What Can be Done About the Accounting Talent Shortage?

The National Pipeline Advisory Group (NPAG), an independent advisory group convened in response to an American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) governing Council resolution, has released its final report of recommendations to address the accounting talent shortage.

NPAG began work in July 2023. The multistakeholder group’s work was facilitated by ConvergenceCoaching LLC, a consulting firm for the accounting profession that specializes in leadership, talent and other issues.

NPAG’s recommendations, which closely follow the draft report it issued this spring, fall into six main categories: 1) address the cost and time of education, 2) make the academic experience more engaging, 3) enhance the employee experience particularly in the first five years of employment, 4) prioritize strategies to expand access to the profession for the underrepresented at every stage, 5) provide better support to CPA Exam candidates, and 6) tell a better story to young adults thinking about which career to pursue on the impact accounting has on businesses, communities and economies.

The prioritization and implementation of solutions recommended by NPAG and complementary efforts of other professional groups critical to the accounting  talent pipeline will be the subject of a Sept. 23 roundtable of stakeholders from across the profession.

The final report includes research results, data and demographic information from a pair of surveys – one of students, the other of stakeholders – that together encompass almost 8,000 responses used by NPAG to field test various recommendations. The report also includes refinements and incorporates feedback from scores of people who commented on the draft report between May and July. More than 15,000 people participated in briefing sessions on NPAG’s recommendations since May.

“NPAG’s approach was to start without preconceptions, make decisions backed wherever possible with relevant data, and to emphasize collaboration,” said Lexy Kessler, NPAG’s chair and vice chair of the AICPA. “The best recommendations are meaningless, however, if they’re not put into practice. Solving the pipeline problem will take sustained, collective action. While NPAG’s main duties end with the release of this report, our members intend to be catalysts and advocates for changes that ensure young people will continue to view and pursue accounting as a rewarding career choice.”  

A joint working group created by NPAG and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) is developing a competency-based model framework to help address time and cost of education challenges that some CPA candidates encounter, while aiming to preserve the mobility that allows CPAs to practice remotely and in-person around the country with just one CPA license. Public comment will be sought on model accountancy law language enabling this framework later this year.

The September roundtable on pipeline issues will be convened by the American Accounting Association, AICPA, NABA Inc. and the National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion. Goals for the meeting are to build a strategic roadmap detailing how top-priority pipeline solutions will be tasked and accomplished, establish a format for maintaining ongoing collaboration and accountability among stakeholder groups, and plan regular, transparent communications to the profession on progress.

NPAG continues to urge individuals, employers, and educators to take the Pipeline Pledge, a commitment to undertake at least two activities to positively impact the talent pool, such as participating in a high school career night or mentoring a college student.

For more information about NPAG, its final report or other information about pipeline issues, visit accountingpipeline.org.