side, business planning side, or even sustainability," said Deshmukh. "In the next three to five years, cybersecurity is definitely going to hit all of us, so we be need to be prepared as accounting professionals."
While there are differences across countries, there's a shared commonality. "Globally the accounting profession is evolving in a different way in different parts of the world, but basically the accounting profession remains the accounting profession."
