Please note: These charts are included with permission from the “2021 Trends Report” published by the AICPA (pages 15, 34, and 52). There is no question numbers in all categories have trended downward over the past seven years, after the record highs enjoyed in 2016. But targeting the 150-credit hour requirement as the key contributor for the decline is not supported by the numbers above, nor by the responses of most accounting students when asked about their perception of the challenges they face in entering the profession. The CPA Evolution Initiative, launched prior to the COVID pandemic, is based on the transformation of the profession to meet the growing and changing needs of the marketplace, as well as the changing desires of those we need to attract to the profession. Those best and brightest whom we hope to attract back to our profession will not come back because we’ve made entry easier by reducing educational requirements, reducing the rigor of the CPA exam, or lowering the experience requirement. Rather, CPA Evolution is predicated on attracting the best and brightest to the accounting profession by re-establishing and enhancing the career opportunities available to them. Until 2016, students joined this profession because of those opportunities. Admittedly, the profession has been slow to adapt and keep up with the rapidly changing marketplace, making accounting less desirable. CPA Evolution is the joint NASBA/ AICPA effort to combat and correct that dilemma. The concept of substantial equivalency recognition and CPA licensure mobility was hard-fought, yet worth the effort, See note B on page 58 3.1 Trends in new accounting graduates hired into accounting/finance functions of U.S. CPA firms | 1971–2020 Bachelor’s Hires Master’s Hires Total Demand 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2007 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 6,800 8,900 10,000 9,500 9,200 10,010 11,660 12,770 13,500 14,100 14,200 11,970 14,490 15,640 16,510 16,110 16,720 16,740 25,240 21,340 18,840 19,870 19,320 18,500 18,560 17,820 16,960 17,265 13,335 12,630 13,270 14,985 28,025 19,110 19,870 23,793 24,931 21,167 19,498 16,128 2,000 2,400 2,600 2,600 2,800 3,350 3,310 2,890 2,900 2,460 2,210 2,210 2,180 2,180 2,250 2,030 2,050 2,220 2,600 2,500 1,760 2,650 2,670 2,970 3,375 2,650 3,250 3,686 3,035 3,295 3,555 4,720 8,087 6,378 13,451 16,557 18,321 13,722 11,405 11,623 8,800 11,300 12,600 12,100 12,000 13,360 14,970 15,660 16,400 16,560 16,410 14,180 16,670 17,820 18,760 18,140 18,770 18,960 27,840 23,840 20,600 22,520 21,990 21,470 21,935 20,470 20,210 20,951 16, 370 15,925 16,825 19,705 36,112 25,488 33,321 40,350 43,252 34,889 30,903 27,751 The graph above shows the trends in accounting graduates hired into accounting/finance functions of U.S. CPA firms. as it sets the accounting profession apart from many other professions across the globe. We need to protect mobility at all costs. The uniform educational requirement “works” to protect CPA licensure mobility because the quality of education provided can be relied upon across jurisdictional boundaries due to consistent accreditation standards. Professional experience used as a replacement for education would not work the same way, as there is no “accrediting body” attesting to the sufficiency and/or quality of experience provided. Yes, like me, many of us obtained a CPA license prior to the 150-credit hour education requirement, and we’re doing “just fine.” We need to acknowledge that we expect much more from our staff when they come to us—particularly during their first year with the firm—than we ever did before. If there were ever a time we need our young staff to come to us with more education not less, it’s now. That’s what CPA Evolution is all about—providing the education and the skillsets not needed yesterday, or 10 Nebraska CPA
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