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Everybody needs an accountant, but it may be getting a lot harder to find one. The number of people taking the CPA exam fell to a 17-year low in 2022, according to data from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants cited in the Financial Times.
Total CPA exam takers dropped to 67,000 in 2022, a fall of about 5,000 from 2021, according to the latest annual report from AICPA & CIMA, a professional accounting organization that develops the CPA exam.
Accounting companies of all types are having a hard time retaining talent. Demographics are also a factor. The AICPA noted that “about 11,500 members retired in 2022, and the number of members who temporarily left the workforce almost doubled.” And there simply might be fewer people interested in becoming accountants to replace them: The AICPA notes that one of the factors driving low test-taking numbers is simply the lack of accounting graduates.
In an attempt to fix that, the AICPA approved a plan in May “to accelerate talent pipeline solutions.” Among the efforts described in the plan is a program called “Experience, Learn & Earn,” which “blends paid work experience and online courses for the final stretch of credit hours and focuses on licensure.” The goal is to launch the program as a pilot this fall with as many as 1,000 students.
The group is also hoping to make things simpler for people trying to make a career in accounting, by extending the window for taking all CPA exams from 18 months to 30 months, and working to resolve inconsistencies in state licensing rules in the US.—SW