and it’s about time the profession took action.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
it’s been with us from the beginning. we can measure it but we can’t see it. it’s our friend and our enemy. it’s infinite, yet we never have enough of it.
and it may be the big leak in the cpa pipeline.
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yes, it’s time.
so concludes the illinois cpa society’s 2024 “re-decoding the decline” survey and report on why the pipeline of incoming accounting talent has been going from dribble to drip.
it’s a bad problem that’s getting worse, a talent shortfall that’s getting shorter.
according to an october 2023 trends report from the american institute of cpas, the number of accounting graduates declined 8 percent in 2022, dropping below the level of 2008. the number of new cpa candidates dropped 6 percent in 2022 after dropping 7 percent in 2021.
why?
it isn’t the usual reasons for a profession’s decline.
it isn’t lack of value.
- only 1 percent of respondents say the cpa credential isn’t valuable in the marketplace.
- only 3 percent say it isn’t valuable to their careers.
- 84 percent say the credential builds their credibility with those they serve.
- 83 percent say it opens doors with employers.
- 77 percent say it provides job security.
- 76 percent say it provides higher earning potential.
- 74 percent say it provides valuable and transferable skills.
it isn’t educational requirements.
- only 7 percent say the additional 30 credit-hours requirement is a challenge.
- only 6 percent say the cost of the extra credits is a challenge.
it’s the cpa exam, especially the time it takes to prepare.
- the six first-ranked challenges reported by cpas and potential cpas all related to the cpa exam.
- the most commonly reported challenge: the workload commitment (25 percent)
- the second-most: the personal time commitment to study for the exam (18 percent)
- difficulty of the exam: 11 percent
- fear of failing the exam: 9 percent
not worth the time
this isn’t the first time a survey has revealed the challenge of the cpa exam. it’s a widely recognized problem, the heartbreak hill of the accounting education marathon.
nevertheless, the survey finds that just 53 percent of cpa firms in illinois provide time off to employees to study for the exam – a significant 5 percentage point drop from the previous year.
worse, nearly 10 percent of all firms provide no incentives to take the exam, such as time off to study or paying for an exam prep course. that’s highest rate since the survey began.
many firms aren’t even offering a sufficient pay incentive. according to a recent survey from the pennsylvania institute of cpas, 53 percent of accounting majors say the additional credit-hours aren’t worth the time investment, and 47 percent say preparation for the exam isn’t worth the time investment.
ask a painful question, get a painful answer
the report then posits a painful question: “is the profession potentially damaging its own pipeline?”
and it offers a painful answer: “the truth is that the problem may not be the model or the requirements to earn the cpa credential – the problem may be the conditions prospective cpas are, or expect to be, operating in.”
the report says that the accounting profession can do more to stop the leaks in the talent pipeline. some of its suggestions:
- make the cpa exam preparation an integral part of the accounting curriculum.
- lengthen and chart out efficient testing windows for candidates to integrate school and work.
- create more pathways to earning the eduction needed to pass the exam.
- make the profession worth the investment.