Shortage of Certified Public Accountants

More than 300,000 accountants and auditors left their jobs in the past two years and there aren't a lot of people stepping up to fill those spots.

[hoahuynh]

The "H" in "Accountant" stands for happiness.

[blakestoweyoutub]

it's not just the low pay and overwork
it's the legal and psychological risk along with the crazy accounting, auditing and tax rule changes.
the whole industry is a mess with almost no political clout or respect

[s.q.]

I'm in California with an associates in accounting and I see many ads requiring a bachelor's and 2+ years experience for $18-20/hour. Going further for a CPA license isn't appealing.

[johnmackey]

The industry always talks a lot about the shortage and the many reasons for it. But what they never mention is the real problem. Look, there’s no shortage at all if you pay new staff what computer science majors get paid. It’s pretty simple. But form partners simply don’t want to give up the cash.

[CPATuttle]

How is there a shortage when every job rejects me this year. There’s a surplus. Maybe there’s a shortage with jobs of low unlivable wages. Maybe they should pay higher and people will be interested in a CPA career

[ThomasShelby-xzfk]

The problem with public accounting is it’s a profession driven by greed. All the money goes to the partners who make 200 to 500k. Meanwhile they pay you peanuts and give you a pathetically low billing rate

[LittleBahamutGTR]

I am from HCOL area and shocked by the the majority of the Staff Accountant starting salary! Highest I seen for a staff is 70k that is rare but ask for so much requirement! Then there a few lower paying senior accountant that starts at 85k but most are higher than that. It’s like the middle sections of 70k to 90k is hallowed out like the middle class. It is very discouraging to entry level to start so low for a couple of years and hoping someone will give you a chance at becoming a senior. Entry level especially needs to go up in salary and there needs to be training instead of the BS requirement of asking for 3-5 years experience. Entry is ENTRY!

[marceljohnson]

Impaires other aspects of your life. Only an accountant understands that pun.

[tracymagann]

Wages. The wages are just not climbing to reflect talent in addition to the demand.

[dre]

I’m not a CPA and the work I was doing was so complicated the consultants that were evaluating us told me the only risk would be me hitting the lottery. I got a job offer the next day in a different department and took it because the accountants are severely underpaid in my office. I can’t wait to see who replaces me.

[ahmedweli]

Shortage of CPA's and we are suffering here without jobs.

[IamO_okay]

And here I am considering to go to BS in Accountancy....

[jamesgarner]

i regret ever getting into accounting. seriously, it's not worth it. they pay is at the bottom of all professional jobs. dont expect to make more than $65k initially, basically the poverty line. the degree is worth less than soiled toilet paper. you get treated the worst in any company. they see you as a waste of money because you are just overhead. and because of that, they keep dumping work on you, constantly, the longer you stay. ultra mega long hours too. expect to work at least 12 hours a day without getting a dime in OT pay. that means you are basically working for minimum wage. also companies abuse their accountants more than any other field. accountants always feel like they are working for a toxic company. yes its easy to find another job, but who wants to continuously do that all the time? you literally have no life because of the long hours, and are not respected. everyone outside the field feels compelled that you can do their taxes for free. i should have become a real estate agent instead. what a horrible field accounting is. imagine being forced to sit in a chair for hours and hours day after day. guaranteed you will develop chronic illnesses.

[uuoybre]

CPAs need a massive pay increase like 30-40%

[joshuaw]

At the entry level i was overworked, long hours seated, shoulders slumped over, repetitive motion injuries, you end most weekends drinking or eating your stress away, i became fat, unathlethic, acne breakouts, insomniac and miserable with the measly pay, why would anyone in their right mind would want to join this field😅

[shadowmooon]

Accountants are not paid well and they work a lot. If you do accounting then do accounting automation. Being a CPA also isn't worth it. They usually require a master's and a master's in analytics pays more and better work like balance.

[jd]

Could it be less people are using CPA companies due to poor experiences, therefore decreasing the profession. Hiring a CPA is a major expense, and after hiring and interacting with a four, we found there was a lack of knowledge with critical IRS forms and the customer experience was quite bad. I am sure there are good CPAs out there but in our experience, it was a waste of time and i'm afraid money.

[stalwartanas]

Accounting is bridge every good accountant gonna leave it after while to be a cfo or finance manager, there is no good accountant sticks to this under paid career

[davehenry]

I've been a CPA since the dinosaurs roamed the earth. It was drilled into our heads by our accounting professors that you HAD to go "Big 6" public accounting firms when you got out of school. So I did. And I was ground into dust for the 5 years I was with one. 80 hour weeks, low pay and pressure to get my CPA license asap so they could bill me out at an even higher rate. My nephew is off to college this fall and he asked me about majoring in accounting. I point blank told him to not even consider my profession.

[iUnnithan]

Billing Hours, Underpaid, Overworked, no overtime pay, deadlines.