Hiring trends to watch in accounting as burnout and AI rise

The top three in-demand financial skill sets among employers in 2023 are bookkeeping, financial analyzing and accounting. This demand, however, has made these positions some of the most difficult to recruit for. We expect to see competition for these employees continue and accounting, in particular, will see a big fight for top talent, exacerbated by a growing skills gap.

Traditionally, accounting professionals have been in demand, with the industry seeing low unemployment numbers. Regardless of industry, businesses need accountants. To become a licensed accountant, however, workers need to pass the CPA exam. This barrier to entry means that employers are typically competing for talent within a small pool of qualified candidates.

Burnout is on the rise

In recent years, that already small pool has shrunk. Thanks to burnout, a skills gap and the recent uptick in retirements, businesses are scrambling to fill accounting roles even as their candidate options dwindle. The threat of burnout has real repercussions for the future of accounting.

Chronic stress causes problems on the job: 85% of accountants had to reopen their books at least once to fix mistakes. But a bigger worry is that burnout will intensify the struggle to find and retain workers. As workers leave the profession due to stress, the remaining employees experience even more burnout as they struggle to pick up the slack. Seeing this burnout can deter new employees from entering the profession, making it harder to fill these open roles and keeping this vicious cycle going.

Shifts in the accounting workforce

It's not just the threat of burnout keeping new employees from entering the profession, however. Overall, accounting is struggling to make up for a massive skills gap that only appears to be getting worse.

Much of it may be an education problem. The number of U.S. students completing accounting degrees is falling. In 2020, bachelor's degrees in accounting fell by 2.8%, and master's degrees fell by 8.4%. This, in turn, has led to a decrease in those getting CPA certified. In 2010 nearly 50,000 candidates sat for the CPA exam, compared to just over 32,000 in 2021. That's a big drop in accounting professionals entering the labor force.

It's possible that a recession may encourage more students to enter a relatively stable and in-demand field like accounting; however, declining interest from college grads will only exacerbate the long-term issue of finding qualified talent. 

Some are trying to combat this lack of interest by raising awareness of the profession among students in high school and even middle school. While this may help establish a pipeline of candidates down the line, it doesn't provide a short-term fix. It seems likely that the skills gap will only get worse, at least in the foreseeable future.

As companies struggle to get new workers interested in accounting, they face a challenge from the opposite direction. Baby boomers, who make up almost 75% of the CPA workforce, are getting ready to retire. As these employees exit the workforce for good, there may not be enough qualified candidates to fill the positions they leave behind. This could result in a major talent crisis that leaves employers desperate for employees to build out their workforce.

As this skills gap intensifies the competition for candidates, employers should take a two-pronged approach to filling open positions: offering candidates what they want and relying on automation where possible.                                                                                                               

AI helps, but can't make up for a skills gap

Automation and technologies like artificial intelligence are being used more regularly in accounting and finance spaces. But tech is unlikely to completely replace the need for highly trained accounting professionals. While AI can handle accounting tasks like inputting data, sorting transactions and managing expense reports, higher-level accounting roles will still need to be filled by human specialists.

That means that while automation can be a great addition to the accounting and finance field, it isn't the solution for the skills gap.                                                                                       

Attracting qualified accounting and finance talent in 2023

With burnout on the rise, lower rates of accounting graduates and a retiring generation, competition for accounting and finance professionals remains fierce and will continue to be competitive throughout 2023. 

Although leveraging AI can serve to fill some roles, it won't be able to replace human specialists entirely. To attract professionals in 2023, employers can take proactive steps by presenting current employees with upskilling opportunities and introducing remote and hybrid work options to reach a more expansive network of accounting and finance talent.