Could this 1 Change Fix the Accountant Shortage?

College students can’t stand the 150 credit hour requirement to sit for the CPA exam. Employers are desperate to find the next wave of accountants. And now the two main obstacles standing in the way are smelling the coffee.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) are proposing an alternate pathway for college graduates to achieve CPA licensure. Candidates would still need to work in the accounting field for a year first, but could forego a 5th year of college to earn the additional 30 credit hours.

Any fees that candidates for a CPA license may incur aren’t available yet. AICPA and NASBA are only offering broad strokes for now, but we’ll assume the costs to be minimal or nil for candidates who choose the alternate pathway.

The groups are proposing bachelor degree graduates must show competency in “seven professional and three technical competencies. Professional competencies [include] areas such as ethical behavior, critical thinking and communication. Technical skills are in audit and assurance, tax and financial reporting.”

One or more evaluators in candidates’ organizations would need to certify competency achieved in all of the professional areas and at least one technical skill. Comments on the alternative pathway can be submitted through December 6.

Accountant Shortage is Getting Worse

AICPA introduced the 150 hour credit requirement for CPA licensure in 2015. Since then the number of collegians choosing to study and sit for the CPA exam’s dropped. The decline’s gotten worse in this decade as students choose more lucrative jobs in finance.

An extra year of college, not counting room and board, can easily top $40 grand. Not all employers obviously are willing to pay for or reimburse their would-be accountants. Yet the most in-demand skills employers are striving to find are in financial controls, accounting and auditing.

Roughly 85% of business professionals and college students say companies don’t pay accountants enough to draw talent to the field. Accounting and related services majors rank dead last in mean starting salary out of of seven business-related academic fields.