maybe a flip in perception is in order: 150 hours as an investment, not a burden.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
the accounting profession is in trouble. big trouble.
cpa firms experience the problem as a difficulty in finding certified professionals. but the real problem is in the personnel pipeline that feeds the industry, the long, hard, expensive process of becoming a cpa.
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to continue the metaphor, it’s also the drain pipe – the increasing flow of professionals out of cpa firms and into retirement. in 2020, 75 percent of cpas became eligible to hang up their green eyeshades and find something else to do, such as get to know their families and experience the pleasures of daylight.
the only hope
there’s not much to do about the drain. sooner or later, everyone exits.
the only hope is the incoming pipeline. it’s a long one, stretching, in many cases, from decisions made in high school to passing the cpa exam many years later.
unfortunately, the pipeline seems to be a bit clogged with a number of obstacles:
- bad advice from students’ friends and family
- more rewarding careers in business management and administration
- students’ stereotypical misconceptions about accounting careers
- fears of unsatisfying life-work balance
- little understanding of the impact and meaning of the work
- too little help or encouragement from mentors
- onerous preparation for the cpa exam
- the prohibitively expensive and time-consuming 150 credit hour requirement
not worth the investment
a research report from the pennsylvania institute of cpas found that 49 percent of business administration majors declined to go into accounting because of the additional education needed to satisfy the 150-hour requirement. more specifically, 43 percent said that the extra education isn’t worth the financial investment, and 41 percent said it wasn’t worth the time.
at first glance, it might seem that easing the education requirement would be an easy fix to a major obstacle. but the picpa study found that lowering the requirement to a hypothetical120 hours would have little impact on potential decisions.
the burden of the 150 hours was found to be significant but not as significant as the nature of the career.
when accounting majors were asked what might cause them to switch majors,
- 69 percent said they’d want a better life-work balance.
- 64 percent said other career paths offered more opportunities.
- 63 percent said it was the impact and meaning of the work.
- 61 percent said it was the higher pay at the start of the career.
the numbers were about the same as business majors who explained why they weren’t likely to switch to an accounting major.
changing the conversation
the report advised changing the conversation about the 150-hour requirement. rather than consider lowering education standards, the industry should try to make the financial and temporal investment worth making.
to do so, firms need to reconsider their operating models to offer more career growth, more meaningful work, better starting salaries, and a shift in compensation to allow a better life-work balance.
the report identified internships as an effective tool for securing new professionals and clearing up misconceptions.
- internships show students what a cpa’s workday and workplace are really like.
- interns get a better view of the many career paths in accountancy.
- paid internships ease the financial burden of the 150-hour requirement.
- internship experience is hands-on education that helps prepare for the cpa exam.
- an internship is a foot in the door for that first job, something that 63 percent of interns expect, with 23 percent receiving a job offer before taking the exam.
it’s that simple … and that hard. maintain the high standards of education, but make it worth the effort.
2 responses to “is the cpa business model the clog in the pipeline?”
hitendra r. patil
this is a very critical aspect of the current challenges faced by the profession. ron baker and i discussed this exact subject of “business model” likely being the culprit. some insightful things came out of the discussion. watch it here -> https://datamaticscpa.com/webinars/accounting-talent-crisis-is-your-firms-business-model-the-culprit/
gerard iacovano
i agree with the points made. i feel that starting salaries did not keep up as other professions passed right by. in my opinion, the change to the 150-hour requirement was a huge detriment to the profession. no one considered who would be hurt by this move. the universities welcomed it since they are benefiting from more tuition. it was a slower decline until it reached covid in 2020 and many professionals packed it in, not wanting to deal with all the additional work needed to be addressed.