KyCPA member spotlights continued
college accounting educators
Issue 2
April 22, 2022
6. How can CPAs help attract more individuals to the CPA profession?
Beauchamp - I think it would be good to return to 4 years of college to fulfill the education requirement of becoming certified, rather than 5. We need the profession to be more attractive, so less education and an increase in pay are two good places to start. Local CPA firms contact me often looking for interns and employees. Very few of my students are interested in becoming CPAs. We need to find some little advantages, such as more local group discounts on memberships and motels. I don't mean to travel in groups, but a discount just for being a member of the state society or AICPA, much like a discount for being a member of AAA insurance.
We need some attractive recruiting campaigns. Young people like colorful attractive T-shirts and they pay attention to them. I know that the state society has a low budget after Covid has brought about less attendance at seminars. It would be good to get sponsorships from some large firms and industries.
Brigham - That's the $64,000 question. I try to drive home the idea that being a CPA can open countless doors of opportunity in every organization and industry imaginable. Also, being an experienced CPA provides transferrable and valuable skills that allow accountants to slip into the roles of other professional disciplines, such as finance, management, human resources, etc. Ultimately, the issue is in large part one of belief revision. When I poll my students at the start of each new semester about their views concerning what "accounting" is, the results are inevitably - and often wildly - inaccurate. The typical response has accounting as the management of money and has the profession as a back-room function squirreled away from the rest of the world. Kentucky CPAs can help change such beliefs many ways, including supporting the KyCPA in its outreach functions at all levels of the educational system.
Burge - SEC and IRS needs to change deadlines so "busy season" is extended and workload can be more manageable and allow for more work/ life balance and less stress. Newer generations will not tolerate this work environment.
GET RID OF 150 HOUR requirement--Higher education is too expensive for the additional 30 hours required.
AICPA needs to change CPA exam. The new exam coming out is just reshuffled and is pretending to be difference and more relevant. Same stuff--new packaging.
AACSB needs to require accounting faculty to have at least 7 years of practical real-world experience before PhDs. Also, require current work experience in the field to ensure faculty are truly staying current in the profession. This might get rid of the saying, "those that can, do; those who can't , teach."
Hale - As a member of the KyCPA Diversity and Inclusion Committee, we believe we could attract more individuals into the profession by having more CPAs who look like them. That is, by introducing potential CPAs to a more diverse and inclusive workforce at an early age, we open the possibility of a respected, well-paying profession to them just as they are choosing a calling or area of study for college and beyond.
Mattox - As a profession, we need to make progress on the work-life balance front. Many still wear their number of hours worked as a badge of honor and that isn't appealing to students or new professionals. Technology seems to have exacerbated this problem as clients expect immediate responses at all times of day. If we can improve life for ourselves, it will attract more young people, as well.
Roberts - I encourage all my students to strive for the CPA licensure. Being a CPA will open many more doors for them in the future.
Stout - Unfortunately, I believe compensation levels is a big issue for the profession. We need to do a better job of promoting the benefits of a career in accounting (particularly in public accounting). But that's always been the issue, the big issue is how do we do that? (And I don't have the answer.) The American Accounting Association it working on this. AACSB is working on this. AICPA is working on this. Our best candidates are being lured by data analytics, STEM and other exciting fields. We need to make our case.
The Kentucky CPA Journal - Issue 2 2022